What is the project?

The SACE Board’s Capabilities & Learner Profile project introduces the recognition of capabilities alongside academic achievement (grades) to provide a more holistic view of students’ achievements. We are making positive progress on a five-year journey to develop, fairly and formally recognise, and certify young people’s capabilities. 

This project is central to the SACE Board’s commitment to enable all students to thrive through provision of a future-focused, and internationally sought-after qualification. 

The Learner Profile will provide a demonstration of students' capabilities that showcases their achievements following 13 years of schooling and enable them to make better decisions about their post-school pathways that match with potential employers and further education providers. 

Pilot 1

During 2022, 23 SACE Change Network schools partnered with us to undertake a pilot to recognise students’ capabilities and to demonstrate this in a Learner Profile.  

Pilot 1 worked with teachers, school leaders, SATAC, TAFE, universities, business, and industry to test how the education system could work together to recognise and celebrate a 360-degree view of student achievement. The project also looked to explore how capability data could support students to make better decisions about their future pathways, and how further education and employers might use this data to better match students to their organisations. 

Over 200 pilot students received capability assessment data in the form of a Learner Profile visualisation at the end of 2022. To support the confidence, consistency, and reliability of this data the pilot schools worked with the SACE Board through a series of quality assurance activities including:  

• developing teacher assessment practice 

• making assessments of capability evidence presented by students 

• benchmarking teachers’ assessment decisions to support making reliable judgements 

• supporting within-school and across-school consistency and comparability. 

Evaluation

An evaluation of pilot 1 validated the direction we are taking in developing, recognising and  certifying student capabilities. The pilot highlighted a number of areas to focus on for the future. Stories from the pilot  share highlights from schools. Our pilot 1 evaluation infographic [PDF 1.6MB] and extended evaluation [PPTX 7.7MB] provide broader insights.

Pilot 2

During 2023, 41 SACE Change Network schools are involved in the pilot. We are working with these schools to focus specifically on the student experience of evidencing capabilities both within and outside of the classroom. 

Our intention for pilot 2 is to extend the testing and learning from pilot 1 and now focus on Stage 1 students. We will also develop upfront guidance for teachers based on learnings from pilot 1. Our work with schools will also help us learn more about the complex educational change in a contained and supportive environment. 

The following materials are provided to help familiarise you with the Capabilities and Learner Profile.