• monitor the progress of students, identify learning issues and assist in the development of strategies
• be an integral part of an explicit teaching process.    Plan  →  Act  →   Assess  →  Reflect
• provide formative feedback to improve student performance in the future
• monitor the progress of students through fair and valid judgements
• measure the achievement of students and inform reporting on progress and achievement
• guide the selection of courses and assist vocational counselling

School-based assessment of student achievement in all WACE and Preliminary courses must be based on the following principles detailed by the Authority.

• Assessment is an integral part of teaching and learning
• Assessment should be educative
• Assessment must be fair
• Assessment should be designed to meet its specific purpose/s
• Assessment should lead to informative reporting
• Assessment should lead to school-wide evaluation processes.

Assessment should provide significant data for improvement of teaching practices. Assessment programs must ensure that all assessment tasks have the following characteristics.

Validity

Assessment tasks are clearly linked to the syllabus and the assessment specifications of the course. They must assess the construct intended to be assessed.

Reliability

Assessment tasks provide consistent and accurate assessment information for the target population.

Discrimination

Assessment tasks provide assessment information that clearly discriminates among students across the full range of ability levels.

It is the responsibility of the student to;

• maintain a good record of attendance, conduct and progress (a student who is absent from a class for five lessons or more in term is deemed to be at risk of not achieving the best possible result
• complete all in-class assessment tasks on the scheduled date and submit all out-of-class assessment tasks by the due date
• maintain an assessment file for each course studied which contains completed, returned written assessments for study and revision purposes
• establish individual student assessment files where appropriate and retain tasks at school, students will be provided with detailed Post-Task Outlines for annotation purposes. Students may request supervised access to their assessment file at a time suitable to the teacher and student. The only exception to the provision of Post-Task Outlines is Maths Investigations and Practical Applications Tasks and Science Practical Laboratory Assessment
• initiate contact with teachers concerning absence from class, missed in-class assessment tasks, request extension of the due date for out-of-class assessment tasks and other issues relating to assessment prior to the assessment task due date.

It is the responsibility of the teacher to;

• provide students with access to a course outline and an assessment outline (see Section 5 below for details)
• ensure that all assessment tasks conform to Authority principles and characteristics outlined in Section 1
• provide students with assessment feedback as soon as possible within a timely period. The feedback should include detailed marking keys or assessment rubrics and with guidance about how best to undertake future tasks
• establish individual student assessment files where appropriate and retain tasks at school, teachers will provide detailed Post-Task Outlines for annotation purposes (with the exception listed in Section 2) and make available students’ assessment files at a time suitable to the teacher and student
• maintain accurate records of student achievement using the Reporting to Parents (RTP) module
• meet school and external timelines for assessment and reporting
• use school Letters of Commendation or Concern, phone calls, emails and face to face communication to inform students and parents of academic progress, as appropriate
• take part in internal comparability processes when more than one teacher is teaching a course
• ensure that all out-of-class assessments are authenticated with supporting evidence
• make provisions for students who miss assessments for valid reasons.

It is the responsibility of the parent/carer to;

• contact the teacher in the first instance (then the appropriate Head of Learning Area (HOLA) if there are concerns about performance in a specific course
• contact Student Services if there is general academic, social or emotional problems that could affect assessment or achievement
• provide evidence for absence when their child is absent from an assessment or test e.g. Medical Certificate.

Before teaching commences the teacher will provide to students the following documents (via Connect or hard copy);

• the Authority syllabus for the pair of units which includes the grade descriptions
• a course outline for the pair of units (or unit or semester) that shows;
  • the content from the syllabus in the sequence in which it will be taught
  • the approximate time allocated to teach each section of content from the syllabus
• an assessment outline for the pair of units that includes;
  • the number of tasks to be assessed
  • the approximate timing of each assessment task (i.e. the week in which each assessment task is planned or the start week and submissions week for each out-of-class extended task)
  • the weighting for each assessment task
  • the weighting for each assessment type, as specified in the assessment table of the syllabus
  • a general description of each assessment task
  • the assessment type, as prescribed by the syllabus
  • an indication of the content covered by each assessment task.

