Updated Years 11 and 12 Assessment Advice for 2023

Contact
Adriana Douglas (08) 9273 6784
Adriana.Douglas@scsa.wa.edu.au

Graeme Quelch (08) 9273 6758
Graeme.Quelch@scsa.wa.edu.au.au

John Newman (08) 9273 6757
John.Newman@scsa.wa.edu.au

Mandy Hudson (08) 9273 6755
Mandy.Hudson@scsa.wa.edu.au

For 2023, teachers are required to assess each Assessment Type at least once over the year/pair of units (see Exceptions below). However, when a school permits a student, who is enrolled in a pair of units, to transfer between courses or units or a student moves between schools, the school must be able to justify the grade assigned to the student for a single unit (refer to the 2023 WACE Manual section 2.7 ‘Assessing students who transfer’).

Exceptions

Years 11 and 12 English as an Additional Language or Dialect ATAR

Angelique Smith (08) 9273 6776
Angelique.Smith@scsa.wa.edu.au

• Due to the nature of the assessment structure in this course, adjustments to the assessment schedule should only be made in circumstances where it is not possible to administer the full assessment schedule.
• Where it becomes necessary to make adjustments to the assessment schedule:
  • assessment types normally assessed once should be assessed as described in the modified Year 11 and 12 assessment tables (see below)
  • assessment types normally assessed twice must be assessed at least once, as described in the modified Year 11 and 12 assessment tables (see below)
  • teachers must adjust their Assessment Outlines for this course to reflect the modified assessment tables.

PDF Year 11 English as an Additional Language or Dialect ATAR 2023 Modified Assessment Table 

PDF Year 12 English as an Additional Language or Dialect ATAR 2023 Modified Assessment Table 

Years 11 and 12 English

Gerard Morris (08) 9273 6742
Gerard.Morris@scsa.wa.edu.au

Francoise Purdue (08) 9273 6374
Francoise.Purdue@scsa.wa.edu.au

• ATAR and General English courses: the Assessment Outlines must include a speaking/listening assessment at least once for the pair of units (or once for a single unit where only one is being studied).
• Foundation English course: the Oral Communication assessment type must be assessed at least once across a pair of units (or once for a single unit where only one is being studied).

Years 11 and 12 Mathematics Essential

Leith Pavlinovich (08) 9273 6718
Leith.Pavlinovich@scsa.wa.edu.au

In addition to the advice on the minimum number of assessments required in 2023, students in Year 11 and Year 12 must complete one practical application and one statistical investigation to meet their minimum requirement in the practical application section of the Assessment Table.

ATAR Visual Arts course practical (production) examination requirements – 2023

Contact
Terry Pirlo (08) 9273 6722
Terry.Pirlo@scsa.wa.edu.au

Lisa Bowden (08) 9273 6349
Lisa.Bowden@scsa.wa.edu.au

Teachers of ATAR Year 12 Visual Arts are advised that in 2023 the Visual Arts ATAR course practical (production) examination requirements will revert to the same requirements as outlined in the 2021 Visual Arts ATAR course practical (production) examination requirements document.

Both teachers and students must be familiar with the course specific practical (production) examination requirements document, which is published each year. This document contains important information and advice about the practical examination and includes key dates for the relevant year.

The 2023 Visual Arts ATAR course practical (production) examination requirements will be available Friday, 24 March 2023 on the Visual Arts course page under ‘Examinations Materials’.

ATAR Ancient History Syllabus Review Information Sessions

Contact
Annette Moon (08) 9273 6789
Annette.Moon@scsa.wa.edu.au

Teachers are invited to register to attend Webex meetings for the ATAR Ancient History syllabus review information sessions:

• identify the main changes between the current and the draft course syllabuses
• learn about the draft revised syllabuses
• ask clarifying questions
• provide feedback through an online survey.

Teachers and stakeholders are requested to access the draft materials prior to attending the information session. Following the information session, teachers and stakeholders are encouraged to complete the online syllabus review consultation survey. Both the draft syllabus materials, and a link to access the survey will be published on the Ancient History page of the School Curriculum and Standards Authority website under ‘Syllabus review’.

The information sessions are free to attend. Schools are responsible for any costs of attending the information sessions. The dates for these events are:

• Tuesday, 28 February 2023, via Webex, 3.30 pm to 5.00 pm
• Wednesday, 8 March 2023, via Webex, 3.30 pm to 5.00 pm.

To register for one of these events, click this link https://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/events/ancient-history-atar-syllabus-review-information-meeting.

ATAR Modern History Syllabus Review Information Sessions

Contact
Meredith Beaton (08) 9273 6778
Meredith.Beaton@scsa.wa.edu.au

Teachers are invited to register to attend Webex meetings for the ATAR Modern History syllabus review information sessions to:

• identify the main changes between the current and the draft course syllabuses
• learn about the draft revised syllabuses
• ask clarifying questions
• provide feedback through an online survey.

Teachers and stakeholders are requested to access the draft materials prior to attending the information session. Following the information session, teachers and stakeholders are encouraged to complete the online syllabus review consultation survey. Both the draft syllabus materials, and a link to access the survey will be published on the Modern History page of the School Curriculum and Standards Authority website under ‘Syllabus review’.

The information sessions are free to attend.  Schools are responsible for any costs of attending the information sessions. The dates for these events are:

• Wednesday, 1 March 2023, via Webex, 3.30 pm to 5.00 pm
• Tuesday, 7 March 2023, via Webex, 3.30 pm to 5.00 pm.

