Curriculum
Council
24 January 2007
Memorandum to schools Curriculum Council WACE update
On 22 January the Hon Minister for Education and Training Mark McGowan announced key changes to senior school reform This update provides a summary of decisions by the Council and announced by the Minister
Answers to frequently asked questions will be forwarded to schools and other stakeholders on 25 January and will be available on the Council's website at www curriculum wa edu au
Please note that these arrangements relate to new courses only School assessment in new courses
• The Council will develop unit standards (unit grade descriptors) in 2007, which schools will use to award a grade (A-E) in each unit
• The course standards will be used as a basis for stage 1, 2 and 3 unit grade descriptors Advice will be sought from education support teachers about whether standards for stage P units should be developed
• For each stage 1 unit, schools will submit a grade only
• For each stage 2 and 3 unit, schools will submit a grade and a mark out of 100 The mark will be in accordance with the school s unit assessment outline
• For students who complete at least two units at stage 2 or 3 in Year 12, the Curriculum Council will generate a course score from the school mark and the examination mark
• Advice will be sought from the Council's expert measurement and assessment advisory group on
o the statistical moderation procedures required to generate a course score and the proportion of the school assessment mark and examination mark that should comprise this score, and
o methods to enable the examination of 2B/3A unit combinations
• The Council will provide special assessment seminars in Term 2 and consensus meetings in Term 3, 2007 to support teachers of new courses with assessment for 2007
Course examinations
• There will be examinations for pairs of stage 2 units and stage 3 units Sample examination papers will be developed over the next few months
• All students enrolled in stage 2 and 3 units in Year 12, who have completed two course units, will sit examinations In special circumstances students in Year 11 may be able to sit an examination
Course review
• Mathematics courses will be implemented in 2009 (Year 11), with the first examination in 2010
• The study of Australian history in stage 2 and 3 units will be compulsory (to be implemented in 2008)
• There will be recommended text lists for the English and Literature courses, which will be included in the syllabus for each course (to be implemented in 2008) These lists will be developed in consultation with teacher groups in Term 1
Memorandum to schools on 24 January 2007 Cumculum Council WACE update 176859J DOC
Transitional arrangements for school assessment for new courses
Year 11, 2007 Aviation Engineenng English, Media Production and Analysis, Physical Education Studies, Earth and Environmenta1 Science, English as an Additional Language/Dialect and Applied Information Technology
Schools will submit a grade for each student enrolled in a unit Schools will need only to submit a grade for each unit at the end of the school year Unit grade descriptors for teachers delivering the new courses will be provided early in Term 2 In the in tenm period teachers can use the existing course standards
Year 12, 2007 Aviation, Engineering English, Media Production and Analysis
Teachers have already prepared their programs and assessments for these courses and schools will continue to submit a level and band for each unit and a mark out of 100 for this year only To help teachers with comparability, the Council will use the general achievement test (GAT) to provide additional feedback to schools about the distribution of their students' achievement in comparison with others State wide
Arrangements for the 13 phase two courses aligned to T E E subjects
Accounting and Finance, Biological Sciences, Chemistry Computer Science, Drama, Geography History Ancient and Modern Human Biologcal Science, Literature Music, Physics Politics and Law, Visual Arts These courses will revert totally to D and E subject assessment requirements This means that a
grade based on existing grade related descriptors (GRDs) will be required at the end of the school year A level and band is no longer required The Council will make adjustments to its database in 2007 to change the new course codes back to D codes for certification purposes
Schools choosing to offer units 1A and 1B of any phase two TEE-aligned courses should use the assessment arrangements for new courses Year 11, 2007 outlined above Meetings will be held with schools offering 1A and 1B units for these courses early in Term 1 to develop special arrangements and support for assessment in 2007
Consultation and communication
• Independent teacher juries of randomly selected teachers across the State will be introduced to provide advice to the Council about the implementation of the new courses
• Communication to schools and stakeholders will clarify arrangements for courses and provide responses to frequently asked questions The Council's website will be updated as soon as possible to reflect the changes and additional information will be provided in the WACE manual and Council Circular which will be distributed to schools in February
• Industry and parent groups will be consulted to ensure that the information on the Western Australian Certificate of Education and record of achievement for students meets their expectations
• Awareness sessions planned for 25 and 30 January 2007 will continue as planned All of the materials and supporting information will be available on the WACE website at
http //newwace curriculum wa edu au from 25 January 2007
• Questions about the WACE can be sent to info(5>curriculum wa edu au DAVID WOOD
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Memorandum to schools on 24 January 2007 Cumculum Council WACE update I76I39J DOC