VET Certificate qualifications are required to comply with RTO requirements for that individual qualification. Students will be informed of the specific requirements and these RTO requirements take the place of the school based requirements.

At Willetton Senior High School 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 exams in all ATAR courses and an Externally Set Task for Year 12 General courses (see Sections 7 and 8 below for details).

A student must complete the structured educational and assessment program for each course. A student who, without acceptable reason, does not meet this requirement will be at risk of receiving a D or E grade. Grades below C may place the achievement of the Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) at risk. The class teacher will notify the parent in writing about the risk of failure for the student. If the matter is not resolved satisfactorily, there will be subsequent communication with the parent from the Heads of Learning Area or the Program Coordinator.

Students with poor attendance are at risk of receiving a D or E grade and they will be referred to the Student Services staff. Parents will be contacted and a plan developed and action taken in a collaborative manner. Chronic non-attendance may be referred to the regional office for intervention.

Each task provides evidence of student achievement. The teacher uses the total weighted mark from all assessment tasks to rank students in the class and assign grades – determined by referring to the course related grade descriptors.

The requirements for each assessment task will be clearly described in writing (that is what the student needs to do, often indicating the steps involved for extended tasks). Where appropriate, the criteria against which the task will be marked will be provided with the task.

A marking key for each assessment task, other than an Externally Set Task, will be developed by the teacher to make clear and explicit the criteria used to award marks. Marking keys should;

• help to ensure a consistent interpretation of the criteria that guide the awarding of marks
• provide the basis of feedback to students
• result in the effective ranking of student achievement/performance.

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). It is important that the student is the original author of all work presented for assessment and others should not provide more than a minor degree of support to produce the task.

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 separately if needed. This is so that group members are not penalised should any individual fail to complete an assessment. Typically, the strategies will be identified in the task (or task brief) provided to the students at the commencement of the task.

Where a student’s disability, specific education needs or cultural beliefs will significantly affect their access to an assessment task the teacher may adjust the task in consultation with the relevant Head of Learning Area/Teacher-in-Charge responsible for the course. (See Section 13 for further information on students with a disability).

A review of student performance will occur in class. At this time, students will have access to the marked assessment task, the Task Outline and/or the marking key, on which students can annotate particular areas of weakness and methods of addressing these.

A written examination will be held in all ATAR courses at the end of Semester 1 (mid-term 2) and the end of Semester 2. Year 12 students sit the Semester 2 ATAR school examinations during the second week of the September/October vacation. Year 11 Semester 2 ATAR course examinations will held be in mid-November.

A practical/performance/oral examination will also be held in courses with a practical, performance or oral ATAR examination. These examinations will be scheduled before the written examinations in both semesters.

No assessments will be scheduled in the week prior to the commencement of an examination block (excluding practical examinations). If extraordinary circumstances require the conduct of an assessment at this time, it will be approved by the Head of Learning Area and communicated to the Senior Management Team as a notice on the agenda of the next Management Team Meeting.

Students and parents are advised to check the School Calendar for exact dates and to ensure students are available at these times.

Examinations are typically 2.5 to 3 hours in length and an examination timetable will be issued to students and placed on the school website a few weeks prior. Information on examination rules and conditions is permanently on the website.

If an examination contains an error or questions are based on content that is outside the syllabus or there is a breach of security the school will;

• remove the question containing the error or based on content outside the syllabus or
• set a new examination if there is a breach of security that affects all students or
• penalise the students involved if there is a breach of security limited to only them (that is a mark of zero).

Where health issues or personal circumstances prevent a student from completing one or more school examinations, as for all other assessment tasks, the school will determine whether the reason is acceptable (see Section 15 below for details) and if not acceptable the student will be given a mark of zero. If the reason is acceptable to the school, an alternate date will be set or where this is not possible the student will not sit the examination. In this case, a predicted examination score will be allocated based on the student’s performance in other assessments relative to that of the cohort and the performance of the cohort in the examination.

