Standard Grade Scale for Years 7 - 10

Purpose of the Grade Scale

• To report in that way reflects our focus for developing more meaningful assessment and class tasks that enable our students to embrace learning, develop confident problem solvers and enhance their ability to be self-directed learners

• It enhances teachers, students and parents’ ability to track progress in accordance with standards

• To better reflect the F-10 Victorian Curriculum Standards, including our assessments, learning activities and reporting

• It allows more consistency across year levels and classes, with a clear emphasis on growth rather than numbers

Definitions of each grade scale

Working towards standard

• Student who is working a level or more below the standard (12 months or more)

At Standard

Emerging learner – Student who is working approximately six months below the standard

Secure learner – Student who is at the expected level

Accomplished learner – Student who is producing outstanding work at the expected level

Working above standard

• Student who is consistently, within the assessment task, producing work that is above standard (approximately 12 months or more)

Deciding which descriptor to use when a student lies evenly between two descriptors.

For example, a student lies evenly between an emerging learner and secure learner.

As the expert in your content area, use your professional judgment about where the overall standard grade scale would be for the task.

There are a number of aspects that could help you with this, including:

• Considering the student’s class work for the unit, their participation in class discussions and if this would sway to one descriptor over another.

• Whether some of the rubric elements may be more important than others and therefore be of more weight when deciding your overall descriptor. For e.g. spelling and grammar may be less important than a comprehensive understanding of the text.

• Moderating the task with others in your team to gain their perspective on which descriptor would best describe the accomplishment of the task.

Awarding Not Satisfactory

We will always work to ensure that students are producing tasks that parallel their knowledge and skills, setting high expectations for all of our students. Aligning with this, students who have submitted a task that is deemed to be below their demonstrated level of skills and understanding (as determined by you through formative assessment and other class tasks/discussions) will be expected to resubmit a task that is more reflective of their ability. A not satisfactory may also be awarded if a student has submitted a largely incomplete assessment task.

Process for following up a result of Not Satisfactory

It is our responsibility to follow up students who have not satisfactorily completed a task to encourage and ensure that they complete the task to the best of their ability.

1. Restorative conversation with student about the task

2. Student and teacher to come up with agreed due date for the student to resubmit a satisfactory version of the task

3. Teacher is to contact parent/guardian either via email or phone to alert them of the not satisfactory and detail when the extended due date will be for the task to be resubmitted

4. If the task is not submitted by the extended due date, make further contact with the student and parents, track this on SIMON (7-10 learning concern), discuss with LMG and put in other support process/es as needed to ensure the task is resubmitted. Learning Leaders are happy to assist with any extra support if needed.

*Please note that if the task is deemed not satisfactory due to the student struggling academically, then speak to the Learning Enhancement Team Coordinator about task modification and provide the student with a modified task to complete by an agreed due date.

Following up with a student who has failed to submit a task

It is our responsibility to follow up students who have failed to submit a task. When this happens, the following steps should be taken:

1. A restorative conversation with the student about the task should occur: Why has it not been submitted? What impact do you think that has on your learning? etc.

2. Student and teacher to come up with an agreed due date for the student to submit the task.

3. Teacher is to contact the parent/guardian either via email or phone to alert them of the not submitted task and detail when the extended due date will be.

4. If a task is not submitted by the extended due date, make further contact with the student and parents, track this on SIMON (as a 7-10 learning concern), discuss with LMG teacher and put in other support process/es as needed to ensure the task is resubmitted. Learning Leaders are happy to assist with any extra support if needed.

*Please note that if the task has not been submitted due to students not understanding or not having the skills/knowledge to complete the task, then speak to the Learning Enhancement Team Coordinator about task modification and provide the student with a modified task to complete by an agreed due date.

Connection between the standard grade scale and the Victorian Curriculum standards

The standard grade scale will help you to determine where to place the students on the Victorian Curriculum standard scale that appears on the end of semester report. The assessment tasks and standard grade scale awarded will be used in conjunction with class work, formative assessment, participation in class discussions and activities, etc. to determine an overall standard point for the student.

Modified tasks

Tasks (both formative and summative) can be modified to both scaffold and extend students.

The students who need modified tasks may include:

• Students who are consistently excelling with class tasks/work

• Students who are identified by Learning Enhancement as needing modified tasks

• Students who are consistently struggling with class tasks/work. Please let the Learning Enhancement Team Coordinator know of these students who have previously not been identified by Learning Enhancement

If you have modified a task, which may include modifications around length of writing, timing of assessment, scaffolded notes, extension questions, etc., then you need to tick ‘modified task’ for the assessment and briefly explain the modifications of the task.

The modified task tick-box is to be used for any task that has been modified, including the extension tasks given to students.

Role of moderation and cross-marking

Moderation and cross marking will become more important than ever with the new standard grade scale and we want to further our use of cross-marking and moderating processes.

Teachers are encouraged to organise cross marking and moderation across years 7-12 and this can occur in a number of different ways including, but not limited to:

• Creating pairs within the team and exchanging a high, medium, low sample

• Organising a time to get together as a team to look at high, medium, low and questionable samples from each class

• Over a period of a week place high, medium and low samples in an office or communal space accessible to all and ensure that over that week you go in and look at three samples and provide feedback

• One staff member provides benchmarking samples to the others for use in the marking process.