Some of the biggest changes he suggested in the draft report,made public on Tuesday,were to the Higher School Certificate,which has become the major credential since the school leaving age was raised to 17,but which still separated academic and vocational subjects in a way many thought was"artificial and unhelpful".
The report proposed reducing more than 170 senior-level courses to a"limited set of rigorous,high-quality,advanced courses". Vocational and academic subjects would slowly be brought closer so that eventually every course would mix theory and application.
HSC students would also have to complete a single major project,which would allow the development and assessment of skills such as gathering and analysing,as well as so-called general capabilities such as team work and communication.
"Students will choose the principal learning area for their project,which will be assessed by teachers using centrally-provided criteria,"the report said.
HSC subjects would be broken into attainment levels,and achievement against these could be rewarded with micro-credentials,based on teacher assessment."In some existing subjects,these attainment levels will replace current performance bands,"it said.