- Overview
- Attachments and References
- Definitions
- Assessing Student Achievement
- Student Responsibilities
- Teacher Responsibilities
- Changing a Course
- Completion of a Course
- Acceptable Reasons for Non-Submission or Non-Completion
- Transfer from Another School
- Fairness: Cheating, Collusion, and Plagiarism
- Referencing Sources of Information
- Year 11-12 ATAR Course School Examinations
- Year 12 General and Foundation Course Externally Set Tasks
- Students Requiring Special Consideration
- Reporting Achievement
- Reviewing Marks and Grades
First created | 23 May 2015 |
Last reviewed | 8 June 2020 |
Review cycle | Two years |
Approver | Academic Executive |
Owner | Projects Manager |
Stakeholders | Staff |
Child Safety | National Principles 1, 4, 5, 7, 8, 10 |
Overview #
- We aim to provide quality, Christ-centred education for all students. As such, the College will provide equitable assessment of a high standard in the delivery of all Year 11-12 courses.
- This policy reflects the importance of assessments in Years 11-12 and their contribution towards a student’s final Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) grades and graduation requirements. Year 11 and Year 12 students must also be trained for the assessment procedures they will likely encounter should they pursue tertiary education (TAFE and university). This policy takes into consideration the most up-to-date information available from the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA). Some sections may be subject to change, and students will be notified if this is the case.
- This policy applies to students, parents, and teaching staff.
- The Head of Students (Year 10-12) is responsible for the implementation of this policy.
Attachments and References #
This policy should be read in conjunction with the following documents:
Definitions #
- Assessment or assessment item or assessable work means any piece of work completed by a student for which the marks will count towards that student’s grade for the subject concerned.
- Cooperation means students working together on a task, where this is done with the permission or encouragement of teachers. There may be sections of the syllabus which allow cooperative work to be submitted for assessment, and if so, the teacher will make this clear. Unless students are specifically instructed by the teacher that cooperation is permitted for a particular piece of assessable work, students should assume that it is not permitted.
- Collusion means a situation where a student works together with another student, or with some other person, on an assessment, when this is not done with the teacher’s permission but the work is submitted as the student’s own. This is never allowed and will always receive a penalty.
- Plagiarism means cases where a student copies someone else’s work and passes it off as his or her own. This may be done either by copying directly, without acknowledgment, or by re-wording the ideas and not giving credit to the original source. This is never allowed and will always receive a penalty. Cooperation is often a good way of learning, but collusion and plagiarism both have the intention to deceive and gain credit for someone else’s work. This is dishonest and has no place in a Christian school. Universities and College do not allow such practices either.
Assessing Student Achievement #
- WACE courses have assessment guidelines set by the SCSA. Adherence to these guidelines is mandatory.
- A course outline, schedule of assessment and syllabus will be provided to students at the commencement of the learning program in each course.
- All students are enrolled in a pair of units. In each pair of units, a number of assessment tasks occur during the year, including end of semester examinations in all ATAR courses and an externally set task (EST) for Year 12 General and Foundation courses (see Section 13 for details).
- Each task provides evidence of student achievement. The teacher generates a ranked list of students in the class (or classes) using the weighted mark out of 100 from all assessment tasks and assigns grades with reference to the grade descriptions.
- The requirements for each assessment task will be clearly described in writing (i.e. what the student needs to do, often indicating the steps involved for extended tasks). The criteria against which the task will be marked will be provided with the task, except in cases where the marking key is an answer or solutions key which will be shared with students after the assessment task has been marked.
- Most tasks are completed in class. Some courses may include tasks that are completed out of class (in which case, student achievement will be validated to ensure authenticity).
- Some courses may include assessment tasks to be completed by a group of students. In such cases, teachers will use strategies to enable them to assess the performance of each individual in the group. Typically, this will be identified in the task provided to the students at the commencement of the task.
- Where a student’s disability, specific educational needs will significantly affect their access to an assessment task, the teacher may adjust the task in consultation with the relevant Head of Learning Area responsible for the course.
Student Responsibilities #
It is the student’s responsibility to:
- take responsibility for their own achievement in each course and to complete the prescribed work requirements by the due date;
- complete all assessment tasks described in the assessment outline;
- maintain a file for each course studied (that includes all assessments); or clear sections within a file for each subject, and to make available whenever required;
- maintain a good record of attendance, conduct, and progress. A student who is absent from a class for five lessons or more per Term may be deemed to be ‘at risk’ of not completing the course unit or subject requirements.
- initiate contact with their teachers concerning their absence from class, missed in-class assessments, and requests for extension of the due date for out-of-class assessment tasks and any other issues pertaining to assessment.
