Students who achieve a VCE Study Score above 40 are doing twice as much practice as their classmates, which equates to well over 450 questions across the year in each subject, new research shows.
The ‘Achieving Advanced Results In VCE Report’, conducted by Australian education resource company Edrolo examined the study habits of 57,535 VCE Year 12 students in 2023 and 2024, who collectively completed 28.8 million questions across 7 subjects on Edrolo.
These results were analysed alongside the publicly available data on students who achieved a study score of 40+ in these 7 subjects, as published by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA).
Students who achieved 40+ study scores in Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Psychology, Business Management, Legal Studies and General Maths completed nearly double the number of questions on average compared to those who achieved lower scores.
Consistency was revealed as a common trait among top-performing students, who opted for a structured study routine, as well as making a habit of regularly attempting questions to reinforce their learning.
The research also shows that persistence and steady practice, not raw talent, are the strongest predictors of high performance. In fact, students who achieved study scores above 40 demonstrated a clear advantage, with an average accuracy rate of 83.4% on auto-marked questions, compared to 70.9% among their lower-scoring peers.
A closer look at study behaviours also highlights the scale of their commitment.
Those in the 40+ band completed 42.4% more Exam Master questions and 16.5% more Question Set questions in their Edrolo subjects than students who scored below this benchmark. The findings point to a strong, positive link between consistent practice and top-tier academic results.
Pete Goldsworthy, Edrolo CEO, said that with VCE exams weeks away, the advice from the survey is “what every student and parent will be reassured to hear.”
“It reflects what we see on the ground every day at Edrolo: practice not innate ability or cramming gets results,” Goldsworthy said. “In fact, as little as ten practice questions a week across a year can make a difference in getting top marks.”
Education researcher Professor John Hattie, whose work on visible learning is widely adopted in schools and is part of the Edrolo Advisory Board, backs this up.
“Deliberate practice with the specific goal of mastering new concepts and skills can be effective for student growth and achievement,” he said. “This massive dataset of local students further shows this.”
For local student Maggie Stickland this isn’t a surprise.
Maggie is currently in Year 12 at Mentone Girls’ Grammar and is working to achieve her personal best in VCE exams. Maggie has done almost 2,000 practice questions in General Maths alone this year, and knows how important practice is for results.
“Having access to additional practice questions and tests has been invaluable in preparing thoroughly for my SACs”, Maggie said. “I find it really effective having notes, questions and video lessons all in the one place — it keeps my study structured and organised.”
Tim Macdonald, Deputy Principal at Mentone Girls’ Grammar, whose students will be sitting practice exams over the coming weeks ahead of VCE exams starting in October like other schools across the state, says practice really is what makes perfect.
“We want to make sure every one of our students has an opportunity to excel,” Macdonald said.
“A big part of this is making sure our Year 12s get plenty of practice applying what they learn and get familiar with the questions they’ll see on exams, well before exam day. The exams are where the rubber really hits the road, and all the practice these students put in hopefully pays off.”
The original versiopn of this story was first published as a media release by Edrolo and has been republished by The Educator with permission.