Reporting to Parents Information for schools

1. Reporting to Parents Information for schools

2. Background information and rationale for changes The reporting system has changed: • in preparation for the implementation of the Australian Curriculum • to bring alignment across the system and the state • to enable a more seamless transfer of data between schools and CEOWA in the future • due to requirements in federal funding agreements

3. National Reporting Regulations As required by the Schools Assistance Act 2008, all school and system authorities must provide reports to the parents or carers of each child twice a year that: (a) use plainlanguage, and are readily understandable by each person responsible for the student; and (b) give an accurate and objective assessment of the student’s progress and achievement; and (c) include an assessment of the student’s achievement, against any available national standards; and (d) are relative to the performance of the student’s peer group at the school; and (e) include, for subjects studied, an assessment of the student’s achievement reported as A, B, C, D and E (or an equivalent five‐point scale), clearly defined against specific learning standards.

4. Australian Curriculum • Reporting against the Australian Curriculum will not be required until full implementation • CEOWA strongly advises school to refrain from using the AC achievement standards when reporting in 2011 (schools are to use the DoE standards) • The Australian Curriculum standards are yet to be validated against exemplars and work samples

5. From levels to grades– moving towards using ‘achievement standards’ • schools have been reporting using a five point scale describing student achievement in relation to end of year targets for the past 5 years • Curriculum Council Progress Maps have been a major tool used by teachers to allocate the five point scale. This has led to a connection between ‘levels’ and ‘targets’. • For 2011, it has been decided to move to using ‘standard’ in line with DoE and in readiness for the Australian Curriculum.

6. B target to C standard A significant change for CEOWA schools is the adjustment of the ‘standard’ (previously referred to as the ‘target’) from B to C. This is to align with DoE and the anticipated Australian Curriculum.

7. Reporting requirements K-PP No formal reporting requirements Yr 1-2 Grade descriptors used, not an A-E grade. Reporting is against an end of year standard. Yr3- 10 A-E grade allocated against end of year standards • Students on IEPs are exempt from formal reporting requirements; their reports refer to the specified outcomes of their IEP

8. Reporting requirements continued… Schools will continue to make school based decisions on: • Students with a CAP – reporting depends on the extent of the adjustment • ESL/D & gifted and talented students Schools, in consultation with parents, will have clearly outlined learning programs in place for such students and will report in a way deemed appropriate.

9. The A- E scale The A-E grade scale summarises the standard (or quality) of achievement associated with each grade. The scale describes: • the depth of knowledge and understanding, and • the range of skills that students working at that standard typically show.

10. A-E judgements should be made at the end of each semester.

11. Allocation of grades Schools will use A-E grading informed by the Department of Education (DoE) statements of Expected Standards (C Descriptors) and A-E student exemplars.

12. Department of Education (DoE) A-E Exemplars of student work are available online at: http://www.det.wa.edu.au/curriculumsupport/exemplars/detcms/portal/ These illustrate the standards that earn an A-E grade in Years 1-10 in all learning areas. Statements of Expected Standards : C Grade Descriptors are available online at: http://www.det.wa.edu.au/curriculumsupport/detcms/portal/ These describe a quality of achievement that is consistent with a C grade for each learning area.

13. T & E, Health & PE, LOTE and the Arts • In T&E, Health & PE, LOTE and the Arts, the C grade standard is not provided for each year • C grade descriptors are available for Yr 1, 3, 7 & 9 • Schools may choose to use other tools such as the Progress Maps, the WA K-10 Curriculum to guide the allocation of grades • Attached is a tool that may be a useful support document. It is a guide only.

14. Aligning Grades with levelsin T&E, Health & PE, & the Arts

15. Aligning Grades with levelsin LOTE

17. Teachers exercise their professional judgement when monitoring students’ progress and determining grades for reporting.