Teacher Responsibilities #
It is the responsibility of the teacher to:
- develop a teaching/learning program that meets SCSA requirements;
- provide students with a course outline, assessment outline, and a copy of the syllabus at the commencement of each course;
- ensure that assessments are fair, valid, and reliable;
- specify a reasonable timeframe on the assessment criteria/outline within which feedback, guidance, and a marked assessment will be provided to students. The timeframe should allow for meaningful feedback and planning for intervention if needed. Any deviation from the timeframe set on the assessment criteria needs to be communicated to the parents and students in class;
- maintain accurate records of student achievement;
- meet school and external timelines for assessment and reporting;
- inform students and parents of academic progress as appropriate
- maintain the integrity of assessments, exams, and in-class assessments. These may not be given to students prior to the arranged date if the student has identified that they will be absent. Even with acceptable reasons, a different exam or assessment must be provided.
Changing a Course #
- Generally, it will not be possible to change courses after Week Four of Term 1, as the student would be unable to complete all the course requirements (this is a School Curriculum and Standards Authority cut-off date. The College will only consider course changes in exceptional circumstances if it is feasible, and the changes must have parental support.
- If students wish to change a subject, please complete the Course Change Form (obtained from the Administration Office) which requires the signatures of the teachers of the subject the student is withdrawing from, and the signature of the teacher of the subject the student wishes to transfer into, as well as signatures of the student’s parents.
- Only in the case of Year 12 students, if they have enrolled in a course with four or more Units 2 and 3 courses (i.e. aiming for University entrance), students may select Private Study as one of their six subject choices.
- Course changes must be approved by the Principal (or his/her delegated representative), to ensure that the requirements of graduation are being met.
- Where a student changes school during a school year, credit will be given if the appropriate evidence is supplied.
Completion of a Course #
- A grade is assigned for each course if the student completes the College’s education and assessment program within the given timeframe. Students are required to:
- submit all out-of-class assessment tasks for marking on the due date; and
- attempt all in-class assessment tasks on the scheduled date.
- Unless there is a reason that is acceptable to the College, failure to attend a scheduled in-class assessment task or to submit an out-of-class assessment task on time may result in the student either:
- receiving a lower grade than expected at the end of the course unit (if there is sufficient evidence from the assessment tasks completed to assign a grade), or
- receiving a ‘U’ (Unfinished) notation instead of a grade (if there is insufficient evidence to assign a grade). A ‘U’ notation will result in no record of this course unit or subject on the student’s Statement of Results from the School Curriculum and Standards Authority and may affect their achievement of a WACE.
- Where a student is likely to experience difficulty meeting a deadline, they must discuss the matter with their teacher at the earliest opportunity before the due date. One extension per subject, per semester, may be granted to students who apply before the due date. For any late out-of-class assessment task, where the student does not provide a reason which is acceptable to the College, the following schedule of penalties will be applied:
- Day 1-3: 10% per day reduction in mark;
- Day 4: 50% reduction in mark;
- Day 5+: No mark recorded.
- For any missed in-class assessment task where the student does not provide a reason which is acceptable to the College, a mark of zero will be recorded. Absence from a specially scheduled assessment task must be verified (addressed to the Director of Students for Year 11 and 12) by one of the following:
- medical certificate;
- letter from parent;
- phone call or email from parent.
- If a student does not submit an assessment task or attend a scheduled in-class assessment task (or these absences occur regularly), the teacher will contact the parent/guardian to discuss the risk of the student not completing the course unit and to negotiate a solution.
- In the case of a prolonged absence where a student is unable to attend school for a lengthy period of time due to injury or illness, the College will endeavour to provide support to the student’s learning program. As soon as possible, the student or parent must meet with the Head of Students to discuss alternative arrangements.
- SCSA regulations state that a minimum of 85% of classes must be attended and assessments completed before an end of year grade/mark can be submitted.
Acceptable Reasons for Non-Submission or Non-Completion #
- The penalty for non-submission or non-completion will be waived if the student provides a reason that is acceptable to the College. For example:
- where sickness, injury, or significant personal circumstances for part or all of the period of an out-of-class assessment task prevents completion and submission;
- where sickness, injury, or significant personal circumstances prevents a student attending on the day that an in-class assessment task is scheduled.
- In such cases the parent/guardian must:
- contact the College before 9:30am on the day; and
- provide either a medical certificate or a letter of explanation immediately when the student returns.
- Where the student provides a reason acceptable to the College for the non-submission or non-completion of an assessment task the teacher will:
- negotiate an adjusted due date for an out-of-class assessment task or an adjusted date for an in-class assessment task (generally, within two days of the student’s return); or
- re-weight the student’s marks for other tasks (if there is sufficient evidence to assign a grade); or
- decide on an alternative assessment task if, in the opinion of the teacher, the assessment is no longer confidential; or
- statistically estimate the student’s mark for the assessment task on the basis of their marks in similar tasks.
