Reports and Assessments
Locating Student Reports and Results
Throughout a semester, student assessment results are available via Learning Tasks on Compass. In Year 10 and Units 1 and 2, Learning Tasks results include a percentage and a grade. For Unit 3 and 4, Learning Task results include a percentage.
End of Semester Reports are published at the end of Semester One for Year 10, Unit 1 and Unit 3. In Semester Two, End of Semester Reports are published for Year 10 and Unit 2. Results for Units 3 and 4 studies are released by the VCAA in December.
Parents should contact a student’s Subject Teacher, Mentor or Year Level Leader with any concerns as a result of these assessments.
There is one Parent-Teacher evening per semester. Subject teachers complete progress checks during the year as well as an end of semester report.
Types of Assessments
There are two main forms of assessment in the VCE;
School Assessed Coursework
Schools are responsible for the initial assessment of coursework. This is determined by a teacher's rating of performance of each student on assessment tasks, as specified in the subject's study design. Marks are allocated as specified in the study design. The VCE allows teachers some flexibility in deciding exactly what teaching and learning activities and what coursework assessment tasks they will use to assess the learning outcomes specified in each Study Design.
All VCE studies have three graded assessments in Units 3 and 4. In each study the graded assessments will include a mix of school-based assessment and examinations, and the VCAA will combine each student's scores for these three assessments into a single Study Score.
Marks or grades on individual coursework tasks may be provided to students. It should be noted however that the total coursework score may change following statistical moderation against the external examinations. Any coursework assessment is therefore provisional until the completion of the unit and adjustments made as a result of the moderation process. This process is undertaken by the VCAA following the final examinations.
Moderation is needed to ensure that schools' assessments are comparable, and thus fair for all students throughout the State, whichever school they attend. Statistical moderation is a process for adjusting the level and spread of each school's assessments of its students in a particular study, while maintaining the students' rank order given by the school, to match the level and spread of the same students' scores on a common external examination.
External Examinations
The VCAA follows these steps in marking external examinations:
Assessment is based on published criteria.
Examination scripts are subjected to independent double marking in most studies.
Where necessary, discrepancy marking by a third assessor will occur. The third assessor will assess the task without knowledge of the previous assessments.
The VCAA then automatically reviews examination scripts where the examination result is lower than is expected, and the difference is both statistically significant and at significant odds from that expected by the school.
The mark awarded by the Chief Assessor's Panel becomes the final score and is converted to the appropriate grade.
However, students may request from the VCAA
a Statement of Marks - marks obtained for each question or criterion of a paper.
An Inspection of Script (the opportunity to reread the examination script in the presence of a teacher). Marks or assessors' comments do not appear on scripts.
The application form to request either of the above documents is mailed to the student with their final results package.
How Are Units Assessed?
All studies are assessed in two ways:
To determine whether a student attains Satisfactory completion of ALL learning outcomes for a unit (S or N).
To determine the level of achievement for each of these learning outcomes for a unit (marks and grades).
Unit 1 & 2 Subjects
Students must satisfactorily complete all outcomes in a Unit. This will be shown on the semester report as S or N and will be reported to the VCAA. A Satisfactory Completion (S) indicates that various subject-specific tasks have been completed; it does not indicate a level of performance. Non-Satisfactory (N) indicates that one or more Learning Outcomes have not been satisfactorily completed.
Performance will be assessed on a A+ to UG scale on semester reports. The performance grade is not reported to VCAA but will be used by the school to determine suitability to study the corresponding Unit 3 and 4 subjects. Students undertaking Unit 1 and 2 subjects should aim for the best possible grade and not be satisfied with only a Satisfactory Completion.
Assessment Tasks for the VCE Vocational Major will be assessed using the criteria: Excelling, Achieving, Satisfactory, Not Yet Satisfactory, Not Submitted.
Progression to Units 2 and 3 subjects is dependent upon successful completion of Units 1 and 2. If a student receives an N for either Unit 1 or 2, they will be required to have a meeting with the VCE Coordinator to discuss a subject change.
Unit 3 & 4 Subjects
The award of an “S” for satisfactory completion of a unit is separate from the levels of achievement. The satisfactory completion of all outcomes will be reported as S or N. Students must attain an “S” in all outcomes to achieve the particular Unit. Attendance and a minimum of units must be achieved to be awarded the VCE Certificate.
Subject scores are numerical assessments achieved by the student provided by the school to VCAA. School Assessment Tasks/Coursework may be in class or undertaken in whole cohort SAC settings. They may take the form of essays, tests, projects, practicals, etc. The numerical results for these in a particular subject constitute the school assessed task/coursework mark and will be sent to VCAA. The total mark for these will then be statistically moderated, by VCAA, against the external examination which are finally combined to determine a student’s result. This will be reported by VCAA as a Study Score. VTAC use these Study scores to calculate the student’s ATAR.
Assessment Tasks for the VCE Vocational Major will be assessed using the criteria: Excelling, Achieving, Satisfactory, Not Yet Satisfactory, Not Submitted.
Satisfactory or Non-Satisfactory Outcomes
Satisfactory Completion of Units
To satisfactorily complete a unit, a student must demonstrate achievement of each of the learning outcomes for that unit as specified in the relevant Study Design. Satisfactory Completion is based on the teacher’s judgement of the student’s performance on selected Assessment Tasks for these Learning Outcomes. Assessment tasks are referred to as School Assessed Coursework (SACs) OR School Assessed Tasks (SATs) and are used to assess performance of a study's Learning Outcomes.
