Assessment of Science Learning According to the Australian Curriculum in Victoria

1. Assessment of Science Learning According to the Australian Curriculum in Victoria • CPL Australian Curriculum Conference • Toorak College, Victoria, 23-24 July 2012 • Andrew Hill, Head of ScienceBrighton Secondary College • Brighton East, Victoria

2. Why did you choose this workshop?

3. Purpose of this workshop To evaluate some practical examples of assessment in science To discuss AusVELSassessment in school science programs To identify similarities between VELS and the Australian Curriculum

4. Good Assessment Practices • Are • based on an understanding of how students learn • an integral component of course design • ongoing rather than episodic • valid, reliable and consistent • Improve student performance through • clarity of purpose, goals, standards and criteria • a variety of measures • feedback and reflection

5. Balance in Assessment Practices • Formative assessments • are implemented frequently and interactively • include both formal and informal modes • identify learning needs • inform teaching practices • Summative assessment and reporting • shows what the student has achieved • may compare progress with others • may refer to a student’s past performance

6. A History of Science Curriculum & Assessment in Victoria 1970s School Centric 1890s Autocratc Centrally Mandated • 1985 Curriculum Frameworks P-12:Science Framework • 1995 Curriculum & Standards Framework I Science Strand • CSF I • Frameworks “the systems of public instruction in New South Wales and Victoria are severely autocratic” Hill, Henry (1891). Education. The School Systems of Australia. Napier, pp.10-11 (Henry was a New Zealand inspector of schools who visited Australia in 1891). Describes what students should “be able to know and do in eight key areas of learning at key intervals from the Preparatory year to Year 10”.(p.1) – whilst, content knowledge was specified in detail, schools continued to be free to interpret those specifications in their own way “The CSF aims to provide sufficient detail for schools and the community to be clear about the major elements of curriculum and the steps towards achieving them without dictating to schools and teachers how they are to exercise their responsibilities.”(p.1) Curriculum Frameworks P-12 elaborates the contents of Ministerial Paper No. 6 and states that the Education Department “is committed to school-based decision making about curriculum” “equality, diversity, devolution of authority and community participation[are] reflected In the framework within which the Interim Committee of the Schools Commission (and the Schools Commission since) sought to improve the overall quality of schooling in Australia.” Bambach J. D. (1979)

7. VELS

8. Australian Curriculum • Organisation • Rationale and aims • Six overarching ideas • Cross-curriculum priorities • Guidance for assessment of learning • Content descriptions (& elaborations) • Science Achievement standards • General capabilities & achievement standards • Annotated work samples

9. AusVELS • What is AusVELS? • AusVELS is the Foundation to Year 10 Curriculum for Victorian government and Catholic schools for implementation from 2013. • http://ausvels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/ • AusVELS includes: • outlines of essential learning • the Australian Curriculum F-10 for English, Mathematics, History and Science. • a single, coherent and comprehensive set of common achievement standards

10. Australian Curriculum & VELS • Victorian Government: • Intends to implement AusVELS from 2013 • This is currently the subject of industrial action between the AEU and the Victorian Government • Catholic schools in Victoria: • Plan to implement AusVELS as an F-10 Curriculum from 2013 • Independent schools in Victoria: • are not required to implement VELS, but • must implement the Australian Curriculum (http://www.independentschools.vic.edu.au/schools/curriculum/index.htm)

11. Five-point Rating Scale Links assessment to reporting by means of Progression Points in VELS A similar system could be implemented in Victoria for AusVELS The five point scale was specified by the by the Commonwealth Government as a condition of funding to schools.

12. A-E Ratings The ratings reflect a student’s achievement in his/her year level at the time of reporting.

13. A to E tensions in the Australian Curriculum

14. One year ahead A to E Ratings in Victoria • Six months ahead • Expected achievement • One year behind • 18 months behind

15. Algorithm

16. Interpretation of Progress Points Mastery? OR On- balance?

17. Hypothetical E to A Distribution • Assumes a normal distribution • Assumes a Year 10 cohort • 84% of students are shown with a “C” or higher

18. A skewed distribution (E to A) • > 84% of students awarded “C” or higher Students that have demonstrated the standards required at the time of assessment

19. VELS Assessment at Brighton SC Civics and Citizenship?   • Mathematics (Numeracy)? • English (Literacy)? • ICT?       

20. VELS assessment in BSC Science

21. VELS  Australian Curriculum

22. General Capabilities in the AC Literacy Numeracy Information and communication technology (ICT) capability Critical and creative thinking Personal and social capability Ethical behaviour Intercultural understanding.

