Curriculum News

Assessment and Reporting

As you may have been aware, we are looking into how we can improve our current reporting format and cycle.

Schools have a lot more control over deciding how to report student achievement to parents, as a single report format is no longer mandated by the Department. Schools can decide the timing and frequency of reports, in accordance with the basic guidelines set by the Department.  Schools also decide how student progress and achievement will be displayed – either as a written or graphical representation. These decisions should be made in consultation with the school community, hence the reporting surveys that were completed by staff and parents earlier in the year.

We had a great response, with just over 151 surveys completed by parents.

Some of the most common feedback responses:

·         More regular, succinct reporting would be beneficial and enable parents to better support the learning of their child.

·         Information about student effort and behaviour is valued.

·         Written comments are often very long and can appear generic.

·         Comments are often out of date by the time reports go home.

·         Areas that parents would most like reported on more regularly: Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening, and Number and Algebra.

As a school leadership team, we have discussed the pros and cons of different options and report formats and also sought feedback from other schools in our network. We are currently working with a software provider to develop suitable methods to display student progress and achievement, and to be able to communicate this to parents more regularly.

There are a number of steps we need to take as a school in order to transition to more regular reporting of student achievement. At this stage we are aiming to commence this at some stage in 2019.

Semester Two Reports

Some slight adjustments will be made to the Semester Two reports based on the feedback from both teacher and parent report surveys.

Progression points will be completed for all areas of learning that have been covered in Semester Two.

Written comments will be completed for the following areas:

·         Reading

·         Writing

·         Speaking and Listening

·         Number and Algebra

·         General comment

Comment length will be consistent from Foundation to Year 6.

Attitudes to Learning statements will be completed.

Specialist subjects will also have a written comment. This comment will consist of 1-2 sentences on each student's effort, attitude, and/or behaviour in each of these classes, followed by a short list of the most important skills attained.

Thank you to everyone who completed the report survey. Information regarding this process will be communicated to parents as progress continues in 2019.

Bec Garrow

Curriculum Leader