Western AustralianCurriculum and Assessment

Outline

March 2014

2014/3845v3 © 2014 School Curriculum and Standards Authority

The School Curriculum and Standards Authority would like to sincerely thank the many people who have taken the time to

participate in consultation processes and provide feedback which has helped us get

to where we are today.

The Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline: •sets out the knowledge, understanding, skills, values and attitudes that students are expected to acquire, and guidelines for the assessment of student achievement•is mandated for all Western Australian schools, including home educators•provides comprehensive information that schools can use to plan student learning programs, assess student progress and report to parents.

Purpose

• Given the phased development of the Australian Curriculum, schools will be teaching some learning areas from the Australian Curriculum and some learning areas described in the Curriculum Framework.

• As the Australian Curriculum is developed, it will replace the Curriculum Framework.

Curriculum transition

• Digital publication.• Link to the Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline

website http://k10outline.scsa.wa.edu.au/.• Navigation and key features of the website.

Website

CURRICULUM

P – Year 10 Curriculum Implementation2014 2015

Phase 1•English, Mathematics, Science and History are being taught by most schools.•Support materials for teachers available in the Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline, including Snapshots, Overviews of Research, Assessment Activities, Judging Standards and Annotated Work Samples.

Phase 1•English, Mathematics, Science and History fully implemented.•Schools report student achievement to parents from Semester 1 in accordance with the Authority’s Reporting Policy: Pre-primary to Year 10 published within the Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline.

Phase 2 and 3•The subjects/learning areas in Phase 2 and 3 are: The Arts, Civics and Citizenship, Economics and Business, Geography, Health and Physical Education, Languages* and Technologies.

•The Authority will adopt and adapt content from Phase 2 and 3 subjects/learning areas to suit Western Australian schools. This will includes identifying core and additional content.

Phase 2 and 3•The Authority will develop support materials for teachers for Phase 2 and 3 subjects and learning areas, including Snapshots, Overviews of Research, Assessment Activities, Judging Standards and Annotated Work Samples.

Content for the Australian Curriculum subjects of History, Geography, Civics and Citizenship and Economics and Business will be reviewed to ensure a coherent Humanities and Social Sciences (HASS) learning area.

Pre-primary – Year 10 curriculum

Specifically in relation to Phase 2 and 3, the Minister has advised schools of the following:

2014 The Authority, in consultation with teachers, will tailor the curriculum content to suit Western Australian schools, including identification of core and additional content.

2015 The Authority, in consultation with teachers, will develop Standards of Achievement to support teachers to assess and grade student work.

2016 Curriculum will be available to schools for familiarisation.

2017 Full implementation, including teaching, assessing and reporting by schools.First reporting of student achievement to parents to occur by the end of Semester 1, 2017.

• Work has commenced on The Arts P – 10.• Syllabuses are being developed for P – 6 and 7 – 10 in

The Arts + HASS + Technologies + H&PE + Languages*

• The syllabuses:• will outline explicit content that teachers are expected

to teach and students expected to acquire at each year level

• will give an indication of notional time allocation.

Phases 2 and 3

Click to edit Master title style

Review of the Australian Curriculum• The Australian Government has announced a Review of the

Australian Curriculum to be completed by 31 July 2014.

• To evaluate the robustness, independence and balance of the Australian Curriculum by looking at the development process and content.

• Any changes that the Australian and Western Australian Governments may endorse as a result of the Review will be considered as part of the Authority’s curriculum review cycle.

• The Authority has responsibility for establishing timelines for implementation in Western Australia.

• Western Australia’s submission to the review will be available on our website soon.

• The draft guidelines were available for consultation until 14 February 2014.

• The guidelines will facilitate the optimal learning and development of Kindergarten children in Western Australia.

• The guidelines build on the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF, Commonwealth of Australia, 2009), which is the mandated framework for Kindergarten in Western Australia.

• The Authority is considering the consultation feedback in order to refine the guidelines.

• Schools will be advised when the guidelines will be published on the Authority’s website.

