To facilitate the selection of courses of study to meet breadth and depth requirements the .
Curriculum Framework
Overarching outcomes (which are inclusive of Key Competencies) and learning area outcomes, from which the course of study outcomes are drawn, would be identified ineach course of study.
,
The following examples illustrate the potential for designing courses of study with their extensions to achieve the Overarching outcomes. The examples highlight the areas considered to be of particular importance in the feedback from the discussion paper.
Numeracy: course of study outcomes and contexts that would enable students to learn to choose and use mathematics effectively to meet the general demands of life at home, in paid work and for participation in community and civic life. There would be opportunities to use a combination of mathematical skills and ways of thinking to solve problems in situations beyond the classroom. - This would also involve the ability to 'read' a variety of quantitative and spatial texts.
(Overarching outcomes 2, 3, 5, 6)
Post-Compulsory Education Review Position Paper 33
Active citizenship, including community-based learning: course of study outcomes and contexts that would enable students to initiate projects in the community, or become involved in existing community-based activities to develop project management skills. There would be opportunities for students to develop the skills to work collaboratively with others and to understand issues that relate to the welfare of different groups in the community.
(Overarching outcomes 1, 8, 9, 10, 11,
12, 13)
information and Communication Technology (1CT): course of study outcomes and contexts that would enable students to apply specific technologies and integrate them for a variety of purposes.
There would be opportunities to develop an awareness of how technology works, demonstrate autonomy in carrying out application processes and learn strategies for applying technology in creative and original ways.
(Overarching outcomes 3, 4, 6)
Creativity: course of study outcomes and contexts that would enable students to participate in creative activity of their own and understand and engage with artistic, cultural and intellectual work of others in local and other communities. There would be opportunities for students to respond to and value the diversity of Australian and world cultural heritage through projects. Through
involvement in creative problem solving processes students would acquire a range of lateral thinking skills and use skills, techniques and technologies to explore and communicate ideas with others.
(Overarching outcomes 1, 6, 10)
Values and Cultural Understandings: course of study outcomes and contexts that would enable students to understand the values and beliefs, that exist in, and are transmitted through, a culture.
In addition there would be opportunities to understand their cultural, geographic and historical contexts and develop the knowledge, skills and values to actively participate in society. There would be opportunities to interact with people and cultures other than their own and develop the skills to contribute to local and global communities.
(Overarching outcomes 8, 9)
Scientific Understandings: course of study outcomes and contexts that would enable students to understand and appreciate the physical, biological and technological world and acquire the knowledge and skills to make decisions about it. There would be opportunities for students to become involved in projects in the local community, respond to new fields of study and investigate scientific issues that impact on local and global communities.
(Overarching outcomes 7, 8)
Sее Appendix 2 for an example of breadth and depth of learning in a student's overall program.
34 Post-Compulsory Education Review Position Paper
Recommendation 13'
That in order to ensure adequate breadth and depth of learning, a full-time load for a student be five courses of study including two extensions for each course of study.
Recommendation 14
That a student's overall learning program enable continued achievement of the Curriculum Framework Overarching outcomes, and outcomes in courses of study, including their extensions, which are drawn from at least four learning area Statements.
Recommendation 15
That each course of study, where appropriate, includes an outcome that amongst other things would enable students to develop and demonstrate English language competence. The English language competence levels on the scale of achievement for the identified outcome would be comparable across all courses of study.
Recommendation 16
That each student be required to demonstrate English language competence to a designated level in either an English course of study or a course of study nominated by the Curriculum Council for this purpose.
Post-Compulsory Education Review Position Paper 35
3.3 Standards
Students, parents, potential employers and post-school destinations need to have a clear
understanding of the learning standards achieved by students. Students need to know about the standards for which they are aiming, and teachers need to know explicitly what is expected of students. It is important for schools, parents and school systems to track student performance from year to year, and for the government and community to know whether standards are improving over
time.
Scales of achievement would be used to identify progressive achievement of course of study outcomes, identification of post-school destination requirements for entrance eligibility, and to ensure there would be comparability of achievement within and across schools. (see pp 61, 62).
Figure 2 Scale of achievement
A
deep understanding sophisticated skills advanced knowledge
emergent understanding developing skills basic knowledge
v
The course of study outcomes would be exemplified at five levels on the scales of achievement.