All students enrolled in a Year 12 General 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. This assessment task has a weighting of 15% of the final mark for the pair of units.

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 Authority requires the school to submit the EST marks, then the school will determine if the reason for non-completion is acceptable (see Section 15 below for details) and if not acceptable the student will be allocated a mark of zero. If the reason is acceptable to the school, the Program Coordinator: Operations will decide on a suitable adjustment and will communicate this to affected parties.

It is the student’s responsibility to ensure all instructions relating to assessments are understood during the assessment. Students are not to collude with other students, have possession or knowledge of assessment questions before an assessment or have possession of unauthorised materials or devices, such as mobile phones.

Students must not cheat (that is engage in a dishonest act to gain an unfair advantage).

All work in each individual assessment task must be the work of the student. Students are not permitted to submit for marking, as original, any work which is;

• prepared or substantively contributed to by another person (eg student, teacher, tutor or expert)
• copied or downloaded from the internet without acknowledging the source
• paraphrased or summarises the work of others.

If a student is believed to have engaged in cheating, collusion or plagiarism, the teacher will refer the matter to the relevant Head of Learning Area/Teacher-in-Charge responsible for the course. As part of this process, the student and the parent/guardian will be informed of suspected inappropriate behaviour. The student will be provided with the right of reply.

If it is demonstrated beyond reasonable doubt that a student has cheated, colluded or plagiarised, one of the following penalties will apply;

• a mark of zero for the whole assessment task or
• a mark of zero for the part of the assessment task where the teacher can identify that the work is not the student’s own

The parent/guardian will be informed in writing of the decision made, the penalty and any further disciplinary action.

Examinations Rules

• Students are to wear school uniform to all examinations and dress in consideration of the weather.
• Personal belongings should not be brought to school and may not be taken into the examination room. Only pens/pencils, erasers, rulers and calculators as approved for the specific examination on that day may be taken into the examination room. (Teachers will provide details of what is approved for each examination.)
•  Items not allowed include; bags, mobile phones, electronic devices (unless allowed in specific exams eg a calculator), watches, headphones, dictionaries, wallets/purses, pencil cases, computers, food stuffs (except water), cushions, blankets and any other item not directly associated with the examination. Water may be taken in to the examination provided it in a clear container with no labels attached.
• Any student requesting special conditions for the examinations must make an application with Student Services by the advertised due dates for each examination period. Arrangements for any special considerations will be communicated directly with candidates.
• Students are to check Student Services the Examination Board outside of the Performing Arts Theatre and move to the designated room for their exam at least 15 minutes before the time specified for commencement of the examination. The group is to queue ready to enter when instructed to do so by the supervisor.
• Students must take great care in reading their examination timetable and must bring their personalised examination timetable with them to each exam. No compensatory time is permitted for students who come late to an examination. Students will not be permitted to enter an examination more than 30 minutes after reading time begins.
• Students are not to enter the examination room before instructed to do so. Students with special seating conditions are to identify themselves to the supervisor when they arrive.
• Answer booklets, writing paper and paper for notes/working out are provided.
• All examinations begin with reading time of 5 or 10 minutes. Students are only to read in this time and may not highlight, underline, make notes, use a calculator or other items, or mark their paper in any other way during this period.
• Students must observe any rules or requirements stated on the cover of examination papers.
• Students must observe all instructions given by supervisors.
• Talking or any communication between candidates is strictly forbidden during examinations. Students requiring the attention of a supervisor should raise their arm to attract attention. Breach of this rule is a serious offence and may lead to a severe penalty such as disqualification.
• Students who have an exceptional reason to have a break may ask to leave the room in the company of a supervisor. A student who leaves without permission will not be permitted to re-enter.
• Students must remain in the examination room for the entire length of the examination. Students may leave the room only in exceptional circumstances and will be accompanied by a supervisor. Students in Year 12 examinations may leave the room permanently after the first 60 minutes and up-until the last 15 minutes of the examination. Having stated the intention to leave the examination, students will not be permitted to re-enter.
• At the conclusion of the examination students must stop writing when directed to do so by the supervisor. Students are to remain seated until all papers have been collected.
• When directed to do so by the supervisor, students may stand then leave.
• In the case of absence for any reason, contact the Program Coordinator: Operations Jordan.Newton@education.wa.edu.au and advise him of the reason. Students unable to attend an examination due to illness must obtain a medical certificate covering the period of absence from the examination/s. Medical certificates must be presented to the Program Coordinator as soon as possible.

