Assessment
The fundamental purpose of assessment is to understand which stage of learning students are at, at the time of their assessment. Knowing where students are at allows teacher to plan accurately for the next stage of learning on the continuum and allows students to track and take ownership of their learning.
(Year 7-10)
Formative Assessment
Formative assessment emphasises the role of assessment in improving the quality of instructional decisions. Three key strategies of formative assessment:
1. Clarifying, sharing and understanding learning intentions and criteria for success
2. Engineering effective classroom discussions, activities and tasks that elicit evidence of learning
3. Providing feedback that moves learners forward
Summative Assessment
Summative assessment occurs when teachers use evidence of student learning to make judgements; comparing student achievement against goals and Victorian Curriculum Achievement Standards. It is used to measure a student’s performance at a specific point in time. These are graded pieces of work that are referred to as Common Assessment Tasks-CATs
· Year 7-10 assessments (CATs) will be published by teacher on Compass and made visible to students and parents/guardians
o CATs for each semester are to be published within the first four weeks of semester
o CATs are to be generated from the templates setup on Compass to ensure compliance with reporting requirements
· Details of CATs including criteria will be published by teachers and distributed to students in order to:
o Enable them to use knowledge and skills developed during appropriate learning activities
o Enable adequate preparation through the inclusion of details of conditions under which assessment tasks are to be conducted
· Developmental Rubrics are used to assess performance and growth and are used to provide feedback provided for each CAT. These are uploaded to Compass for each CAT.
· Assessment tasks are to be marked and returned to students within a 2 week timeframe
Number of Major Assessment Tasks (CATs) per semester:
Subjects with 4 periods per cycle: 2 CATs
Subjects with 5 periods per cycle: 2 CATs
Subjects with 6 periods per cycle: 2 or 3 CATs
Subjects with 8 periods per cycle: 3 CATs
Grading Scale
The following grading scale is used for 7-10 CATs
Performance on a Learning Continuum
Developmental rubrics are to be used to provide standards-based feedback to all Year 7-10 assessments. These rubrics provide detailed feedback about what the students has been observed to know/do, whether that is below, at, or above their expected year level, and the next steps in their learning
FAQs:
Does every assessment require a Developmental Rubric?
For Victorian Curriculum subjects (Yr7-10), yes. As all assessment is aligned to the Victorian Curriculum standards, a developmental rubric is to be used as the primary form of feedback to students and on Compass. The Master rubric file (at various stages of development) has been used to simplify the process of developing/amending rubrics, so standards can be copied and pasted in.
Do VCE SACs and SATs all require rubrics?
Where possible, it is preferenced that VCE assessments use rubrics as the primary form of feedback. However, where VCE differs to Victorian Curriculum is the increased focus on scores which are used to develop clear and accurate rankings. It is therefore acceptable for written feedback to be used on Compass as an alternative to a rubric.
What about assessments, such as tests, where rubrics might not work as well?
The idea of a rubric is to simplify, not complicate.. Their aim is also to shift the focus of students away from an arbitrary score and towards skills and knowledge. There may be instances where an assessment (eg, a test) is given, and scored traditionally, however as means of feedback, a rubric is to be used as a clear display of where the student demonstrated their learning. In this context it is ok for a score to be distinct to the levels of achievement on the rubric.
Are there any essential items to include in rubrics?
The General Capabilities are to be included in rubrics. The master rubric file is useful to identify capabilities which can be taught and assessed within a unit.
When should students receive access to rubrics?
As early as possible in a unit of study. The updated Unit Plan template has a place where rubrics can be inserted so that planning of the teaching and learning sequence aligns to the rubric. This mapping document outlines which capabilities are attached to each subject.
How can rubrics measure growth?
Simply, they inform students on what they can do, and what the next step is in their learning. Rubrics can also be used to plot growth. For example, rubrics can be completed throughout a unit, perhaps at different checkpoints using different colours to show the progress of learning that students are demonstrating.
Resources:
Developmental Rubrics Page