Assessment of student achievement of outcomes from the 7-10 Science syllabus Use this as a screen saver

Language used with assessment Assessment for learning Diagnostic assessment Assessment of learning Formal assessment Evidence of learning Informal assessment Formative assessment Performance assessment Summative assessment Reference page 13, 20 and 22, Advice on Programming and assessment from the BOS 2004 Assessment for learning can be described as assessment that: enhances learning and helps teachers and students know if the current understanding is enough for further learning is integral to teaching and learning activities encourages self and peer assessment involves meaningful feedback (What students know and can do and where do we go to from here with our teaching) This process can be extended into assessment of learning at key points such as at the end of a year or stage and the information from assessment can be used by teachers to make judgements of the student’s performance against levels. Evidence of learning – we capture the evidence of student learning when we record their performance on a task. Recording should be manageable and the teacher will make decisions about what to record. What is recorded can be used to set the direction for future teaching or to monitor student progress and to form a judgement of the student level of achievement at a given point. What is recorded should: provide valid and reliable evidence of student learning enable students to demonstrate the extent of their knowledge and understanding, skills provide a balance of informal and formal assessment support the learning process be manageable within the time.

Issues 1. Is assessment used for control? Is assessment used to provide evidence of learning? 2. Is there an over-emphasis on formal, end of unit style assessment task? In some cases, certain aspects of assessment particularly related to the marking guidelines are included to help ensure student participation. Examples of this include deducting marks for late submission. It might be more fruitful to investigate mechanisms for feedback to students to motivate and encourage rather than to penalise. 2. In some schools, there has been an over emphasise on the formal, end of a unit style of assessment. This may provide little feedback to students on how they might improve their learning and give little opportunity to the teacher to amend their teaching practice. Mackellar Girls HS

NSW Department of Education and Training Draft guidelines for consultation This document was developed for the K-6 area and is currently  under consultation. A similar document will be released for the 7-10 area for consultation to secondary schools shortly. It is anticipated that changes will be minor and mostly those that are related to the secondary context. Many of the statements of expectations have been received with little or no concern however there a small number that may cause concern to secondary teachers.   Please note that for example it is anticipated that the word mandatory (outcomes) will refer to all . The document is based on existing principles of good assessment. Refer to Principles for assessment and reporting in NSW government schools 1996.

Issues 3. Are students assessed without explicit teaching? 4. Is assessment integrated into the teaching learning program? 3. In some instances, students are required to do assessment tasks on content (K&U as well as skills) that has not yet been explicitly taught. 4. In order to meet reporting requirements, it is possible that assessment tasks that are in fact unrelated to the current teaching program are included in the assessment schedule. Colo HS

Issues 5. What accountability issues are there related to the recording of assessment? 6. What constraints does it place on a faculty that decisions regarding reports are made at a school level? 7. Are reports written in plain language? 8. How do marking guidelines relate to rating scales on reports? 5. How do we record and report level of achievement of outcomes? Problems arise here related to management of assessment tasks and marking. How much of what is assessed should be recorded? Much informal class assessment is not recorded Should there be a sample of student work for each assessment task used for the school report? 6.The rating scale and the reporting statements on the school report are often determined at the school level. This makes it difficult to ensure that the reporting statements reflect the learning that has occurred and the syllabus outcomes. 7. The language on the school report should be meaningful and accessible to the school community. This will vary from school to school as the community varies. 8. Start with the criteria for a particular task or part of a task Use a holistic rubric at different levels (should reflect syllabus standard) OR Allocate marks (should reflect level of difficulty and syllabus standard) Award a level/grade/mark for the task How is the task to be used in relation to the report? Is it one of many? Is there to be an aggregate of marks/grades/levels? How will the marking scheme fit into the rating scale on the school report Oxley HS

