Overview of the project to develop work samples
Description
The project will
- develop performance standards based on the Board of Studies’ curriculum for the purpose of assessing and reporting student achievement K–10
- collect, calibrate and publish work samples that clarify the standards and assist teachers from all sectors to make consistent judgements of student achievement.
Project deliverables
The outcomes from the project will include the following specific deliverables:
- A common standards-based performance scale using five levels of achievement labelled A to E based on the Board’s General Performance Descriptors. A shortened version of the same scale will also be produced. (Some minor adjustments to the scale may be required to accommodate the different curriculum structures K–6).
- The current Course Performance Descriptors (CPDs) for Stage 5 will be amended where necessary to make them consistent with the General Performance Descriptors.
- Work Samples already collected for the 20 Stage 5 courses that will be supported will be reviewed and re-aligned to the common performance scale where necessary and published online in the Board’s Assessment Resource Centre (ARC).
- Work Samples will be collected for all mandatory Stage 4 courses and aligned to the common performance scale and published online in the Board’s Assessment Resource Centre (ARC).
- Work Samples will be collected for Stages 1, 2 and 3 and aligned to the common performance scale and published online in the Board’s Assessment Resource Centre (ARC). In the first instance these work samples will relate to a single KLA syllabus. At a later stage some integrated units of work may be incorporated.
- Advice for teachers will be developed explaining how the common performance scale and the work samples can be used to make judgements about students’ standards of performance during and at the end of a Stage.
- A statement on the implications relating to professional development activities will be developed with particular emphasis on K–6.
- Proposals will be developed for consideration that would:
a. Establish a mechanism for collecting, appraising and publishing further work samples.
b. Enable teachers to share information and comments.
Timeline
- Finalise the Common Performance Scale
o By 1 November 2005
- Finalise the Stage 5 Course Performance Descriptors
o By 1 November 2005
- Publish the first group of Work Samples for Stage 5 on the ARC
o By 15 November 2005
- Provide advice to schools about using the Stage 5 CPDs and work samples for 100-hour courses completed in 2005 as part of the School Certificate
o By 15 November 2005
- Initial common messages and strategies for Communication with teachers and parents statement
o By 30 November 2005
- Publish the remaining group of Work Samples for Stage 5 on the ARC
o By 1 March 2006
- Prepare and publish Work Samples for Stage 4 courses on the ARC
o Progressively from 1 April 2006 to 1 August 2006
- Publish the first group of Work Samples for Stages 1, 2 and 3 Mathematics
o By 1 April 2006
- Publish the first group of Work Samples for Stages 1, 2 and 3
o English by 1 May 2006
o Science & Technology by 1 May 2006
o HSIE by 1 June 2006
o Creative Arts by 1 July 2006
o PDHPE by 1 July 2006
- Implications for Professional Development Activities statement
o K–6 dates to be determined by sectors
o 7–10 dates to be determined by sectors
- Develop proposals for the
o Teacher review and feedback process as part of development by 28 February 2006
o Development of further work samples by May 2006
o Teacher exchange and interaction by May 2006
Sources of work samples
- Initially the work samples used will be those that the Board has already published in a variety of places such as websites, Assessment for Learning CD-ROMs and standards packages, subject to their suitability.
- Discussions will be held with the VCAA to investigate the possibility of sharing work samples.
- Work samples already produced by the sectors that may be made available to the project.
- Additional tasks and work samples will be collected and/or developed as required to address any shortages in important areas.
Features and general advice related to work samples and their use
- Work samples will be annotated in a similar manner to the samples for Stage 5 published in the Assessment Resource centre. That is, commentaries for teachers describe the features of the work in the sample that make it typical of a grade.
- The work samples will be used to clarify the standards students can attain at the end of the course or stage of learning. That is not to say that all work samples will have been produced by students at the end of the course or stage of learning. Rather, the samples used to illustrate each standard, when taken collectively, will enable teachers to clearly see the quality of work typically produced by students who will be awarded each grade at the end of the course or stage of learning. It is acknowledged that students may demonstrate the standard expressed in the work samples at any point in the stage.
- By mid-2006 it is expected that the national Statements of Learning for English, Mathematics, Science, Information & Communication Technology (ICT), and Civics & Citizenship will be approved. These statements, which will be a sub-set of the material included in the NSW syllabuses, will indicate what it is expected the majority of students will have the opportunity to learn by the end of Years 3, 5, 7 and 9. Subject to approval, for those syllabuses that encompass statements of learning, work samples could be provided that relate to the statements of learning as part of a later project.
- Advice will be given about the use of the performance scale and work samples during a Stage, as described below:
How is the Grade Scale used at the end of a course or stage of learning?
During the teaching and learning process the teacher can use relevant aspects of a student’s achievements to develop a 'picture' (holistic opinion) of how the student is performing.
By comparing this holistic assessment of the student’s performance with the descriptions related to each grade in the reporting scale, including the work samples that clarify the standard associated with each grade, the teacher can make an overall, on-balance judgement as to the appropriate grade to award the student at the end of the course or stage.
Work samples are used to clarify the standards represented by the various grades on the scale. For example, a work sample classified as an A will exemplify the characteristics of pieces of work typically produced by students who will receive a grade A. That is, the piece of work will show extensive knowledge and understanding of the relevant content and a very high level of competence in the relevant processes and skills.
The work samples are accompanied by a description of the context for the work and the task or activity the student undertook. The annotations provide further information about the features of the work and its relationship to the grading scale. The teacher will be able to compare the holistic picture they have built up of a student’s performance with a range of work samples before deciding on the appropriate grade.
How is the Grade Scale used at points in time during a course or stage of learning?
Teachers can use the grade scale as part of reporting to parents at any point in time during a course or stage of learning.
When a teacher uses the scale to allocate a grade at points other than at the end of the course or stage, the teacher is making a judgement taking into account the knowledge, skills and understandings covered to date. The quality of work produced by the student receiving a grade will, on balance, be typical of what might be expected of a student who is on target to receive that particular grade at the end of the course or stage. For example, the teacher would award a grade A to a student if, taking into account the knowledge, skills and understandings covered up to the point when the judgement is made, the student on the whole has shown extensive knowledge and understanding of the content and a very high level of competence in the processes and skills.
In this way teachers will be able to communicate to parents through the award of a grade, and additional information, whether or not at that point in time the student is on target to meet the expectations for the course or stage of learning.