1. SAETA Refresher Course 2015 A Beginners’ Guide to English Communications
English Communications focuses on the development of English skills, and in particular the communication process.

2. Essential Documents
English Subject Outline 2015
Learning Scope – outlines all the possibilities available
Assessment Scope – what must be produced for assessment and assessment criteria.
English Communications Subject Operational Information for 2015
The document contains all the information about dates, student work external assessment and moderation.
Both documents are available on the SACE Board website in Subjects/Stage 2/English Communication

3. Other Important Documents
Support Materials – assessment plans, assessment exemplars, annotated work samples, performance standards. Chief Assessor’s Reports – Chief Assessor’s comments about each year’s cohort. Available on the SACE Board website.

4. Where to get help SACE Online Forum SAETA Facebook page
Curriculum Services Officer –
Meridie Howley phone:
SACE Online Forum
SAETA Facebook page

5. Course Structure
20-credit English Communications has four assessment types: Text Analysis (3 tasks) 20% Text Production (3 tasks) 20% Communication Study (2 tasks) 30% Folio (2 tasks) 30% 10-credit English Communications has three assessment types: Text Analysis & Text Production (3 tasks) 40% Communication Study (1 task) 30% Folio (1 task) 30%

6. Programming tips
No need to complete more than 10 tasks during the year. Try to complete at least 9 tasks before the end of term 3. Mix and match tasks from different assessment components to add variety to the year (ie, no need to complete all three Text Responses before moving on to Text Production).

7. Assessment type 1: Text Analysis
Three tasks to be completed – see Subject Outline pages 6&21. Text Analysis involves the study of three literary texts. Texts should be chosen on the basis of the needs, abilities and interests of the class group. Word count is up to 2000 words for written pieces and 6 minute oral (or equivalent for multimodal form). Important: the three texts must come from extended prose, poems, film, drama (SO p21). Tip: not necessary to link the three texts.

8. Assessment type 2: Text Production
Three tasks to be completed – see Subject Outline pages 6 & 21. Text Production involves writing to entertain, persuade and communicate observations (written, oral or multimodal) that are not responses to texts. Word count is up to 1000 words, or equivalent, per piece. Tip: one of the three pieces must be completed as a written supervised task (SO p21).

9. Text Production: Supervised Task
90 minutes (continuous) Unseen topics (students can know purpose) Must be written - word processed or handwritten Tip: complete supervised task in the second half of the year when writing skills have developed. Tip: do not set up a situation where students can prepare a piece and reproduce it in the 90 mins.

10. Assessment type 3: Communication Study
Two tasks to be completed – see Subject Outline pages 6-13, Communication involves the study and creation of everyday texts in which students analyse purpose, audience, form, language. Task 1 – Comparison - up to 1000 words Task 2 – Application – product and oral (choice of 8 topics) Tip: fewer Application choices gives you more control over task 2.

11. Assessment type 4: Folio
Part 1: Response to an example of communication – eg, a literary text or everyday text. Part 2: Text Production with a Writer’s Statement. Combined word count is a maximum of 2000 words. No student name or school name to appear on Folio work, only SACE number.

12. Assessment Design Criteria
See Subject Outline pages 15 & 16. There are four assessment design criteria, each with its own specific features: knowledge and understanding analysis application communication

13. Assessment Design Criteria cont..
All assessment design criteria and their special features should be assessed at least once in the school-assessed component of the subject ie, Text Analysis, Text Production, & Communication Study. In the externally assessed component (Folio) all assessment design criteria and their special features must be assessed except for An2.

14. Performance Standards
See Subject Outline pp To be used at the completion of each of the four assessment types. Use the grade calculator on SACE website to calculate the school-based assessment types, ie Text Analysis, Text Production and Communication Study, using A+ to E-. Clarifying meetings to be held in terms 1 & 2 to help apply performance standards to student work.

15. Assessment
Two types of assessment:
School based assessment (70%) that is moderated
Sample moderation for Text Analysis, Text Production & Communication Study.
Students selected by SACE Board.
External assessment (30%)
Folio for all students is externally marked.
No student or school names, SACE numbers only.
Verification forms to be signed by all students – link can be found on English Communications Operational Information 2014.

16. Support Materials
Marked and annotated assessment types of student work for the A, B, C, grade bands. Can be found on SACE website: Best viewed with Performance Standards. .

17. Management tips
Mark book – organise by assessment types so it is easier to calculate marks at the end. Drafting – one draft policy and avoid excessive teacher intervention. Word limits – adhere to the word count and time for orals for each assessment type. Marked work – if possible, keep all students work during the year to ensure things do not get lost. Students’ folders – store all completed student work and Verification Forms in a safe place until Final Moderation and External Assessment have finished.

18. Key dates
Term 1 – Learning and Assessment Plans by Feb 6 Terms 1& 2 – Clarifying meetings (see SACE website) Term 3 – Teachers use Schools Online to access folio result sheets in week beginning 7 Sept (Week 8) Term 3 - Folios (all students) collected Wednesday 23 Sept (Week 10) Term 4 - Moderation materials (sample) collected Thursday 13 Nov (Week 5) Teachers are required to use Schools Online to access external and school assessment result sheets. See English Communications Subject Operational Information for 2015 for full details.