Doug McCurry and VCE English

  May 10, 2026 by Doug McCurry Using MCQ and SAQ for teaching and learning in VCE English - 1 I have discussed in an earlier blog the workload benefits for English teachers of using Multiple choice (MCQ) and short answer questions (SAQ), particularly for formative assessment. Having had a good deal of experience writing MCQ and SAQ I have become convinced of the potential heuristic value of good closed and semi-closed test items. I have argued in a previous blog that preparing for the GAT can be a valuable educational opportunity for students and teachers. This goes against the claim (implied by the VCAA) that you do not have to prepare for tests like the GAT, and that students (and teachers?) can just let it happen. As I described in a previous blog, I am currently working on the computer scoring of MCQ and SAQ with the hope of relieving to some extent the marking workload for English teachers. In this blog I want to discuss the test I am using in the trial in term of its pote...

 May 10, 2026 by Doug McCurry  Using MCQ and SAQ for teaching and learning in VCE English - 2 Q and A for Section C of the 2025 English exam Below are 12 multiple choice and 10 short answer questions about the Section C text used in the English exam of 2025. You need to print and read a paper copy of the exam task which can be found at the VCAA website. https://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/assessment/vce/examination-specifications-past-examinations-and-examination-reports/english The multiple choice questions are answered by clicking a hot button for the correct answer on the left of the option. The written questions should be answered in the space with the title ‘Long-answer text’. You will be able to see how much you have done as you go through the test. When they have finished and press the Submit button your results out of 12 for the multiple choice will be calculated for you to see. The short answer questions will be scored later and the multiple choice and short answer results se...