Reporting Student Performance
View band descriptors and performance data on School Certificate tests
Students receive their results for the School Certificate tests in English-literacy, Mathematics, Science, Australian History, Civics and Citizenship and Australian Geography, Civics and Citizenship as both a mark (out of 100) and a band.
Band 6 corresponds to the marks from 90 to 100
Band 5 corresponds to the marks from 80 to 89
Band 4 corresponds to the marks from 70 to 79
Band 3 corresponds to the marks from 60 to 69
Band 2 corresponds to the marks from 50 to 59
Band 1 corresponds to the marks from 0 to 49
Each band is accompanied by a descriptor that describes the knowledge and skills typically demonstrated by students whose results fall within that band.
There is no predetermined proportion of students to be awarded each band. Each year, groups of teachers, referred to as judges, follow a structured standard-setting procedure to determine what test marks would represent the borderline between bands 1 and 2, bands 2 and 3 and so on. Since the same standards are applied each year, it is possible to make comparisons between the performances of students who have sat for the test in different years.
A mark of 50 corresponds to the minimum standard expected. A student who is awarded a mark below 50 is regarded as having received a result in the test, and as having met the requirement that the test be undertaken.
Standards packages are available for each of the tests: to view these, click on the link on the left-hand side of this page. These packages show samples of student work that illustrate the standards at each of the band cut-offs. It is therefore possible to view responses from a range of students whose performance on any one question was typical of students at the borderline between bands 5 & 6, bands 3 & 4, and bands 1 & 2. By looking at each question that students were required to answer, and then studying the responses of the students, you can gain a very clear understanding of the standard of work typically produced by students at the borderline between each band. This analysis will help to provide a picture of the level of knowledge and skills typical of students at each level of performance.
Each Standards package includes:
- background to the standards-setting process
- performance band descriptions
- a copy of the test paper for that year
- responses from a sample of students placed on the borderline between bands
- statistics on student performance in objective questions.
These are a very useful resource for School Certificate candidates, their teachers and parents, and for judges in future tests.