Students who attend fewer than 90% of classes in a Unit may place their Satisfactory completion of that unit in jeopardy.
Satisfactory Achievement of an Outcome means
the work meets the required standard
the work was submitted on time
the work is clearly the student’s own
there has been no substantive breach of the rules including school attendance rules.
Students at Risk of Receiving an N
A student is at risk of receiving an N for the unit when one or more of the requirements is not achieving:
the work is not of the standard required
the student has failed to meet a school deadline for the assessment task/s
the work cannot be authenticated
there has been a substantial breach of rules including not meeting class attendance requirements
medical documentation has not been supplied to verify an assessment absence
Students are actively monitored and flagged via Academic Progress Notifications if they are at risk of receiving an N. Where a student does not meet an Outcome as articulated in the subject study design, a redemption opportunity will be provided.
Redemption of an Outcome
A student will be given an opportunity to redeem an N result for an Assessment Task by completing a comparable task. However, this redemption will only alter an N to an S; it will not alter the initial score for this Assessment Task. Attention is focused on the requirement that to attain Satisfactory Completion of a unit, all Learning Outcomes must be assessed as Satisfactory (S). Prior to presenting for a redemption task, a student must complete further preparatory work.
The redemption of the task will be held at a time selected by the VCE Coordinator in consultation with the student's teacher.
If the result is still considered to be unsatisfactory, the student will be counselled, and an alternative assessment task set to encourage them to demonstrate achievement of the Learning Outcome. The decision to award an N for a Unit will be made by a panel consisting of the subject teacher, VCE Coordinator, Head of Faculty, and the Head of School.
If any outcome is not achieved (i.e., an N is awarded) then the student will receive an N for the entire Unit, and it will not count towards their final VCE result.
Scheduling of School-Based Assessment
School based assessments normally occur during class time. This is the case for most Year 10 and Units 1 & 2 graded assessments. Where possible, subjects with multiple classes will undertake their Unit 3 & 4 graded assessments at the same time as the VCAA advises. This may occur at the following times:
Monday and Thursday afternoons: 3:35pm – 5:00pm
Tuesday Extended Assessment (Week A) – Period 6 up until 5:00pm
Wednesday Periods 5 & 6 – where there is no scheduled ACS
To support both student and teacher planning, an Assessment Calendar is released each semester. The assessment calendars can be found under the School Documents section of Compass.
As much as possible, teachers attempt to spread assessments to avoid multiple SACs on each week or day. However, to allow for sufficient study and mastery of course content, SACs often occur at the end of the term. Students should be mindful of these peak periods and manage their study in advance of the assessment period. The assessment calendar is a guide only, as teachers may make changes to SAC and assessment dates to accommodate unexpected events. Any changes to SAC and assessment dates will be communicated both verbally and in writing (via Compass).
Absence from School-Based Assessments
All students are expected to be present on the day a SAC is scheduled. An unexplained absence may result in a score of zero for the task. Students cannot defer a SAC on the grounds that they believe they are not ready.
Absence may occur for one of two reasons:
Unexpected absence e.g. illness.
Approved absence e.g. School-based approved activity.
In the case of an unexpected absence, the student must have a medical or other professional certificate, provided by an independent practitioner who is not a family member covering the date of the SAC. Medical certificates must be either uploaded to Compass or provided to Senior School administration with 48 hours of the absence date.
SAC Reschedule Process
Approved Absence:
Student to notify subject teacher and VCE Coordinator of the absence at least 48 hours prior to the assessment date
VCE Coordinator will organise a time for the rescheduled assessment to occur. This is likely to be during the Rescheduled Assessment session or during a student’s study period. Rescheduled assessments are expected to be completed within 5 school days of the original scheduled date. Students cannot negotiate the timing of the rescheduled SAC. VCAA stipulates that rescheduled assessment must be conducted within a timeframe comparable to their peers. Students who fail to attend their rescheduled SAC are likely to receive a result of ‘0.’
To ensure that the assessment can delivered in authentic conditions, all rescheduled assessments take place on either Monday or Thursday afterschool. This also ensures that students do not miss any additional learning within the classroom.
Where a student is unable to complete a rescheduled assessment within 5 school days, the College reserves the right to:
derive a score (Year 12 only)
exclude the result from the student’s report (Year 10 and 11 only) OR
award a ‘0’ result for the task (where appropriate medical paperwork has not been submitted)
Unexpected Absence:
Parent/guardian to add an attendance note to verify the absence
Within 48 hours a medical certificate is provided to the College to approve the absence
The subject teacher will issue a Rescheduled Assessment APN.
The student will be booked into the next available Rescheduled Assessment Session
Unexpected Illness During an Assessment
If a student feels unwell during an assessment they should follow this process:
alert a supervising teacher during the assessment
where possible continue to complete the task
provide a medical certificate within 48 hours to the VCE Coordinator
The VCE Coordinator and subject teacher will review the assessment to determine if moderation needs to be applied to the final score.
Time Extensions and Outcomes
Outcome tasks must be submitted on time to achieve an “S” grading. A late submission or non-submission will result in an "N" (not satisfactorily completed) for an outcome and therefore the Unit.
Unit 3 or 4 subjects do not permit time extension other than under exceptional circumstances. The VCE Coordinator must be consulted so that the necessary VCAA administration is completed, and any issues may be considered and monitored. Medical documentation must be sourced and submitted to the VCE Coordinator.