23. Transition to General Capabilities “The development of learning continua for the General Capabilities is still being undertaken by ACARA.” “AusVELSwill continue to use the current Physical, Personal and Social Learning and Interdisciplinary Learning strands until that work has been completed and a process of validation undertaken.” http://ausvels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/GeneralCapabilities

24. Responsibility of teachers “Teachers are expected to teach and assess general capabilities to the extent that they are incorporated within each learning area.” “State and territory school authorities will determine whether and how student learning of the general capabilities will be further assessed and reported.” ACARA (2012, Jan) General Capabilities in the Australian Curriculum

26. AusVELSReasoning, Processing & Inquiry At Level 10, students discriminate in the way they use a variety of sources. They generate questions that explore perspectives. They process and synthesise complex information and complete activities focusing on problem solving and decision making which involve a wide range and complexity of variables and solutions. They employ appropriate methodologies for creating and verifying knowledge in different disciplines. They make informed decisions based on their analysis of various perspectives and, sometimes contradictory, information.

27. VELS vs Australian Curriculum

28. AusVELS Implementation Stage 1: Implement English, Mathematics, Science and History within the current VELS structure (AusVELS) Stage 2: Implement a revised VELS structure that reflects the full Australian Curriculum

29. VELS Presentation Assessment In 2013, VELS Presentation will become AusVELSLiteracy within Science Assessment at Brighton Secondary College

30. AC Literacy Standards – Year 10 • Composing texts (e.g. Prac reports) • compose sustained learning area texts for a wide range of purposes incorporating and evaluating: • researched information • a range of complex language features to explore, interpret and analyse challenging and complex issues • Presentations (e.g. oral presentation) • plan, research, rehearse and deliver presentations on learning area topics, combining visual and multimodal elements creatively to present opinions and to engage and persuade an audience

31. Design an Assessment Rubric

32. Student Sample Video No. 1

33. Student Sample Video No. 2

34. Assessment Examples

35. AC Standards - Year 10 By the end of Year 10, students analyse how the periodic table organises elements and use it to make predictions about the properties of elements. They explain how chemical reactions are used to produce particular products and how different factors influence the rate of reactions. They explain the concept of energy conservation and represent energy transfer and transformation within systems. They apply relationships between force, mass and acceleration to predict changes in the motion of objects. Students describe and analyse interactions and cycles within and between Earth’s spheres. They evaluate the evidence for scientific theories that explain the origin of the universe and the diversity of life on Earth. They explain the processes that underpin heredity and evolution. Students analyse how the models and theories they use have developed over time and discuss the factors that prompted their review. Students develop questions and hypotheses and independently design and improve appropriate methods of investigation, including field work and laboratory experimentation. They explain how they have considered reliability, safety, fairness and ethical actions in their methods and identify where digital technologies can be used to enhance the quality of data. When analysingdata, selecting evidence and developing and justifying conclusions, they identify alternative explanations for findings and explain any sources of uncertainty. Students evaluate the validity and reliability of claims made in secondary sources with reference to currently held scientific views, the quality of the methodology and the evidence cited. They construct evidence-based arguments and select appropriate representations and text types to communicate science ideas for specific purposes.

36. Contact details Tel: (03) 9592-7488 Email: hil@brightonsc.vic.edu.au Web: http://www.brightonsc.vic.edu.au/

37. Miscellaneous References Bambach, J. D. (1979) "Australia in the 1970's : A Fertile Context for Educational Experimentation and Innovation," Australian Journal of Teacher Education: Vol. 4: Iss. 1, Article 3. Available at: http://ro.ecu.edu.au/ajte/vol4/iss1/3 http://www.education.unimelb.edu.au/curriculumpoliciesproject/Reports/victoria.html Principles and protocols for reporting on schooling in Australia, http://www.mceecdya.edu.au/verve/_resources/Principles_and_Protocols_2009.pdf