Staff Handbook

 Assessment Policy

  1. Scope of Responsibility
    • College community (staff, students, parents.)
    • College Council

Preamble

Assessment and reporting are integral to planned approaches to teaching and learning. Effective assessment and reporting programs monitor the achievement of students in terms of their participation and learning within a program and their achievement against the Victorian Curriculum.

Assessment is a process to provide feedback and evidence for making judgments about students’ learning in relation to defined goals.  Rubrics are used to communicate information on student achievement to a range of audiences. In addition, Compass assessment Comments can be used by students to reflect on and set new learnig goals.

Purpose

 

Assessment is designed to:

  • gather information for reporting to students and parents
  • enable students and teachers to evaluate students' progress in learning
  • help teachers to plan, develop and review teaching programs
  • assist transitions within and between schools
  • adhere to the Department of Education (DE) accountability

Implementation

Macleod College adopts a number of different methods (both formal and informal) to assess and report on student performance.  (see Reporting Handbook).

Continuous Assessment

Provides students and parents with timely information regarding student skill acquisition, learning, and growth.

  • Staff set and assess Learning Tasks via the Compass portal.
  • Assessment and reporting strategies may be modified to reflect the individual learning needs of students, such as those students identified as Program for Students with Disability (PSD), Wellbeing and English as an Additional Language (EAL)
  • Student progress will be monitored and reviewed by the KLA, subject teacher, and Student Manager as part of the meeting schedule for the current year. This discussion may include Learning Tasks, NAPLAN, On Demand, and PAT data.

Learning Tasks 

At Macleod College, we have two different types of Learning Tasks that provide feedback to students and families:

 

Progress Tasks: 

  • Are formative assessments that portray a student’s progress through the curriculum,
  • These will not appear on the End of Semester Summary Report,
  • These tasks can be graded using the S/N or the % grading components.

Assessment Tasks (summative)

  • Summative tasks that represent a student’s achievements within the Victorian Curriculum Achievement Standards and Capabilities. These are tasks developed by KLAs, and will be included on the End of Semester Summary Report
  • All work submitted will receive a % score or Worded Grade (F-6, Instrumental Music and VCAL) with the following exceptions:
    • Not Assessed (NA) grade (student absent due to medical reasons OR long-term absence; medical certificate provided OR parent/guardian verified)
    • Absent (ABS) grade (student absent and not covered by NA, and no attempt to submit/complete task)
    • Not Submitted (NS) grade (student present but did not submit work)

General Achievement Test (GAT)  Assessment Timeline (embedded in Compass Calendar)

  • All students in Years 11-12 will complete a practice GAT,
  • All students undertaking a Unit 3 and Unit 4 subject will complete the GAT.

National Assessment Program - Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN)

  • Students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 will complete the NAPLAN test in school as prescribed by the VCAA,
  • Students can only be exempt from NAPLAN with parental/carer permission or via advice from the College Principal.

VCAA On Demand and PAT Testing

  • Students in Years 3-10 will complete the VCAA On Demand and PAT Testing twice a year, in December and June. This testing will occur during scheduled English and Mathematics classes and will be on the Assessment For Learning and Reporting Compass Calendar.
  • Tests are conducted in at least two of these strands:
    • Literacy – Reading, Language Skills, Word Building
    • Numeracy – Number & Algebra, Measurement & Geometry, Probability & Statistics

End of Semester Exams (see Macleod College Exam Policy)

  • Year 9 - All students will complete a Semester 2 exam in the following subjects:
    • Health
    • English
    • Mathematics
    • Science
    • German
    • Humanities
  • Year 10 - All students undertaking a Year 10 subject that leads into a VCE area of study will complete end of semester exams, as determined by the Teaching and Learning Team
  • Units 1 and 2 - All students undertaking a Unit 1 and 2 subject will complete end of semester exams
  • Units 3 and 4 - All students undertaking a Unit 3 and 4 subject will have a mid-year practice exam during the mid-year exam period and an end of year practice exam 

Related Documents and Resources

  • Victorian Curriculum
  • VCAA study designs
  • Staff will be provided with detailed instructions in the form of the Assessment for Learning, and Reporting Handbooks

Policy Evaluation

The effectiveness of this policy will be evaluated using feedback from staff, parents and students. The College Leadership Team will conduct regular of this policy and direct any outcomes and recommendations to the College Council.

Endorsement 

Leadership Team – Term 1, 2023