From the Leader of Learning

Assessment and Reporting in Stages 4 & 5

Each Semester, the College publishes an academic report to parents and carers about each student’s learning outcomes. 

The New South Wales Education Standards Authority (NESA) requires all schools in NSW to report on grades and reportable outcomes as part of their ongoing commitment to improving student learning outcomes. To do this, teachers are required to use their professional judgement to assess their students’ work and provide an overall grade based on their assessment of the student’s performance. This means that a student’s grade needs to be determined using a range of evidence, not just one or two formal assessments.

So, what evidence can a teacher use to make these assessments? There are a variety of sources that a teacher can draw from, including:

Learning Activities and Classroom Observations:

Teachers observe students completing classwork, homework, and assessments, noting their progress and areas where they need additional support.

Formal Assessment Tasks:

Teachers use a range of assessment tasks, including tests, essays, and projects, to gather evidence of student learning.

Student Feedback:

Teachers listen to and consider student feedback on their learning, including their strengths and areas for improvement.

Our teachers will use their professional judgement to make an overall assessment of a student’s performance based on all the evidence available.

In our Assessment Handbooks, students will have their “Semester One Grade reported based on learning activities, practicals and formal tasks for the semester”.  Students were advised of this in our O-Week sessions. 

Parents and carers with daughters in Years 8 to 10 will see that their daughter’s grades in the upcoming reports will not be solely based on task achievement results in formal assessment tasks; rather, teachers will make a balanced and informed assessment of a student’s performance. By doing so, they can provide a comprehensive report that reflects a student’s academic progress. 

In the following Newsletter, I will explain the Grade ranges A to E with the intent that the grade reported for your daughter this semester will be better understood.

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Year 12 ‘Maximising Your Results’ Workshop with Dr Prue Salter

On Wednesday, Dr Prue Salter from Enhanced Learning Educational Services (www.enhanced-learning.net) ran a study skills session with Year 12, building on the work done with the students last year. Year 12 looked at advanced research about the brain and how that could be used to make their study more effective.

Steps to make study notes more effective were highlighted, and students also examined the study techniques they traditionally used, exploring new techniques they could try this year. Students also explored how much time they should allocate to schoolwork during term time (2-3 hours per night) and the type of independent learning they should consistently be doing this term.

Year 12 was also given guidance in how to plan study time before exam blocks and will receive a link to a video by Dr Salter in Term 3 to show them how to plan study time from the last day of school to their final exam.

All students at the College also have access to a great study skills website to help students develop their skills. Go to www.studyskillshandbook.com.au via the Favourites (Star) Menu in COMPASS.