What type of rating scales to use? 2 point scale e.g. competent/not competent 3 point scale e.g. working towards/achieved/ working beyond 5 point scale e.g. beginning/developing/consolidating/ achieved/working beyond Level of achievement scale e.g. excellent/ high/ substantial/ satisfactory/ elementary/ unsatisfactory. multi-point scale e.g. 1-2-3-4-5 or A-B-C-D-E. This could be used for the last activity. Activity 6 Task 3. Some examples include: 2 point scale e.g. competent/not competent 3 point scale e.g. working towards/achieved/ working beyond 5 point scale e.g. beginning/developing/consolidating/achieved/working beyond Level of achievement scale e.g. excellent/ high/ substantial/ satisfactory/ elementary/ unsatisfactory. Multi-point scales e.g. 1-2-3-4-5 or A-B-C-D-E. Schools may decide to report on student achievement of syllabus outcomes in such terms as working toward/developing/achieved or they may report on the student’s LEVEL of achievement of syllabus outcomes using terms such as excellent, high etc. and providing descriptions of those levels.

Process for awarding grades in 2006 Same as current CPD process Based on Stage 5 Descriptions of Levels of Achievement Identify the level description that best matches the overall achievement Not a checklist At end of Year 10 the level is recorded on SC Record of Achievement. The process for 2006 has not changed. It is most likely that the Board will not use the new term Descriptions of levels of achievement (DLAs) rather, return to the use of  Course Performance Descriptors (CPD). The new CPDs are general descriptions of a typical student at the end of a stage of learning. They are not a checklist that a student must reflect all elements to be at a particular level.   The Stage 4 levels of achievement may also be used as a basis for school based reporting if desired but there is no expectation from the Board of Studies that this will be the case. The Draft Levels of Achievement are based on expectations of what the majority of students can achieve by the END of the stage. They capture what most students should be able to do at different levels as a result of having access to the syllabus outcomes and content.. Advice from the booklet The School Certificate Grading System (1998) still applies. (Cannot find where this is available) The School Certificate Tests are curriculum based, and are designed to provide a measure of student achievement of foundational skills and knowledge. The Computing Skills Test is based on the Information and Communication Technologies in the mandatory Years 7 – 10 syllabuses.

Understanding Standards Assessment Resource Centre www.arc.nsw.edu.au Samples of student work (Stage 5) Online judging and critique process prentice@boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au The Board has commenced work on providing teachers with a facility for gaining a shared understanding on standards. To date a number of teachers have participated in looking at Stage 5 assessment activities from the Board’s support material and have analysed a range of student work samples derived from these activities. With reference to the DLAs they have provided a summary of the qualities that they have observed and have nominated the standard that they think the student’s work best represents. The Assessment Resource Centre web site provides teachers an opportunity to view the annotated work samples. A new work sample is released on the web site at regular intervals and members of the original work group undertake an online judging process to determine the appropriate standard and why. At this stage the view of standards is entirely that of practicing teachers. People in non school-based positions have not been a part of the project. The longer term objective is that teachers will submit their own activities and student work samples on the site in order to build a more comprehensive view of the standards.

Teachers Have explicit knowledge of the syllabus Make professional judgements on what is important Understand school community/context and student needs Need time for professional dialogue As a profession can set benchmarks

Syllabus Requirements Years 7-10 Science Syllabus Requirements Assessment and reporting information on pages 70 to 75.

Department of Education and Training Principles for assessment and reporting in NSW government schools Assessment is the process of identifying, gathering and interpreting information about students’ learning. The central purpose of assessment is to provide information on student achievement and progress and set the direction for ongoing teaching and learning. Reporting is the process of communicating information about student achievement and progress gained from the assessment process. The purpose of reporting is to support teaching and learning by providing feedback to students, parents and teachers.

Advice on Programming and Assessment Board of Studies Advice on Programming and Assessment The document provides advice about constructing a program that will cover the scope of Science for a Stage. It shows how the teaching programs are underpinned by the principles of assessment for learning. Refer Science Years 7-10 syllabus page 70. It sets out a process of planning and sequencing units of work, and developing teaching and learning activities.