The level description for each outcome, exemplified by indicators of achievement for particular contexts, would be provided to assist the measuring of achievement.
It is intended that a given level on a scale of achievement would be comparable in cognitive complexity and depth and/or physical skills on all other scales of achievement within and across courses of study. This means that standards would be comparable across courses of study.
Progress should be seen as the achievement of outcomes at increasing levels of sophistication and would be illustrated by movement up the scales of achievement.
The level statements would be developed following extensive analysis of student work, which would include previous TEE papers and samples of work from WSA subjects and VET Units of Competency.
The level statements would be accompanied by statements that indicate the essential knowledge and skills students would require to move progressively from one level to the next.
36 Post-Compulsory Education Review Position Paper
Increasing Achievement
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The scales of achievement would need to be consistent with progress maps being used for the compulsory years of schooling. In exploratory work for the development of examples of courses of study for the position paper, the five levels are comparable with Levels 4-8 of the Student Outcome Statements (Education Department of Western Australia). In the longer term, scales of achievement would be developed from State and national research and student performance data, and would involve experts in assessment.
By the end of year 10 students should know how their levels of achievement of Curriculum Framework outcomes relate to the levels on the scales of achievement of outcomes for the
post-compulsory courses of study in which they are interested. Monitoring Standards in Education (MSE) data would be used for the preliminary identification of the range of achievement for the full
cohort of students moving from year 10 to year 11. ,
To accommodate the full range of students and diverse entry points on the scale, there would be support material for teachers working with students progressing toward Level 1 on the scale of achievement for a course of study. This would enable schools to develop programs for students at educational risk.
Research would be undertaken to consider the degree to which there could be alignment of VET qualifications with relevant course of study outcomes on the scales of achievement using the Australian Qualifications Framework.
Recommendation 17
That standards be made explicit through level statements on scales of achievement for each course of study outcome.
Recommendation 18
That the cognitive complexity and depth and/or physical skills at a given level on a scale of achievement be comparable within and across courses of study.
Recommendation 19
That scales of achievement be developed and piloted in consultation with assessment experts and representatives of sector/systems and post-secondary institutions.
Post-Compulsory Education Review Position Paper Э7
`Curriculum Framework Principles for Assessment hvalid: provide valid information
on the actual ideas, processes, tргoducts and values expected of
students
educative: make a positive contribution to student learning explicit: to be explicit so that the basis for judgments is clear and
;pub is
fair. be demonstrably fair to all students and not discriminate on
`grounds that are irrelevant to the
`achievement of the outcome comprehensive: base judgments I Ion student progress on multiple
І
k and sources of evidence3.4 Assessment
The assessment system should reflect the requirements for comparability as set out in Section 12 of the Curriculum Council Act 1997.
Extract from the Curriculum Council Act 1997 relating to Assessment:
....assessment of achievement of students undertaking post-compulsory schooling, and the proper conduct of that assessment, including school and external assessment for the purposes of certification.
As there would be a single structure for curriculum, there would need to be a single assessment structure, which reflects the Curriculum Framework's principles for assessment and supports a developmental approach to learning. Assessment would be valid, educative, explicit, fair and comprehensive and be based on explicit criteria by which student achievement would be judged.
Emphasis would be placed on developing strategies to strengthen teacher judgments.
Teachers and students would need to have a shared understanding of what was required to achieve a level for a course of study outcome. The level statements on the scales of achievement would be sufficiently specific to enable teachers to be consistent and clear about criteria for evaluation. In addition, the level statements would provide a common language for discussing progress.
Evidence from assessment would be used for making on-balance2 judgments about the overall level of achievement of course of study outcomes. This evidence would be derived from school-managed and external assessment.
Both forms of assessment would be used to generate a profile of a student's overall achievement.
School-managed assessment would be under the jurisdiction of the school and could take place within and beyond the school environment. Schools would select assessment strategies that complemented the delivery of courses of study and met the needs of their students.
External assessment would be a common assessment task, such as an examination, interview or validation process. It would be set, administered under controlled conditions and marked by a central authority.
School-managed and external assessment would be implemented as separate, valid and reliable measures of achievement.
2 On-balance judgments relate to a teacher's judgment of a student's overall level of achievement of course of study based on a range of evidence.
38 Post-Compulsory Education Review Position Paper