Kindergarten Curriculum Guidelines

• Application by schools and education providers for recognition of an alternative curriculum (and/or reporting on student achievement) that aligns with the Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline should be made to the Authority online.

• Any nationally recognised curriculum that is included in ACARA’s Recognition Register (as at 30 September 2013) for Pre-primary to Year 10 English, Mathematics, History and Science will be recognised as an approved curriculum for implementation in Western Australian schools with some caveats which are published on our website.

Alternative curriculum recognition

ASSESSMENT&

REPORTING

• Australian Curriculum - Phase 1 - in the Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline, identifies essential content.

• Achievement standards provide the year level pitch for content.

• Judging standards provides tools to support teachers to report on student achievement.

The big picture

• Identify essential content.• Sequence teaching and learning activities to support

delivery of curriculum content and to reflect needs of students.

• Develop assessment tasks to enable students to demonstrate achievement of the Achievement standards.

• Collect evidence of student achievement and provide feedback.

• Make on-balance judgments about student achievement, using the Judging standards resources.

• Report student achievement.

Overview of teachers’ role

1. Grades (or Grades + Descriptors).

2. Assessment pointers – the fine-grained descriptions of student achievement.

3. Annotated work samples – the qualities that are valued, illustrate the progression from D to A grades.

Judging standards

Student achievement in the learning areas taught is reported on a five-point scale (Pre-primary to Year 10).

In Years 3 – 10 the following table of letter grades and achievement descriptors must be used but flexibility is provided for systems or schools in Pre-primary to Year 2 reporting.

Grades – Pre-primary to Year 10

Letter grade Achievement descriptor1

A Excellent

The student demonstrates excellent achievement of what is expected for this year level.

BHigh

The student demonstrates high achievement of what is expected for this year level.

CSatisfactory

The student demonstrates satisfactory achievement of what is expected for this year level.

DLimited

The student demonstrates limited achievement of what is expected for this year level.

EVery low

The student demonstrates very low achievement of what is expected for this year level.

Schools are required to report in English and Mathematics and strongly encouraged to report in Science. Schools may also choose to report in other learning areas. Schools report using achievement descriptors but without letter grades. The achievement descriptors used may be system-based or school-based or those in the previous table, but must align with the achievement standards described in the Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline.

Reporting – Pre-primary

Schools must report in all the learning areas taught. Schools report using system-based or school-based achievement descriptors or those in the previous table and may use the letter grades. The achievement descriptors used must align with the achievement standards described in the Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline.

Reporting – Years 1 to 2

Schools must report in all the learning areas taught. Schools must report using the letter grades and achievement descriptors provided in the previous table. The achievement descriptors are aligned with the achievement standards described in the Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline.

Reporting – Years 3 to 10

Assessment pointers

Setting the pitch of assessment tasks

Sophistication of skills

Fine-grained descriptions of achievement

Assessment feedback

Extent of knowledge

Depth of understanding

Point to how assessments could be marked

Assessment pointers

Task provides opportunities to demonstrate achievement…not just skills tests

Parts of the task relevant to the achievement standard are highlighted

Not for grading individual pieces of work

Sample is representing Excellent achievement

Annotated work samples

Black text indicates qualities demonstrated in the Assessment pointers

Coloured text identifies qualities or examples particular to the work sample

Step 1 Select assessment evidence

C

English

Science

History

MathsHistory

C

Step 2 Review against Assessment pointers and make preliminary grade judgment

History

Step 3 Compare annotated work sample from Judging standards with student’s work

History

B

Step 4 Look at samples in Judging standards above and below to confirm judgment

History

D

Step 5 Use annotations and assessment pointers to guide report comments

B

History

Formal reports to parents should also include information relating to the development of other student attributes that influence learning.

It is strongly recommended that schools use an alternative approach when reporting on such attributes and do not use the same five-point scale which is used as a measure of achievement.

For Pre-primary to Year 10, school reports should include:•a teacher assessment of the student’s attitude, behaviour and effort•an overall teacher comment•any additional information the school considers relevant.

