Religion, science and maths are the most common VCE subjects for students to drop as they move from year 11 to 12, new data shows, but fewer Victorian students are dropping harder maths for the easier stream.
Students who did subject 2 VCE, which is usually done in year 11, did not progress to form 4 47,040 times from 2025 to 2026, according to figures from the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA).
Although it is common for students to take six subjects in year 11 and five in year 12 – and drop subjects as they move between year levels – these choices reveal insights into their abilities, interests and career preferences.
Students left VCE religion and society on a higher note. By category 4, 9216 fewer students were enrolled, an 87 percent decrease compared to category 2. Most religious schools require students to take religion.
A spokesperson for Catholic Schools for the Archdiocese of Melbourne said that in year 12 students often did so through alternative routes, including school programs that did not contribute to VCE.
“This reflects the choices that students typically make across a range of VCE subjects when they focus their academic efforts on other subjects that may be more directly relevant to their future career or educational pathway, such as fulfilling university course requirements,” the spokesperson said.
Of greatest concern to educators and industry groups is the persistent trend of students not continuing beyond grade 4 in science and math subjects, including biology (2888 fewer students), chemistry (2784 fewer) and mathematical methods (2762 fewer), despite a push to increase the national pipeline of graduates in STEM fields.
However, there are early signs of this trend changing in maths methods, which includes abstract problem solving and is the fourth subject not yet witnessed in VCE.
In 2021, 18 per cent of maths students left the subject in year 12 for general maths, which is generally more accessible. Last year, this had decreased to 13.9 percent. General methods enrollments in year 11 have increased over the same period.
“Victorian students are increasingly choosing to stick with higher level maths, with the proportion moving from maths methods to general maths falling every year for the past five years,” a VCAA spokesperson said.
Sion Binoy, 17, was among students who left maths to study general maths in year 12 this year at Viewbank College in Melbourne’s north-east.
He said the methods took so long that they slowed down his other studies.
“Most people do well as long as they work in class,” he said of general math. “It’s not as big a time commitment as some other math courses.”
Still, Binoy said she enjoyed math — finding it more objective than other subjects — and overall math felt more practical.
“If you didn’t get a grade, it’s not because of the teacher’s bias or anything like that, it’s because you were wrong,” he said.
“And there’s an easy way to get better; it’s to do more questions.”
Bernadette Foley, chief executive of professional standards group Engineers Australia, said there was a worrying national trend of many young people opting out of maths altogether.
“About one in three students now graduate from high school without studying any math. That closes the door before many students have a chance to discover where those paths can lead,” Foley said.
He said adding mandatory requirements to university courses is not the answer. The best solution, he suggests, is to change the perception of STEM as “hard subjects” and instead focus on the opportunities for real-world improvements they bring to fields such as health care, the environment and technology.
“Many students have more potential than they realize. The challenge is to build confidence, especially among students who are creative, curious and want to make a difference, and help them see that STEM is the way to achieve exactly that,” Foley said.
A Department for Education spokeswoman said the VCE was intended to make it easier for students to create a learning program that suits them best.
“The only mandatory part is research from the English field,” the spokesperson said.
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Jackson Graham is the education reporter at The Age. He was previously a journalist.Connect through email address.
