Coverage of Curriculum

What needs to be covered?

What is the intent of the unit?  What is the main purpose of this unit?  Focus on these for the writing of the assessment instruments.  The intent and main purpose of units can usually be discovered in two important places:  Specific Unit Goals and Achievement Standards. Throughout the suite of assessment for a unit, all specific unit goals should be assessed to an equal standard. 

Remember, teachers must deliver all content descriptions; however, they do have flexibility to emphasise some content descriptions over others when it comes to assessment. It is at the discretion of the teacher to select the texts or materials used by students to demonstrate the content descriptions.  Content descriptions provide for learning experiences that culminate in assessment tasks; content descriptions therefore cluster around assessment tasks. 

In addition to the content descriptors that need to be address in programs of learning and teaching, it is important to emphasise the need to address the General Capabilities and the Cross-Curricular Priorities most relevant to the unit. 

All courses of study for the ACT Senior Secondary Certificate should enable students to develop essential capabilities for twenty-first century learners. These ‘capabilities’ comprise an integrated and interconnected set of knowledge, skills, behaviours and dispositions that students develop and use in their learning across the curriculum.

The capabilities include:

• literacy

• numeracy

• information and communication technology (ICT)

• critical and creative thinking

• personal and social

• ethical behaviour

• intercultural understanding

Courses of study for the ACT Senior Secondary Certificate should be both relevant to the lives of students and incorporate the contemporary issues they face. Hence, courses address the following three priorities:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories and cultures

• Asia and Australia’s engagement with Asia

• Sustainability 

Senior secondary teachers have the flexibility to assess students in a variety of ways. For example: multimedia presentation, inquiry-based project, test, essay, performance and/or practical demonstration may all have their place. College teachers are responsible for developing assessment instruments with task specific rubrics and providing feedback to students whilst meeting the assessment type guidelines within the framework they are teaching. 

Curriculum coverage looks across the suite of assessment items, and over four units of study. Not just one task. 

What does NOT need to be covered?

We need to ensure the things we are assessing in a task are relevant to the course and content descriptors.  Remember, the construct is the thing you are trying to measure.

Construct irrelevant variance is when knowledge and skills are being assessed that are not part of the unit goals . An example might be, an investigation task for Unit 2 Mathematical Applications on statistical analysis -- we want to get students to analyse meaningful and real data (Student Engagement) that is not the same for each student (Academic Integrity) but also does not involve non-construct relevant practices like performing an experiment in order to collect data as the experimental process is not part of the content descriptors for Unit 2 Maths Applications. 

Evaluating Curriculum Coverage of an Assessment Instrument: 

Do the assessment tasks cover the curriculum I am aiming to cover?

1.       Outstanding Coverage of BSSS Accredited Courses

o   The suite of assessment tasks is strategically planned for alignment with Achievement Standards, unit goals and content descriptors. Assessments are not too big: assessing irrelevant content or criteria; nor too small: missing important content or criteria.

o   Assessment is strategically planned so that it does not distort the intent of the curriculum, aligning with and developing the skills evident in course goals.

o   The general capabilities and cross curriculum priorities are seamlessly integrated into the suite of assessment tasks.

2.       High Coverage of BSSS Accredited Courses

o   The suite of assessment tasks is thoughtfully planned. Assessments are not too big: assessing irrelevant criteria; nor too small: missing important content or criteria.

o   Assessment does not distort the intent of the curriculum.

o   The general capabilities and cross curriculum priorities are integrated into the suite of assessment tasks.

3.       Satisfactory Coverage of BSSS Accredited Courses

o   Assessment tasks are appropriately planned. Assessments are not too big: assessing irrelevant criteria; nor too small: missing important criteria.

o   Assessment does not distort the intent of the curriculum.

o   Assessment tasks provide opportunities to engage with the general capabilities and cross curriculum priorities.

4.       Minimal Coverage of BSSS Accredited Courses

o   Assessment tasks require refinement. Assessments are uneven. Some tasks are either too big: assessing irrelevant criteria; or too small: missing important criteria.

o   Assessment distorts the intent of the curriculum.

o   Assessment tasks provide minimal opportunity to engage with the general capabilities and cross curriculum priorities.

5.       No Coverage of BSSS Accredited Courses

o   Assessment tasks are unplanned. Assessments are uneven. Some tasks are either too big: assessing irrelevant criteria; or too small: missing important criteria.

o   Assessment extensively distorts the intent of the curriculum.

o   Assessment tasks provide little or no opportunity to engage with the general capabilities and cross curriculum priorities.