- Events that can be rescheduled are not a valid reason for non-completion or non-submission of an assessment task (e.g. sitting a driver’s licence test or preparation for the College Ball, etc.).
- Family holidays during the term are not considered a valid reason for non-completion or non-submission of an assessment task. In exceptional circumstances, the parent/guardian may negotiate the development of a Documented Plan with the Director of Students for Year 11 and 12.
- The Documented Plan shows how the missed lesson time will be compensated for and any modifications to the assessment outlines for each course unit will be stipulated. The plan will be discussed with the parent/guardian and provided to the student.
Transfer from Another School #
- It is the responsibility of any student who transfers into a class from the same course at another school to provide the College with the details of all completed assessment tasks and reports. The relevant person in the College will then contact the previous school to determine:
- the part of the syllabus that has been completed;
- the assessment tasks which have been completed;
- the marks awarded for these tasks.
- Marks may need to be statistically adjusted and, where necessary, adjustments and a Documented Plan developed. This may be negotiated as necessary.
Fairness: Cheating, Collusion, and Plagiarism #
- It is important that all students are treated fairly in the assessment of their work, and that they are assessed for work they have done and not for work done partly or wholly by someone else. Work submitted for assessment must be the work of the student. Students need to be very careful about working together with other students or using the work of other students, or any other written material in completing assessable work.
- There are certain rules which must be followed. This policy statement is to make clear the extent to which working together is permissible, and the penalty for copying or cheating. The words usually used to describe these actions are cooperation, collusion, and plagiarism.
- Students shown to have compromised the integrity of their own work through cheating, collusion, or plagiarism will not have that work accepted as valid evidence of their achievement.
- If a student is believed to have engaged in cheating, collusion, or plagiarism, the teacher will refer the matter to the relevant Director of Students at the College. Where a student permits others to copy their work they will also be penalised.
- The College acknowledges that the issue of appropriate use of the Internet for research and information must be addressed in classes where the Internet is used. Where a student is deemed to have inappropriately copied/plagiarised work from the Internet, similar consequences to ‘traditional’ plagiarism will apply.
- Where collusion or deliberate plagiarism is discovered, the Head of Students will be informed and shown the assessment. The assessment will be corrected as usual, but the reasons for giving a mark of zero will be written on the assessment by the teacher. The student(s) concerned will be interviewed and the following penalties will apply:
- a mark of zero for the whole assessment task; or
- a mark of zero for part of the assessment, where the teacher can identify the part of the assessment task that has been copied or plagiarised.
- The assessment will be corrected as usual, but the reasons for giving a mark of zero will be written on the assessment by the teacher.
Referencing Sources of Information #
Any sources of information which a student uses should be listed at the end of the assessment and refer to the sources of information obtained. See the examples below for a minimum referencing standard.
Reference List #
A list of all sources of information should be provided at the end of every piece of work under the heading ‘References’, using the following layout. Items should be listed in alphabetical order by author if there is one, or by title if there is no author.
Note that one column should be used for the author and another for all the other information. If there is no author given, leave the column blank for that item.
Books
Haddock, K. Modern Earthmoving Machines. (Hudon, Wisconsin: Iconografix, 2011), pp. 18-25.
Magazine Articles
Talbott, S. ‘Now for a Moscow Peace Conference’, Time Australia. Vol. 6, No. 45, 11 November 2001, p. 20.
Encyclopedia Articles
Comstock, G. ‘Television’, World Book Encyclopedia. Vol. 19. (Chicago: World Book, 2014), pp. 110-129.
Radio or Television Program
Seven Nightly News [Television broadcast]. Perth: TVW Enterprises. 16 February 2014.
Internet Articles
Rehoboth Christian College Home Page [Online], World Wide Web: URL: http://rehoboth.wa.edu.au (Accessed 16 February 2014) (or whatever the date the student last accessed it was).
In-Text Referencing #
Any information taken from another source must be acknowledge in the following way, whether the wording has been altered or not. After the information, the author’s surname, the publication date of the source, and the page number on which the information is found should be written in brackets. The correct layout is as follows:
(Comstock, 1990: 125)
Any information taken directly from another source must be written inside inverted commas and then acknowledged. For example:
‘The Canadian people own about 12 million television sets, or 474 for every 1,000 people’ (Comstock, 2014: 125).
Any information taken from another source where the student has altered the wording slightly should not be written in inverted commas, but must still be acknowledge as shown:
There are 474 television sets for every 1,000 people in Canada (Comstock, 2014: 125).
Year 11-12 ATAR Course School Examinations #
- School examinations are included in the assessment outline for the pair of units. The weighting varies between courses and is included in the assessment outline.
