For parents of children in grade six, April is usually crunch time for deciding where their children will go to secondary school the following year.
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But COVID-19 has forced schools to cancel information nights and the education department to extend secondary school applications until May 29.
Government primary schools usually send a parent/carer pack to every year six family in hard copy at the start of term two, but with most students learning at home the pack is also available online.
Schools have been dealing directly with queries from parents rather than en-masse in the usual information night setting.
Despite the delay in extension in the time to submit applications, students applying for a position at a government secondary college in 2021 will still receive their placements in August.
Year 12 students are not only dealing with remote learning during their most important year of schooling, but uncertainty about how the coronavirus pandemic will influence their ATAR score and university prospects for next year.
The disruption caused to 2020 Year 12 students by COVID-19 has led many to question whether entry to university will be different for them compared to previous years.
This week the Australasian Conference of Tertiary Admissions Centres (ACTAC), comprising the admissions centres across Australia, confirmed ATARs would be calculated and used the same as other years.
"Research shows that the ATAR is the best available predictor of university success, as measured by students' first year grade-point-average," said Victorian Tertiary Admissions Centre director Catherine Wills.
"Many alternative pathways which sit alongside the ATAR are already used for admission to many courses in Victoria, and we continue to support Victorian tertiary institutions in the use of such pathways. Those studying year 12 this year deserve the certainty provided by the existing national admissions framework."
Concerns surrounding remote learning for year 12 students, and year 11 students undertaking unit three and four studies, had prompted some education experts and commentators to call for the scrapping of the ATAR system.
Ms Wills said while discussion about the long term future of university admissions shoud continue, there should be a focus on supporting senior students through the coronavirus pandemic.
"The conversation during the COVID-19 crisis should focus on providing stability and support for year 12 students instead of opportunistic commentators creating uncertainty and confusion with proposals of vague, unresearched, and untested ideas," she said.
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