Australian Learner Competency Credential
The inaugural Australian Learner Competency Credential has been issued to school students across the country to recognise areas of their learning success that is not captured in traditional examinations.
In November 2023, students in Years 6, 10 and 12 from nine schools across Australia were issued with the inaugural Australian Learner Competency Credential (the Australian LCC). This new qualification focuses on the complex competencies learners develop throughout their schooling years that enhance their ability to thrive in further education and future employment, such as critical thinking, collaboration, communication, active citizenship, and agency in learning. It is designed to complement existing measures of domain-based knowledge and skills, such as school reports, NAPLAN and the ATAR.
The Australian LCC is warranted by the University of Melbourne’s Melbourne Metrics, which provides national and international education systems with evidence-based assessment tools and credentials.
Learners receiving the inaugural qualification attend government, independent and catholic schools from across four states in Australia: Vic, NSW, SA and WA. These ‘first mover’ schools are involved in the University’s New Metrics research-practice partnership, which support educators to use ‘next-generation’ measures to teach, assess and credential a broad range of competencies.
Teresa Hanel, Scotch College Adelaide's Deputy Principal Teaching & Learning, with Year 9 students Chloe Sorensen and Jake Prior. Photo: Scotch College Adelaide
Key Features of the Australian Learner Competency Credential:
- The competencies being credentialed include: Agency in Learning, Acting Ethically, Active Citizenship, Collaboration, Communication and Quality Thinking
- The inaugural credentials have been issued at key transition points in schooling: primary – secondary (Grade 6), transition to senior secondary (Year 10), senior secondary (Year 12)
- The credentials use validated and robust standards-based learning progressions to recognise learners’ competencies
- The credential complements existing measures of learning success
Nine schools have issued the credentials, from across VIC, NSW, SA and WA, to 254 learners. Schools involved include:
- All Saints’ College, WA, Independent
- Carey Baptist Grammar school, VIC, Independent
- Melaleuca Park Primary School, SA, Government
- Santa Sophia Catholic College, NSW, Catholic
- Scotch College Adelaide, SA, Independent
- Wesley College, VIC, Independent
- Woodleigh, VIC, Independent
- Wurun Senior Campus, (Fitzroy High School & Collingwood College), VIC, Government
Teachers and students at Santa Sophia Catholic College posing with their credentials. From left to right: Mark De Vries (Principal), Lisa Kalocsai (Head of School), Prabesh Rajbhandari, Nicole Bugeja, Anthony Theodosiadis, Chris Maguire (Leader of Innovation and Digital Learning). Photo: Santa Sophia Catholic College
Schools' Testimonials
All Saints’ College, WA
"Our new credentials, and the underpinning learning design and assessment of complex competencies, offer our students the opportunity for ‘next generation’ approaches to teaching and learning that see capabilities measured and valued alongside scholastic achievement. " - Belinda Provis, Principal
Carey Baptist Grammar School, VIC
“While academic measures like the ATAR will always be important, we also know that these measures don’t tell the whole story of an individual. An education provides children with a broad range of skills beyond the academic, and through the Australian LCC, we’re now able to measure and validate these.”- Jonathan Walter, Principal
Melaleuca Park Primary, SA
"The opportunity to assess competencies rather than just knowledge will allow teachers to develop their pedagogy in learning design to differentiate for all students. Students will be able to reflect on their growth to become self-regulated learners." - Erica Hurley,Principal
Santa Sophia Catholic College, NSW
These competencies are, “really useful for the workplace. I think employees will be able to see that these skills are really fundamental for success.” - Nicole, Year 12 student
Scotch College Adelaide, SA
"The New Metrics project allows us to ensure that we can pair mastery of content and disciplines with mastery of the capabilities that will allow us to use our knowledge in innovative and complex ways. It also allows us to track our success, to measure it, and to know that we are really doing our best to set students up for life beyond school that will ask more from them than just a good grade in an exam. " - Trent Driver, Principal
Wesley College, VIC
"We are proud to be involved in the creation of a new learning credential that recognises a range of learner competencies. We are embracing the opportunity to recognise more of what young people know and can do. It is essential that we create new metrics that are more than just academic, so that each student leaves school feeling confident, capable, empowered, and prepared for lifelong learning." - Cameron Paterson, Director of Learning
Woodleigh School, VIC
“At Woodleigh we are thrilled to be able to offer a credential that recognises the skills and attributes our students develop during their time at the school. These skills and attributes contribute to the overall achievement of student outcomes for our learners.” - David Baker, Principal
Wurun Senior Campus, VIC
“The new credential that 14 of our Wurun graduates have received this year provides employers and tertiary institutions with the opportunity to understand more about our student’s capabilities and skills that are valued highly in the workplace and post-secondary educational settings." - Christopher Millard, Campus Principal