Memo
Queensland Studies Authority
Page 1 of 2
15 April 2010 Number: 030/10
Policy on using standards to make judgments about student achievement in Authority and
Authority-registered subjects
Purpose
To inform schools about the release of the QSA policy on using standards to make judgments about student achievement in Authority and Authority-registered subjects.
Background
In Queensland, senior secondary teachers are responsible for designing assessment programs and making judgments about the standards achieved by their students. Queensland's moderation process, supported by professional development provided by the QSA, enhances teachers' capacity to make comparable judgments about the quality of student work.
An Australian senior secondary curriculum for English, Mathematics, Science and History is currently being developed for implementation from 2012. The new curriculum will be introduced with content and achievement standards described in terms of the qualities of learning expected each year. Assessment requirements will remain the responsibility of each state and territory. Queensland senior secondary schools will continue to look for evidence in folios of student work matched against standards descriptors over five levels to make judgments about student achievement.
Information
Recent meetings between QSA and teacher groups have demonstrated a need for a definitive
statement to clarify QSA's policy position on standards and the use of numerical schemes. The Policy on using standards to make judgments about student achievement in Authority and Authority-registered subjects addresses this need.
The policy makes clear:
• how standards are used to make judgments about student responses to assessment instruments and decisions about levels of achievement in Authority and Authority-registered subjects
• that assessment approaches that do not consider the standards achieved in each of the dimensions across the range of assessment instruments when arriving at a level of achievement, do not validly or reliably assess student achievement
• that when recording student achievement, teachers can use numbers, letters or other symbols as a means of recording judgments at points in time but all must clearly show the match between the standards descriptors in the syllabus and the students’ responses.
Teacher judgments made using numbers, letters or other symbols must explicitly identify the standards demonstrated and how the qualities of student responses match the standards described in the
syllabus.
Download the policy at: www.qsa.qld.edu.au/approach/10213.html
The development of the policy on using standards is one of a number of initiatives QSA is engaged in to further support teachers in implementing its syllabuses in schools. Other initiatives include:
• Guideline for syllabus writers: assessment techniques and conditions in Authority subjects. The guideline was developed following a comprehensive investigation into the consistency and
comparability of assessment techniques in senior syllabuses. The guideline is primarily for the use of syllabus writers, providing a foundation for the development of consistent assessment advice for inclusion in Australian and Queensland developed courses. The guideline is available on the QSA website for teachers seeking to understand the rationale for the particular assessment requirements of QSA syllabuses. Teachers may access the guideline at www.qsa.qld.edu.au/approach/7453.html
• Annotated student responses to assessment instruments for Phase 1 Australian Curriculum courses in English, Mathematics, Science and History were made available in January 2010. These
examples use current syllabus standards to illustrate the salient features of student work at an A and C standard and provide support to teachers in making judgments about student achievement.
• Sample criteria sheets for these subjects, which include advice about using the syllabus to develop instrument specific criteria and standards and using standards to make on-balance judgments.
• A glossary of terms (in preparation) that explains how the discriminating words used in standards descriptors are interpreted.
What you need to do
Alert relevant staff to the policy on using standards and other support materials either recently completed by QSA or currently in development.
More information
If you would like more information, please email [email protected] or telephone 3864 0375.
Peter Jordan
Acting Deputy Director Student Achievement Division
Policy on using standards to make judgments about student achievement 15 April 2010 | Page 2 of 2
