At Keysborough Secondary College, we believe that Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) are central to improving teaching practice and student learning outcomes. Aligned with FISO 2.0 (Framework for Improving Student Outcomes), our PLCs focus on collaboration, data-driven decision-making, and evidence based high-impact teaching strategies.

Through PLCs our teachers engage in purposeful collaboration built around five key elements – Assessment Practices, Curriculum Planning, Moderation and Feedback, Analysis of Student Data and Review of the Learning Process. Learning Domain Leaders work collaboratively with each PLC team to identify the element of focus for each PLC group throughout each term.

This collective approach enables staff to share expertise, reflect on student progress, and collaboratively plan curriculum to ensure a consistent and high-quality learning experience for all students, aligned with the College’s Teaching and Learning Model. Data plays a critical role in guiding curriculum planning, identifying areas for targeted improvement, and informing discussions about future student pathways.

Element 1: Assessment Practices

Effective assessment is essential to monitoring and enhancing student learning. There are three key types of assessment: formative, summative and standardised.

• Formative assessment is used throughout the learning process to identify student needs and inform teaching strategies for improvement.

• Summative assessment measures student achievement at the conclusion of a unit or topic.

• Standardised assessment measures student achievement against recognised age expected standards eg. PAT, NAPLAN, RVEAL

Every subject is expected to embed both formative and summative assessment within their Assessment schedule. Only summative assessment tasks (e.g. CAT, SAC, SAT) will be formally published on the College website under the Assessment schedule and reported in Semester reports. To ensure consistency and reliability of data, all students must complete the same summative assessment tasks, providing a clear understanding of age-expected levels of achievement in relation to the curriculum taught.

Focus for PLC discussions include:

• The summative assessment task aligns with the lessons from the unit

• Determine the appropriate timeframe for students to effectively learn and consolidate the content prior to assessment.

• Where practical, exemplar responses for each Common Assessment Task (CAT) that demonstrate an Above Standard (80-89%) and an At Standard (50–79%) achievement standard should be developed. These should be shared with students as exemplars of achievement standards.

• Rubrics and marking guides are developed for all assessments that align to the specific skills and knowledge being assessed against the Victorian Curriculum 2.0.

• Develop clear age-expected achievement standards for each Year 7-10 Learning Task (CAT) to support ongoing reflection on student learning outcomes (key skills should align with Learning ladders).

• Marking range should use a 25 – 50 – 25 marks spread to allow for differentiation of students.

• Assessment tasks incorporate VCAA Command terminology where appropriate.

• PLCs are encouraged to incorporate at least one literacy and numeracy related criterion where appropriate.

• Identify any Capabilities that may need to be incorporated into the assessment tasks and rubric.

• What formative assessments are being used to help identify individual student knowledge gaps? Should we pre-assess / mid-test / post-assess students’ understanding before commencing a new topic?

This structured approach ensures a consistent, transparent, and high-quality assessment process that supports student progress and aligns with the College’s expectations for teaching and learning and which supports a whole school approach to literacy and numeracy improvement.

Element 2: Curriculum Planning

Once the PLC has established a clear understanding of the skills and knowledge that need to be taught within the agreed timeframe leading up to the Learning Task (CAT/SAC), members work collaboratively to develop a sequence of lessons aligned with the KSC Teaching and Learning Model.

Teachers are expected, within reason, to teach the same weekly content and co-develop supporting resources, including enrichment opportunities e.g. excursions, incursions, and other learning experiences. While individual teaching styles may differ, the core content, learning activities, and expectations should remain consistent across classes and the campuses. It is important that students are not given varied or conflicting tasks and materials, as this can lead to inconsistency, confusion, and inequity in the learning experience.

All curriculum materials must be uploaded to the KSC Curriculum Google Drive to ensure access for all staff teaching the subject.

Focus for PLC discussions include:

• Are all Curriculum resources (e.g. Scope and Sequence, Unit Planner, Lesson Plans and resources) up-to-date and stored on the Curriculum Google Drive? Including Lesson plans using the new template.

• Were any differentiated/modified resources or assessment tasks created to support individual students? Have these been uploaded to the Curriculum Google Drive for future use?

• What differentiated activities and scaffolding strategies are being used to support students to independently master the required content and skills? Planning should ensure teaching is explicit—teachers should model and demonstrate concepts before students practise independently.

• What High Impact Teaching Strategies (HITS) will best promote deep understanding of the skills and knowledge being taught?

• How are Literacy and Numeracy strategies being embedded within the curriculum and assessment?

• Were the required Capabilities and opportunities for Cross-curriculum priorities incorporated into the unit?

• What opportunities exist for enrichment of learning e.g. excursions, incursions, or applied learning experiences? To enrich the curriculum and reinforce learning.

• What is working well and what is not? PLC members should regularly share insights and reflect on classroom experiences to refine approaches.

• What opportunities exist for student feedback about the curriculum? Does the curriculum connect with real world experiences where appropriate and can students provide insight and feedback on what they have learned?

Element 3: Moderation and Feedback

Moderation is essential to ensuring consistency, fairness, and accuracy in assessing student work. After each Learning Task (CAT), every PLC member is required to bring two samples of student work to the moderation meeting:

• One example representing an Above Standard / Well Above Standard result, and

• One example representing an At Standard result.