18. Planning, Teaching, Learning and Assessment Cycle

19. It is essential that any standard that is going to be used to measure student achievement should also be used to inform planning. Even at the beginning of the year, it is the end of year standard that should be considered when planning the teaching-learning program. It is also this end of year standard against which student achievement should be measured at the end of a reporting period (i.e. at the end of Semester One and at the end of Semester Two).

20. Teachers use a variety of methods, tools and resources to support them to assess student achievement, including, but not restricted to: • anecdotal records; • audio and visual recordings; • checklists; • marking keys; • portfolios; • records of test results; • observation notes; • annotated work samples; • reflection sheets, diaries, • scrapbooks; • rubrics; • sample assessment items; • and student / teacher journals.

21. Teachers can then compare their students’ achievements with the standards represented by each grade, and make an on-balance professional judgement about the grade that is most appropriate to summarise each student’s achievement.

22. ‘Point in time’ Teachers allocate grades based on what is taught and achievement demonstrated up to that point.

23. When determining a grade at the end of semester 1, teachers take into account the progress a student has made towards those standards. To make this on-balance professional judgement, teachers: • consider what a student can already do; • consider the knowledge, understanding and skills covered up to that point in time; • compare student achievement with the standards represented by each grade; and • give the grade that best matched what a student has achieved in relation to the standard achieved so far.

24. Expected progress is the maintenance of a grade. If a student receives the same grade for two consecutive reports they have made progress.

25. Making Consistent Judgements Consistent practices and procedures around assessment and reporting occur over time in an environment that fosters and promotes dialogue at all stages of the teaching and learning cycle. Additional documentation is available on Making Consistent Judgements

26. Consistent judgement is best supported where teachers work collaboratively to: • plan teaching programs which clearly state the intended learning; • identify, at the planning stage, how, when and what will be assessed. These will include the diagnostic, formative and summative assessment opportunities that occur throughout the teaching and learning sequence; • develop common understandings of assessment practices and/or tasks which reflect standards – based planning and teaching (eg share design processes for assessment tasks and for rubrics); • clarify understanding of expected standards; • examine student work against the expected standard within or across grades/faculties and schools to moderate their judgements; and • establish moderation and consistency protocols.

27. Overall achievement for the learning area Expected target for the year level Learning Area Student achievement Mrs Jones Teachers responsible for the Learning Area Outstanding Very Good Satisfactory Inconsistent Effort demonstrated during the semester Achievement in individual outcomes Strands A: Well Above Target B: Above Target C: At Target D: Below Target E: Well Below Target Description of the content covered during the semester Please note: this is a 2010 sample and contains the word ‘target’. A 2011 sample with the exact wording is not yet available from MyMart, but is very similar to this. Teacher comment for the unit of work (optional )

28. Achievement standard descriptions for learning areas Schools have the flexibility to add the detail they require for any elaboration of outcomes or standards on the report.

29. Communicating with parents Ongoing communication throughout the year is critical to ensure parents and caregivers are kept informed of their child’s progress. It also provides an opportunity for parents to inform the school of any developments at home. Parents/caregivers should not be surprised when they receive information on their child’s progress and achievement

30. In addition to formal reports, schools and teachers report informally in a variety of ways, including: • information sessions about the teaching and learning program, timed to suit the needs of each student or year group; • interim reporting, as considered appropriate by parents/caregivers and teachers; • parent/caregiver-teacher discussions, that may include three-way conferences in which the students participate; • telephone discussions between parents/caregivers and teachers and informal encounters and discussions; • annotations in homework diaries and journals; • letters, email and other forms of correspondence from teachers and schools to advise parents/caregivers about successes or concerns; • student-directed reporting, in which students show how their knowledge, skills and understandings have developed through discussions or presentations of key achievements; • select collections of annotated and referenced work samples as part of portfolio evidence; • and responses to requests from parents for additional information.

31. Schools may choose to: • Write a letter to parents providing information about the change • Provide parents with a sample report with annotations • Host parent information sessions • Provide information over time with newsletter inserts