Teachers New to Geography Cockatoo Island 23 March 2007 The School Certificate Kate Cameron Senior Assessment Officer HSIE Office of the Board of Studies NSW studies.nsw.edu.au

▪ School Certificate Grade Relates to students’ achievement in the course –represents learning over 100 hours class time – performance in a number of assessment tasks – a range of learning outcomes demonstrated in different ways – tasks internally developed and marked – grades (A-E) are awarded according to standards (Course Performance Descriptors)

▪ School Certificate Test Relates to students’ achievement in a 1 hour test - externally developed - ‘pen and paper’ format - tests foundation knowledge of part of the course (Focus Areas 5A3 & 5A4) + course skills (Geography) - Topics course skills (History) - externally marked (40% machine marked) - students receive a mark and a performance band relating to their achievement in the test

How is the School Certificate Test developed for Australian History, Geography, Civics and Citizenship?

The History and Geography sections of the test are developed separately by different committees.

The test and marking guidelines are set by examination committees. Committees are selected from teachers who apply and who meet relevant criteria.

A set of principles is used in the development of questions and marking guidelines

Principle 1 The examination will test a representative sample of knowledge, understanding and skill outcomes … The intention … is to avoid predictability.

Principle 10 Questions will be set simultaneously with marking guidelines and will allow for marks to be awarded commensurate with performance.

Reviewing the tests Several people are involved in the review and assessment process * an independent teacher * subject inspector * supervisor of marking * assessment officers

Training is provided for committee chairs, committee members, test assessors and supervisors of marking

syllabus familiarisation and orientation previous paper-differences with current paper examination brief is unpacked setting questions and marking guidelines standards setting process performance bands writing quality questions

Developing Multiple Choice Items

1. Outcome based Design each question to measure an important learning outcome

2. Stem The stem of an item should ask a direct question or set a specific problem

3. Alternatives Alternatives should be plausible, homogeneous and appropriate to the stem

4. Only one correct answer There should be only one correct or best answer Incorrect alternatives should not be seen as absurd or silly by a student who does not know the correct answer

5. Punctuation & grammar The punctuation and grammar of alternatives should be consistent with the stem

» Design your questions » Use the checklist to keep you on track

Useful documents available on the Board’s website Scope statement & test specifications Specimen papers Assessment Support Documents Notes from the Marking Centre Marking guidelines Multiple choice question bank Assessment Resource Centre (ARC)