Section A: Literacy (Reading and Writing) and Numeracy
9:00–9:15 am Reading time
9:15–11:15 am Writing time to complete Section A, which has:
Section B: General knowledge and skills
1:15–1:30 pm Reading time
1:30–3:00 pm Writing time to complete Section B, which has:
Source General Achievement Test 2026.
Information for students
The VCAA explains that
"No special study is needed.
Past study of subjects like English, Mathematics, Science and History prepares students for the GAT by building their general knowledge and skills in writing, numeracy and reasoning".
Never-the-less the VCAA provides past GAT papers.
It would make sense to work through a couple of these to at least get familiar with the presentation format. Note that the format of the GAT changed in 2023.
Answers
Answers to the tick-a-box GAT examination questions in a tidy PDF format are available: –
2025 – 2024 – 2023 – 2022 – 2021 – 2020 – 2019 – 2018 – 2017
Students need to take care as some of the questions are subjective. There is no definitively correct answer to "What is your favourite colour?" different individuals will provide different answers and each answer is valid for that individual. Likewise there is no 'correct' answer to "What does the colour green suggest to you?", yet consider this question from the 2020 GAT paper.
You might feel that the mother is none of the above, but is, for example, over-protective; then how do you answer the question? Walk like an Egyptian, think like an examiner – I guess.
Question 30, section B "Bare Knuckles" of the 2024 paper is totally subjective and the answers will inevitably be related to the philosophy of the individual students, The VCAA response will be of interest. The question reads
Now with less than a month to the 2025 GAT examination we have an answer sheet. The "official" answer (provided without explanation) was B orderly. I guess not a surprising choice from a board of VCAA examiners.
Probably the most frequently asked question about the GAT is some variation of – "Will my GAT mark influence my marks in any unit?"
Fortunately the answer is straightforward – "definitely 'no', though possibly 'yes'. ;=) In the general course of events your GAT result has no effect on your other marks, this condition is spelt out in VCAA documentation. However, there are 4 conditions under which your GAT result may be used by examiners to adjust your marks. (There are possibly other conditions that VCE-Circus is unaware of.)
A concerning aspect of these adjustments is that the process for each condition is very subjective, often at double level. Firstly an examiner must decide if the adjustment should be made at all and then determine extent of the adjustment. The only strategy open to the student to handle this subjectivity is to hope the examiner is having a good day.
If for some unexpected reason a student cannot sit an examination then the VCAA system allocates the student a derived examination score.
The calculation of the DES may include the use of the student's GAT results.[1]
The VCE Administrative Handbook[2] describes the function of the anomalous grades check is to highlight where the student’s examination outcome is substantially different from that predicted
from one or more of the:
In each case, the differences must be statistically significant.
If the VCAA determines that a grade is "anomalous" then it may choose to adjust that grade.[3]
The Scored assessment section of the VCE Administrative Handbook reads in part,
"School-assessed coursework (SACs) comprises a set of tasks that assess each student’s level of achievement in Units 3 and 4 outcomes as specified in the study design.
Schools provide a score for each component of coursework specified in the study design.
The VCAA aggregates these scores into a single total score for each student, which is then statistically moderated against the examination scores in the study.
The GAT may also be used in statistical moderation."[4]
VCE-Circus does not know how the statistical moderation is determined.
The Scored assessment section of the VCE Administrative Handbook, matching the SAC case, reads in part,
"Teachers assess the student’s level of achievement based on a rating against criteria specified by the VCAA. Schools provide a score for each criterion.
The VCAA aggregates these scores into a single total score for each student, which is then statistically moderated against the examination scores in the study.
GAT scores may also be used in statistical moderation."[4]
VCE-Circus does not know how the statistical moderation is determined.