Learning & Teaching News

Understanding High School Assessments: A Guide for Parents

As we navigate through the academic journey of our high school students, we often encounter a barrage of acronyms that may leave us feeling bewildered. Therefore, we have decoded some of the most common terms you might hear from your Year 11 and Year 12 students.

SAT (School-Assessed Task):

SATs are assessments conducted internally by the school. They cover a range of subjects and are designed to evaluate students' understanding and mastery of the curriculum. SATs can take various forms, including essays, projects, presentations, and practical tasks. These assessments carry significant weight in determining students' final grades, making them a crucial aspect of their academic performance.

It's essential for parents to understand the requirements and deadlines associated with SATs, as they often contribute a substantial portion to students' overall marks. Encouraging your child to stay organised, manage their time effectively, and seek assistance when needed can greatly alleviate the stress associated with SAT preparations.

SAC (School-Assessed Coursework):

Similar to SATs, SACs are assessments administered by the school. However, SACs are more continuous and can occur throughout the school year. These assessments allow students to demonstrate their ongoing progress and understanding of the subject matter. SACs may include tasks such as essays, tests, quizzes, or practical exercises, depending on the subject.

As parents, staying informed about the SAC schedule and requirements enables you to support your child's learning journey effectively. Encourage regular study habits, provide a conducive environment for study, and offer assistance or guidance when necessary to help your child excel in their SACs.

GAT (General Achievement Test):

The GAT is a statewide assessment administered by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA). It is typically undertaken by Year 11 and Year 12 students who are completing a Unit 3 and 4 VCE subject and Year 12 VCE VM students. It serves multiple purposes, including providing a benchmark for schools and assessing students' general knowledge, skills, and abilities across various subjects.

While the GAT does not contribute directly to students' final subject scores, it plays a vital role in ensuring fairness and consistency in the assessment process. Additionally, GAT results can influence the calculation of students' Study Scores and contribute to their ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank) calculation, which is crucial for tertiary education admissions.

Understanding the significance of the GAT and its implications for your child's academic journey can help you provide appropriate support and encouragement during their preparation. Emphasise the importance of familiarising themselves with the test format, practicing time management, and seeking guidance from teachers or tutors if needed. This year's GAT is on Tuesday 18th June. Students can prepare for the GAT by accessing the Sample GAT papers available on the SPACE VCE resource page. Students will also undertake a Practice GAT on Friday, 3rd May.

In conclusion, familiarising yourself with these acronyms – SAT, SAC, and GAT – empowers you to better support your child throughout their Year 11 and Year 12 journey. By staying informed, offering encouragement, and providing assistance when needed, you play a pivotal role in helping your child achieve their academic goals.

Mr David Hansen

Deputy Principal - Learning & Teaching

Clyde North - Year 9 CHALLENGE

This term, all Year 9 students at the Clyde North campus participated in the unit ‘Creative PE’, as part of the subject CHALLENGE. The unit required students to work in predetermined teams to develop an original game for grade 5/6 students. Using only a limited set of equipment, each team also had to be extremely creative when developing their game, just as the unit’s name suggests. They also had specific criteria that their game had to meet, such as being inclusive to all skill levels and abilities, allowing all players to always participate and ensuring the game is always safe to play in.  Over the course of the term, teams collaborated to design, test and refine their games by playing and seeking feedback from other teams.

During week 6, each Year 9 CHALLENGE class hosted either a Grade 5 or Grade 6 class from St Thomas the Apostle Primary School to have them play their final games. Two classes also visited St Agatha’s Primary School in week 9 to present their games to the Grade 6s there. Having their games played by the Grade 5s and 6s not only brought a level of authenticity to this unit, but it also provided an opportunity for our Year 9s to demonstrate traits and skills such as organisation, collaboration, kindness, leadership, and communication. Feedback suggests that both sets of students found the experience to be very enjoyable and worthwhile and hopefully this becomes a regular event to look forward to each year.

Student statements

During the process of creating our game, we communicated with each other and shared different ideas that we could develop and we found a common idea and started bringing it to life with plans and drawings. A challenge that we faced with the year 5s was that they were really shy and were not really engaging at first. Once we explained the rules and put them into teams, they became more confident. We were not harsh with the rules and tried our best to create a connection with them.  After a little while of playing the game, the year 5 students got more and more confident and comfortable with the rules of the game and how to play. We worked together as a team and tried our best to be friendly and welcoming to the year 5’s. It was a wonderful experience and we believe that they enjoyed it very much. 

9A Red Team (Jival, Theresa, Marley, Shakya, Rico, Aryan, Andrew)

During the process of creating our game, the green team learned how to effectively respond to criticism and benefit from it, enabling us to broaden and adapt our game to certain opinions. As a team we showed maturity and resilience when combining our teams ideas to improve the game.  When trialling the game we accepted our constructive criticism and collaborated to better ourselves and the game. When it was time to showcase our game to the year 5’s we were impressed with the students' participation despite the shortened time. All kids cooperated with our game and we were pleased to find out that they had enjoyed it as much as we did. This experience for our team helped us face problem solving situations and taught us how to adapt to last minute changes. 

9G Green Team (Hailey, Gwen, Isabella, Johann, Udan, Caitlin H, Summer, Bravil)

The experience with St Thomas the Apostle students was a really fun experience. At first I felt a bit overwhelmed, not knowing how they would react to our game or how to encourage them to play the game, but after the first game I felt confident in myself. I realized that in order to be able to encourage them, you have to get them excited saying things such as "C’mon you have to beat them" or clapping your hands and yelling "GO GO GO" which gets them really excited. Overall, it was a great experience which helped me with different skills especially my leadership skills. Isabella Urzabia

The experience with the St Thomas the Apostle students was extremely positive. The whole team was contributing and implementing their ideas to help better the students' experience within the game. The students easily understood the rules of the game and got involved with their peers. I noticed that you had to encourage the kids so they felt excited and actually took initiative in the game. I felt accomplished while teaching the game to the students and the whole experience allowed me to grow in my leadership skills. Overall the whole experience was very enjoyable and a great learning experience in building my communication, teamwork and leadership skills. Chloe DeOcampo

It was honestly way better than I thought it was going to be because I expected the kids to not want to interact with us that much but they really wanted to play our games and spend time with us. I really enjoyed playing with the kids and how each of them was their own person and all of them were enthusiastic. It was nice to joke around with them as well and help create memories. Thehan Amarasinghe

My experience with the St Thomas the Apostle students was surprisingly very fun. When the first group of students were playing my team did not participate as much and the kids were quite shy and closed off. However in the next group of students my team started playing with them and we noticed that they were having a lot more fun. This was really nice to see because they were enjoying and laughing doing something my group came up with and developed. Overall the experience was new and successful and if I could do it again I would. 

Gemma Campbell

The experience I had with the St Thomas the Apostle students was very enjoyable. It was a great opportunity to display leadership skills and learn how to work with younger students. The majority of the St Thomas the Apostle students were kind, respectful and very fun to be with, they comprehended the game to the best of their abilities and many participated and showed collaboration skills. It was enjoyable for me to talk to the students and see how they played/liked our game. Mischa Jayadeva

Mr Daniel Green

Year 9 Program Leader - Clyde North Campus