These samples should be reviewed collectively by the PLC (Learning Domain) to ensure a shared understanding of the assessment criteria and consistent application of the rubric. Students are required to view the rubric prior to marking to provide students with the best opportunity for understanding how they will be assessed. Where needed, the Learning Domain Leader will support the process to help reach a consensus on grading standards.

Moderation must occur within two weeks of the CAT/SAC being completed to allow timely feedback to students. All results must be finalised and uploaded to the Compass Learning task within a three-week timeframe.

Additionally, PLCs should review the effectiveness of feedback provided during formative assessment tasks, as determined during curriculum planning. This ensures that feedback remains targeted and impactful throughout the learning process.

Teachers must also provide evidence of feedback for improvement within student workbooks or classwork. This ongoing feedback is critical in guiding student progress and reinforcing expectations for quality work. Student workbooks and/ or classwork must be valued. This is emphasised by regularly checking completed tasks and classwork and providing acknowledgement and feedback of the work completed.

By embedding regular moderation and feedback practices, PLCs help maintain high standards, ensure equitable assessment, and support continuous student growth.

Focus for PLC discussions include:

• Consistency in the achievement standards. Marking schemas should provide benchmarking, so that teachers share a common understanding of what level of achievement constitutes At age expected, Above age expected and Below age expected achievement standard.

• Moderation – Did moderation occur within 2 weeks of the CAT/SAC being completed?

• Are exemplars available for Above and At-age expected standard of achievement for students and teachers to review? Teachers should keep exemplars for moderation, & to provide as examples to students.

• Constructive learning task feedback has been provided to all students and results have been recorded in the Compass Learning task within a 3-week period.

• Evidence that formative assessment feedback has been provided in workbooks throughout the unit.

Element 4: Data Reflection

Following moderation, PLCs are expected to review and reflect on student performance data from the Common Assessment Tasks (CATs). This process involves analysing results to identify learning gaps, evaluate the effectiveness of teaching strategies, and inform future instructional planning.

Focus for PLC discussions include:

• Were the key skills and knowledge assessed in the CAT achieved?

• What percentage of students met the Age expected standard?

• What percentage of students did not meet the Age expected standard?

• What strategies were implemented to support student improvement, and how effective were they?

• Was Pre and Post testing completed for this unit? What did this indicate?

• If standardised testing is available how do student results compare for consistency? (e.g. PAT, NAPLAN, RVEAL compared to teacher judgement)

• Where available, has data triangulation occurred to ensure accuracy of assessment results? (e.g. standardised assessment- PAT/NAPLAN, summative assessment- CAT, formative assessments- workbook)

• How is formative assessment being used to adjust teaching and learning?

PLCs should also compare internal CAT results with data from standardised assessments, such as the Progressive Achievement Tests (PAT) in literacy, numeracy, and science. This comparison helps validate classroom assessments and highlights any discrepancies between internal and external measures of student performance.

Where anomalies arise, PLCs should discuss potential explanations, including legitimate factors that may have influenced student outcomes. Domain Leaders will provide relevant external data, including PAT and NAPLAN results, to support these discussions.

Teachers can access detailed student achievement data through the Analytics tab on Compass, enabling deeper analysis to inform differentiated planning and targeted interventions.

Regular, data-informed reflection ensures that teaching practices remain responsive to student needs and supports continuous improvement in both teaching and learning outcomes.

Element 5: Review of Learning

Once Learning Tasks (CATs) have been marked and moderated, PLCs must allocate time to revisit and review the task with students, even if the next unit has already commenced. The timing and structure of this review are determined by each PLC, but the purpose remains consistent: to consolidate learning, address gaps, and provide targeted feedback.

For students who demonstrate gaps in their understanding, as reflected in their CAT results, time must be allocated for them to revise and revisit specific content areas.
Students who achieve 80% or higher in their CAT results should be provided with extension opportunities, where practical, that allow them to further consolidate mastery or deepen their understanding of the topic. 

While it can be challenging to consistently embed this practice throughout the year, every PLC is expected to provide these feedback and revision opportunities to maximise student growth. If formative assessment and feedback have been effectively implemented throughout the unit, the time required for post-assessment revisiting may be reduced.

Focus for PLC discussions include:

• What are the collective reflections from the current teachers on the Teaching and Learning process for this unit?

• Was the unit timeline & scope & sequence appropriate for this unit?

• Has student feedback been considered in our review of the unit?

• What changes (if any) need to be made to assessment or curriculum documentation?

• Are the teaching resources appropriate? Do these need to be updated (e.g., booklist changes, new study design)?

• Did the enrichment opportunities (excursions, incursions, or Applied Learning activities) meet the learning goals? Could these be improved?

• Do we need to make any updates to the Learning ladder (key skill or knowledge progression)

Resources

• ARC - Professional Learning Communities: Leading Change

• Victorian Teaching and Learning Model 2.0 - Planning Curriculum

• Victorian Teaching and Learning Model 2.0 - Leading a whole-school curriculum approach.

• AERO - Teaching for how students learn: Practice guides

• ARC - Victorian Lesson Plan guidance

• Victorian Teaching and Learning Model 2.0 - Enact a Multi-Tiered System of supports