In addition for Pre-primary to Year 2, school reports should include: •a description of the student’s progress in personal and social learning.

Reporting on student attributes

RAISING STANDARDS IN LITERACY AND NUMERACY

• The School Curriculum and Standards Authority now administers NAPLAN in Western Australia.

• ACARA will not reveal the genre of the Writing test in 2014.

• Students need to be familiar with narrative and persuasive writing.

• The NAPLAN website www.nap.edu.au is invaluable, in particular the marking criteria for the writing tests.

• The marking guides, which contain work samples, can be downloaded.

NAPLAN

2014 NAPLAN test period

13 – 15 May

NAPLAN

NAPLAN

• The Authority is currently advertising for markers for the 2014 Writing component of NAPLAN.

• Marking is an invaluable opportunity for professional development for teachers, please encourage interested staff to apply.

• Applications are made online via our website.

• Applications close on Friday, 21 March 2014.

NAPLAN

Literacy and Numeracy Assessment

• To achieve a Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) from 2016 and beyond, students will be required to complete the Online Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (OLNA) and demonstrate achievement at or above a minimum standard.

• The OLNA has three components – reading, writing and numeracy.

• Students who achieve Band 8 or higher in the associated component of their Year 9 NAPLAN tests will be recognised as having met the standard required for that component of the OLNA.

Meeting the standard

When do students sit the OLNA?

• Students will be required to undertake the OLNA in Semester 1, Year 10 unless they have prequalified for one or more components through achievement of Band 8 or higher in the Year 9 NAPLAN tests.

• If the student does not meet the standard in Semester 1, then they must sit in Semester 2, Year 10, and, if required, Semester 1, Year 11.

• From then on, and if required, students may choose when next to sit the assessment.

OLNA - consideration of special needs

• Students with a language background other than English, who arrived from overseas and have been attending school in Australia for less than a year, should be given the opportunity to attempt the OLNA, but may be exempted from sitting the assessments in Semester 1, Year 10.

• Students with significant intellectual disability and/or those with significant co-existing conditions which severely limit their capacity to participate in the OLNA may be exempted from sitting the assessments in Semester 1, Year 10.

2014 OLNA dates

•Support documents have been developed to assist teachers in preparing students for assessments.

•Further support materials to assist teachers with those students who do not demonstrate achievement at the minimum standard will be available in May 2014.

Round Numeracy and Reading Writing

1 10-21 March 2014 10-12 March 2014

2 1-12 September 2014 1-3 September 2014

OLNA information pack for schools

The following information was emailed to all schools with expected Year 10 enrolments in 2014 on 28 January 2014.

Core procedural guidelines · OLNA Information for principals and coordinators · OLNA Disability adjustments – Information for principals and coordinators · OLNA Information for assessment supervisors · OLNA Information for students Support materials · OLNA Support materials for teachers · OLNA Website user guide · OLNA Student list and password management guide Administrative form attachments · OLNA Declaration form · OLNA Disability adjustments request form · OLNA School schedule form

Sample reading question

Sample numeracy question

OLNA report to schoolsSchools will receive a report detailing the categories of achievement for each student for each component of the OLNA. In addition, schools will receive information identifying general concepts that they may focus on in order to support improved student achievement. Reporting will cover three categories of achievement.

•Category 3 - Those students who demonstrated the standard either by sitting the Online Literacy and Numeracy Assessment or through NAPLAN prequalification.

•Category 2 - Those students who through normal development of literacy and numeracy skills over Year 10, 11 and 12 should demonstrate the minimum standard prior to the end of Year 12. It is strongly recommended that these students should enrol in General or ATAR courses.

•Category 1 - Those students whose results are considerably below the minimum standard and may require specific learning interventions. It is recommended that consideration be given to enrolling these students in Foundation courses.

The Authority would like to sincerely thank the many people who have taken the time to participate in consultation processes

and provide feedback which has helped us get to where we are today.

www.scsa.wa.edu.au