Where there is more than one class studying the same pair of units at the school all, or most, of the assessment tasks will be the same to ensure student marks are on the same scale. In such cases, to ensure that no students are unfairly advantaged the one or more of the following strategies will be  employed;

• the question papers used for in-class assessment tasks will be collected at the end of the lesson and retained by the teacher until the task has been completed by all classes
• all students will undertake the assessment at a common time
• parallel assessment tasks developed for use by different classes.

In their own interests, students must not discuss the nature of the questions with students from the other classes until after all classes have completed the task. Discussion of the questions will be treated as collusion and students will be penalised.

Where the school uses the same assessment task or examination as other schools, the task/examination and the student responses will be retained by the teacher until the task/exam has been completed by all schools.

Students are responsible for maintaining relevant assessment tasks and/or feedback in the assessment file the teacher establishes at school. The file holds students’ marked written assessment tasks and students may take assessment tasks home (excepting tasks identified in section 2 of the Senior School Assessment Policy) but are responsible for ensuring they are returned to their assessment file kept at the school. The school will retain non written assessment tasks (typically as audio or video recording or digital product). Assessment material is required by the teacher when assigning grades at the completion of the pair of units or by the Authority for moderation or appeal purposes.

Any material retained by the school solely for grading, moderation or appeal purposes is available to students for collection (with the exceptions noted in Section 2) after that time. All materials not collected are securely disposed of by the school.

The school will not use the materials for any purposes without the written permission of the student.

VET Certificate qualifications are required to comply with RTO requirements for that individual qualification. Students will be informed of the specific requirements and these RTO requirements take the place of the school based requirements.

If circumstances change during the teaching of a pair of units, requiring the teacher to make adjustments to scheduled assessment tasks, students will be notified and the modified assessment outline will be provided to students via Connect or hard copy.

Where a disability, special education needs or cultural beliefs have resulted in the inability of a student to complete one or more assessment tasks, the assessment outline will be adjusted where appropriate after consultation with the Head of Learning Area and provided to the student and parent/guardian.

Students with a diagnosed disability will, where their disability, impairment or medical condition will significantly affect their access to a particular assessment task, will have written and/or practical assessment tasks (including school examinations) reasonably adjusted by the teacher in consultation with Student Services and the relevant Head of Learning Area/Teacher-in-Charge responsible for the course. Evidence of the identified special education need should be given to the Deputy Principal in charge of Student Services who will provide direction to the class teacher/HOLA.

These adjustments will be consistent with those described in the Authority’s guidelines for disability adjustments for timed assessments, which can be accessed from the Authority website.

Students who are unable to complete an assessment task because of their disability will be provided with alternative opportunities to demonstrate their knowledge, skills and understandings.

For VET qualifications, reasonable adjustments will be provided for applicants/students with special educational needs (such as disability or a learning difficulty) according to the nature of the learning need and the requirements of the relevant Training Package.

Where a parent is concerned that a student has not received the appropriate support, or that the support needs to be reviewed due to the changing nature of the learning difficulty, then it is most effective to make direct contact with the class teacher in the first instance.

A grade (A, B, C, D or E) is assigned for each pair of units completed.
Students are required to;

• attempt all in-class assessment tasks on the scheduled date
• submit all out-of-class assessment tasks during or before the scheduled session on the due date.