- A written examination will be held in all ATAR courses at the end of Semester 1 and the end of Semester 2.
- A practical/performance/oral exam will also be held in those courses with a practical, performance or oral ATAR course examination.
- In Year 11, written examinations are typically 2 or 2.5 hours in duration. In Year 12, all written examinations are 3 hours duration except for courses with a practical, performance or oral examination which are 2.5 hours plus a separate practical performance or oral examination.
- The examination timetable is issued to students prior to the start of the examination period along with the examination regulations. The regulations are based on those used by SCSA for ATAR course examinations.
- When attending examinations, students must adhere to the regulations that pertain to that examination. Any special requirements will be issued by the subject teacher or with notes attached to the examination timetable. Infringements will result in an appropriate penalty.
- Students must attend scheduled examinations. In exceptional circumstances, special alternative arrangements may be negotiated with the relevant Head of Students, prior to the examination date. These are listed in the College Information Handbook, and in College newsletters. Participating in family holidays will not be accepted as an exceptional circumstance.
Year 12 General and Foundation Course Externally Set Tasks #
- All students enrolled in a Year 12 General or Foundation course are required to complete an externally set task (EST) for that course.
- The EST is included in the assessment outline for the pair of units, which will show its weighting.
- The EST is a 50 minute written assessment task developed by the Authority based on content from Unit 3. It is completed in class under standard test conditions.
- Where a student does not complete the EST on the scheduled day, they will be required to complete the task at the first available opportunity (generally within two days of the student’s return to school). If this is not until after the date that the Authority requires the College to submit the EST mark, then the College will determine if the reason for non-completion is acceptable. If the reason is not acceptable to the College, the student will be allocated a mark of zero. If the reason is acceptable to the College, the teacher will:
- decide on an alternate assessment task; or
- allocate a predicted EST score based on the student’s performance in other assessments relative to that of the cohort and the performance of the cohort in the EST.
Students Requiring Special Consideration #
- The College will ensure that students with special educational needs are catered for in an appropriate way and in accordance with SCSA guidelines. Students or parents with questions about special consideration should contact the Director of Students for Year 11 and 12.
- Applications for special conditions need to be made at least one month prior to the start of an exam block, and prior to the publication of the exam timetable. Students should see the Director of Students as soon as possible if they believe that they would qualify for such assistance (such as extra time, use of a computer, or a scribe) so that we can apply these conditions to Rehoboth assessments, tests and exams.
Reporting Achievement #
- Students will be kept informed of their progress throughout their study of a course.
- Teachers will assess completed tasks and provide prompt assessment feedback to the student.
- Parents will be informed about a student’s progress regularly through the College’s reporting process. Parent/Teacher meetings will be held shortly after the Semester 1 reporting period for all Year 11 and 12 students.
- Semester reports will be released at the conclusion of each semester and will conform to the Western Australian SCSA WACE Manual for Year 11-12. The report provides for each course:
- a comment by the teacher;
- a grade;
- the percentage mark in the school-based examination (for ATAR courses);
- the percentage mark (calculated from the weighted total mark);
- Students and parents/guardians will be informed when it is identified that there is a risk of the student:
- not achieving their potential;
- not completing the course requirements; and/or
- not meeting WACE requirements.
- Students will receive a ‘Statement of Results’ at the conclusion of Year 12 courses which outlines their College-based results. These are the results which will be submitted to the Authority. Successful completion of VET qualifications and endorsed programs are also listed on the Statement of Results.
Reviewing Marks and Grades #
- If a student considers that there is an issue about the delivery of a course, the marking of one or more assessment tasks or the grade assigned for a pair of units, then they should, in the first instance, discuss the issue with the teacher.
- If an assessment issue cannot be resolved through discussion with the teacher, then the student or the parent/guardian should approach the relevant Head of Learning Area and/or Head of Students responsible for the course.
- The student or their parent/guardian can request, in writing, that the College conduct a formal assessment review, if they consider that the student has been disadvantaged by any of the following:
- The assessment outline does not conform to the syllabus requirements;
- The assessment procedures used do not conform with the College’s Senior Secondary Assessment policy;
- Procedural errors have occurred in the determination of the course mark and/or grade;
- Computational errors have occurred in the determination of the course mark.
- The Principal or a nominated representative will conduct the review. The reviewer will meet with the student and the teacher independently and prepare a written report. This report will be provided to the student and their parent/ guardian.
- If this review does not resolve the matter, the student or parent/guardian may appeal to the Authority using an appeal form which is available from the Authority website. The Authority representatives will then independently investigate the claim and report to the Authority’s student appeal committee.
- If the committee upholds a student appeal, the College will make any required adjustments to the student’s mark and/or grade and, where required, the mark and/or grade of other students and re-issue reports and/or the statement of results as necessary.