Welcome to 'Applying the VCAA online Language Assessments in your classroom'

1. Welcome to 'Applying the VCAA online Language Assessments in your classroom' This webinar will start promptly at 3:45pm

2. Going further: Using the Language Assessments Victorian Curriculum F-10 and Languages Units ACER

3. PRESENTERS VCAA Languages Unit: Maree Dellora F-10 Unit: Craig Smith ACER Fusae Nojima: Project Director Scott Haines: Online Support Coordinator

4. Contents • Overview • Introducing the language assessments • New features in online report (web tour) • Applying the language assessments in your classroom • Contacts

5. Overview • The Language assessments are a free online resource for teachers • They are available in eight languages (Chinese, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Modern Greek, Spanish) • They provide quick, formative assessments of students receptive skills of listening and reading

6. Overview • The Language assessments • are suitable for levels 5-6 onward • can be used any time, but probably best in Term 1 and to retest late in Term 3 • are low-stakes assessments for teacher use only • provide student results immediately.

7. Introducing the Language Assessments • Multiple-choice format • Assess receptive skills only • Automatic scoring • Interactive online reports

8. Go to poll • Who has registered to use the Language Assessment resources? • If so, which Language? • Has anyone used them with their class?

9. Web tour • Demonstration of an online test • Demonstration of the new features of the online report (available for French, Japanese and Italian)

10. Applying the language assessments in classroom • Snapshot of student progress in listening and reading • Useful diagnostic tool (for formative assessment)

11. Why do we assess student learning? • Assessment is sometimes designed to improve students’ learning and at other times to rank them or certify their competence • Assessment activities help learning if they offer feedback to pupils to assess themselves and other students • Assessment can also be used to modify the Language teaching and learning activities • Effective assessment helps raise levels of student achievement in the target language

12. Achievement standards • Achievement standards as a continuum of language learning, not an age-determined set of expectations • F–10 Sequence: the first achievement standard for Languages is provided at Foundation–Level 2 and then at Levels 4, 6, 8 and 10. • 7–10 Sequence: the first achievement standard is provided at Level 8 and then at Level 10 • Reporting to be against the • achievement standards • Using assessment to adjust • teaching

13. Demonstrating achievement • The achievement standards outline what the student is able to do • Students demonstrate what they are able to do through the products they present for assessment

14. Assessment of Languages • Assessment to be part of teaching and learning program design • Give students clear criteria (such as a rubric) • Students discuss assessment criteria • Collect evidence over time from a range of activities and sources • Important to monitor every student’s progress along the Language continuum • These Language Assessments are a valuable tool for formative assessment

15. Alignment with the Victorian Curriculum F−10 • How do the Language Assessments align with the Victorian Curriculum for Languages? • Which content descriptions cover the skills needed to respond effectively to Listening and Reading tasks? • Are any of these skills reflected in the Achievement standards?

16. Working with the language assessments - Assessments are designed to help teachers not only to find out what students know and can do, but also to map where a student’s current knowledge ends

17. The Language Assessments: Underpinning concept • Raw scores cannot be compared across those who have done different assessments. • Using the Rasch model, the items used in the assessments (in all levels) are calibrated on the common scale (scale scores developed). • It is now possible to compare results of the students who have taken different levels (e.g., Reading A and then Reading B)

18. Case One • Same student with repeated test form (e.g., Listening A, Listening A)

19. Case Two • Same student with increasing assessment level (Reading A, Reading B, and Reading C)

20. Case Three • Class performance (e.g., Listening B in Term 2 and Listening C in Term 4)

21. Questions

22. Help Page • User Guide • account set up instructions • video demonstrations • Language assessments • FAQs • Recommended levels • Audio transcripts

23. Questions • Final questions

24. Support to get started If you have any questions about how to register, create student lists, assign tests or any other questions how to get started, please contact: ACER Helpdesk T.1300 232 123 E. oarssupport@acer.org

25. Curriculum support for Languages For Languages, contact Maree Dellora, Manager, Languages Unit E. dellora.maree.r@edumail.vic.gov.au T. 9032 1692 For F-10 curriculum, contact VCAA F-10 Unit: E. vcaa.f10.curriculum@edumail.vic.gov.au T. 9032 1788