If an assessment task cannot be submitted directly to the teacher it is to be submitted to the relevant Head of Learning Area or through the process communicated by the course teacher at the beginning of the course.

Where health issues or other personal circumstances may prevent a student completing an in-class assessment task, the student (or the parent/guardian) must discuss the matter with the teacher at the earliest opportunity before the scheduled date. The school will determine whether the reason is acceptable (see Section 15 below for details).

There are also times where a student cannot complete work in the form that has been chosen by the teacher. In such cases the teacher may, in consultation with the Head of Learning Area and Program Coordinator: Operations reporting and assessment, modify the set task to accommodate the individual requirements of the student. If these requirements are ongoing in nature, then an individual education plan will be devised. Students who require additional assistance in assessment tasks and examinations are provided with arrangements consistent with those approved for ATAR course examinations by the Authority.

Where the reason for not submitting an assessment task or attending a scheduled in-class assessment task is acceptable to the school the student’s assessment outline will, where possible, be adjusted and a grade assigned.

If a student does not submit an out-of-class assessment task or attend a scheduled in-class assessment task, without providing an acceptable reason, the teacher will contact the parent/guardian to discuss the impact of the penalty on the student’s grade and negotiate actions to prevent this re-occurring.

Where an out-of-class assessment task is submitted after the due date and the student does not provide a reason which is acceptable to the school, the following penalties will apply;

• 1 day late less 10% of the actual mark awarded the assessment
• 2 days late less 20% of the actual mark awarded the assessment
• 3 days late less 30% of the actual mark awarded the assessment
• 4 days late less 40% of the actual mark awarded the assessment
• More than 4 days late less 50% of the actual mark awarded the assessement
• Greater than 5 days late a mark of zero unless otherwise determined by the Program Coordinator Operations and Head of Learning Area in special circumstances.

Where an in-class assessment task is missed and the student does not provide a reason which is acceptable to the school the student will receive a mark of zero.

The penalty for non-completion or non-submission of an assessment task will be waived if the student provides a reason which is acceptable to the school. For example;

• where sickness, injury or significant personal circumstances prevents a student attending on the day that an in-class assessment task (including school examinations and the externally set task) is scheduled
• where sickness, injury or significant personal circumstances for part or all of the period of an out-of-class assessment task prevents completion or submission by the due date.

In such cases the parent/guardian must;

• contact the school as soon as possible and no later than 8.30 am on the day of the in-class assessment task or due date for submission of an out-of-class assessment and
• ensure immediately the student returns to school they show the medical certificate or letter of explanation (original or copy) to the teacher to determine acceptability and submit it to Student Services for filing.

Where the student provides a reason, which is acceptable to the school for the non-completion or non-submission of an assessment task, the teacher will consult with the HOLA or in the case of examinations the Program Coordinator: Operations who 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
• decide on an alternate assessment task (if, in the opinion of the teacher, the assessment is no longer confidential), or
• not require the task to be completed and re-weight the student’s marks for other tasks in that assessment type provided, in the opinion of the teacher, sufficient evidence exists in the other tasks completed to meet the Authority’s requirements for the course and to enable a grade to be assigned).

If a student misses a large number of tests, examinations, or assessment tasks, even if the absences are covered by medical certificates, further investigation and appropriate action will be taken to ensure that any grades/marks issued by the school are valid.

Events that can be rescheduled are not a valid reason for non-completion or non-submission of an assessment task (eg sitting a driver’s licence test, preparation for the school ball, family holidays).

In exceptional circumstances, the parent/guardian may negotiate with the classroom teacher the development of an individual education plan. This plan will ultimately be developed in consultation with the head of the relevant learning area, Student Services and Program Coordinator: Operations and shows how the missed lesson time will be compensated for and any adjustments to the assessment outline.

Where a catastrophic event (eg a pandemic) affects delivery of the teaching program, the completion or submission of one or more assessment tasks and/or completion of the school examination timetable, students will be advised by the school of adjustments to the task requirements and/or the assessment outline.

