What is the GAT (General Achievement Test)?
The GAT is a test of general knowledge and skills — literacy, numeracy, and written communication — that almost every VCE student sits, regardless of their subjects. It's held in September each year. The GAT doesn't earn you a study score directly, but the VCAA uses it as a quality-assurance check on exam and school-based assessment scores, and to confirm you've met the literacy and numeracy standard.
Who sits the GAT?
Every student enrolled in one or more VCE Units 3 & 4 sequences (including scored VCE VET sequences) sits the GAT. That means most Year 12 students and any Year 11 student doing an accelerated Unit 3 & 4 subject. You sit it once a year, at your school or assessment centre, in September.
What's actually in the GAT?
Since its redesign, the GAT has two sections:
- Section A — Literacy and Numeracy. Multiple-choice and short questions testing the reading, writing and mathematical skills expected of all students. This section underpins the literacy and numeracy standard reported on your results.
- Section B — Knowledge and skills. Tasks covering written communication and reasoning across mathematics, science and technology, and the arts and humanities. This section feeds the VCAA's quality-assurance processes.
You don't study a syllabus for the GAT the way you do for a subject exam — it draws on general knowledge and skills built up across your schooling. But you can absolutely walk in familiar with the format and confident on the numeracy and written-response tasks, which is where preparation pays off.
How is the GAT used?
The GAT works quietly in the background of your results. The VCAA uses it to:
- Check the integrity of scores — comparing your GAT performance with your exam and school-assessed results to flag anything that needs review.
- Confirm the literacy and numeracy standard — reported on your statement of results.
- Calculate a Derived Examination Score (DES) if you miss an exam through illness or misadventure — your GAT result is one input used to estimate the score you would have achieved.
So while a strong GAT result won't lift a study score on its own, a genuinely good GAT performance is worth having — especially as a safety net through the DES process if something goes wrong at exam time.
Should you prepare for the GAT?
A little preparation goes a long way. Sitting a practice GAT to learn the timing and the Section B written-task format removes the surprise factor, and the numeracy questions reward the same fluency that helps in Mathematical Methods and the Sciences. If your numeracy or written communication is shaky, that's the same foundation our VCE tutors build — and it pays off across every subject, not just the GAT.
For the rest of the year's assessment schedule, see the VCE exam timetable and our guide to how VCE exams work.
Dates change each year. This page was last reviewed on 29 June 2026. Always confirm the exact dates against the official VCAA / VTAC notices for your study year.