VET Qualification Achievement

To achieve certification for a full qualification, students must successfully complete all assessments in every unit of competency and demonstrate competence in each assessment task and the overall unit of competency. If the students receive an outcome for a task of not yet competent, they will be given two chances to re-submit or re-do the task to achieve competence. The assessor will identify the gaps and guide the student in how to address them to achieve competence when the student repeats the task. If the repeat outcome is still unsatisfactory the assessor may advise the student to re-enrol (if the student is in the first year of the qualification) or assess the student as not competent (if the student is in the final year of delivery) in the unit/qualification.

Should a student commence a pair of units late they will be at risk of being disadvantaged compared to others in the class. An application to transfer between types of courses or between courses is made through the Program Coordinator: Operations. A meeting may be held with the parent/guardian to discuss student progress and the requirements necessary for the student to be assigned a grade in the pair of units into which they wish to transfer.

At Willetton Senior High School, the deadline for student initiated transfers is Friday of Week 5 in Term 1 as all courses are assessed as a pair of units. The deadline for entry into available certificate qualifications is the end of Week 5, Term 1.

Where additional work and/or assessment tasks are necessary to enable a grade to be assigned, the teacher will develop an individual education plan showing the work to be completed and/or an adjusted assessment outline. The plan and/or the adjusted assessment outline will be discussed with the parent/guardian and provided to the student.

It is the responsibility of any student who transfers into a class from the same course at another school, to provide the school with evidence of all completed assessment tasks. The Program Coordinator: Operations will contact the previous school to confirm:

• the assessment tasks which have been completed
• the marks awarded for these tasks.

The Head of Learning Area/Teacher-in-Charge responsible for the course will:

• determine how the marks from assessment tasks at the previous school will be used
  • [Note: Where necessary these marks will be statistically adjusted to ensure that they are on the same scale as those at Willetton Senior High School.]
• determine the additional work, if any, to be completed
• determine the additional assessment tasks, if any, to be completed to enable a grade to be assigned.

Where additional work and/or assessment tasks are necessary, the teacher will develop an individual education plan showing the work to be completed and/or an adjusted assessment outline. The plan and/or the adjusted assessment outline will be discussed with the parent/guardian and provided to the student.

The school reports Year 11 and 12 student achievement at the end of Semester 1 and Year 11 at the end of Semester 2. 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).

*  The Semester 1 mark and grade are interim as they are not finalised until the pair of units is completed at the end of the year.

At the end of the year, all students will be provided with a Willetton Senior High School statement of achievement, which lists the school mark and grade for each pair of units. 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 achievement.

All final grades are subject to approval by the Authority at the end of the year. The student (and parent/guardian) will be notified of any changes that result from the Authority’s review of the student results submitted by the school.

Reporting of VET qualifications will indicate progress towards the competencies included in that qualification (not started, at risk, on track, in progress, not completed or competent).

On completion of the qualification the student’s report will also indicate whether the qualification has been successfully achieved.

If a student considers that there is an issue about the delivery of the course, the marking of one or more assessment tasks or the grade assigned for a pair of units 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 their parent/guardian should contact the relevant Head of Learning Area responsible for the course.

The student or their parent/guardian can request, in writing, that the school conduct a formal assessment review, if they consider that the student has been disadvantaged by any of the following;

• the assessment outline does not meet the syllabus requirements
• the assessment procedures used do not conform with the school’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.

This written request should be submitted to the Principal, who will initiate a formal review. The reviewer(s) 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 School Curriculum and Standards 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 school 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 achievement as necessary.

Each Registered Training Organisation (RTO) has an appeals policy to manage requests for a review of decisions, including assessment decisions, made by the RTO or a third party providing services on the RTO’s behalf.

If a student wishes to appeal a decision they should, in the first instance, raise the issue with their teacher. If the appeal is not resolved during discussions with the teacher, the student should arrange a meeting with the Head of Learning VET to discuss their appeal.