To register for one of these events, click this link https://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/events/modern-history-atar-syllabus-review-information-meeting.

Design Thinking Workshop – 2023

Contact
Claire Hodge (08) 9273 6342
Claire.Hodge@scsa.wa.edu.au

Design Thinking methodologies are fundamental to the ATAR Design course. As part of a design process, Design Thinking helps identify and solve problems, generate and test ideas and improve products and services.

This workshop will focus on:

• understanding the purpose and benefit of Design Thinking in the real world
• exploring creative Design Thinking strategies to generate ideas
• exploring critical Design Thinking strategies to narrow and refine ideas
• developing a toolbox of strategies for classroom application.

This workshop will be an invaluable opportunity to assist teachers in the delivery of the new syllabus.

There are two opportunities to engage in the workshop:

• Face-to-face Meeting: Tuesday, 21 February, 4.00 – 6.00 pm or
• Face-to-face Meeting: Wednesday, 22 February, 4.00 – 6.00 pm.

Teachers are asked to bring the following digital or hard-copy document:

• the ATAR Year 11 Design Syllabus (for teaching from 2023 version).

The workshop is free to attend, however, schools are responsible for teacher relief and any travel and accommodation expenses (if required).

Registrations are now open at https://scsa.wa.edu.au/events/design-thinking-workshop-2023.

ATAR Year 12 Music New Composition Portfolio Student Work Samples

Contact
Nick Fielding (08) 9273 6756
Nick.Fielding@scsa.wa.edu.au

Teachers of the ATAR Music course are advised that new composition portfolio student work samples are now available on the School Curriculum and Standards Authority website.

Three samples (representing satisfactory, high and excellent achievement) are available and comprise three separate components:

• a summary statement and detailed annotations for all musical works in the portfolio, followed by suggested marks using the Music ATAR course Practical (composition portfolio) marking key
• an unabridged PDF of the musical works
• audio recordings of each musical work from the portfolio.

The composition portfolio student work samples may be useful for teachers who are marking composition portfolio student work, and for teachers who wish to learn more about the composition portfolio option in the ATAR Music course.

These resources are available on the Authority website: https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/assessment/grading/arts/music-atar (extranet login required).

ATAR Year 12 Music Performance Marking Key will revert to the standard format for 2023

Contact
Kevin Sadler (08) 9273 6332
Kevin.Sadler@scsa.wa.edu.au

Nick Fielding (08) 9273 6756
Nick.Fielding@scsa.wa.edu.au

Teachers of the ATAR Music course are advised that the Music ATAR course practical (performance) examination marking key will revert to its standard format for 2023. Specifically, Criterion 6: Musical interaction will be reinstated, along with the requirement that repertoire is presented with the intended accompaniment.

The marking key was modified for use in 2022, with the removal of the Musical interaction criterion to provide flexibility for teachers and students.

The Music ATAR course practical (performance) examination marking key for 2023 will be published Friday, 24 March 2023 on the Music course page of the School Curriculum and Standards Authority website under ‘Examination Materials’.

Minor changes to the assessment of Year 11 and Year 12 Mathematics Foundation for 2023

Contact
Leith Pavlinovich (08) 9273 6718
Leith.Pavlinovich@scsa.wa.edu.au

Teachers are advised that the minimum number of Practical Applications in Mathematics Foundation in both Year 11 and Year 12 has been reduced to a minimum of three per unit. Information regarding the level of independence with which students complete assessment tasks will now be included in the assessment table for each course. These updated syllabuses will be made available for teaching in January 2023.

2023 Meeting WACE Requirements Seminars

Contact
John Newman (08) 9273 6757
John.Newman@scsa.wa.edu.au

Schools are advised that the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (the Authority) is offering both learning area specific and generic administrators Meeting WACE Requirements seminars in February.

Meeting WACE Requirements seminars are designed for teachers in:

• schools that are offering a course for the first time in 2023
• schools that are reintroducing a course for the first time since 2016
• teachers delivering one or more WACE courses for the first time in 2023 (e.g. graduate teachers, teachers who have not previously taught Year 11 or Year 12, teachers whose past experience has been interstate or overseas)
• new school leaders (for example, Heads of Learning Area) and those leaders who would benefit from being made aware of the Authority’s current requirements for delivering senior secondary courses.

The purpose of these seminars is to provide teachers with information on the Authority’s assessment and moderation requirements that teachers need to follow when delivering senior secondary courses.

An online generic seminar will be conducted for teachers in regional, remote or international schools.

Registration and further information can be located on the Authority website using the link below:

https://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/events/meeting-wace-requirements-2023-seminars.

2023 Consensus Moderation

Contact
Graeme Quelch (08) 9273 6758
Graeme.Quelch@scsa.wa.edu.au

Schools are advised that the Board of the School Curriculum and Standards Authority has endorsed consensus moderation processes for selected ATAR and General Year 11 and Year 12 courses in 2023.

Participation in this moderation process is compulsory for all schools delivering a course in the table below. In 2023, consensus moderation meetings will be full day meetings.

Consensus meetings will focus on the review of student assessment files and the application of the grade descriptions in a course to determine a grade, and on assessment practice as outlined in the WACE Manual 2022 in Section 2.4.

A key aspect to achieving comparability in standards is the development and implementation of valid and appropriate school-based assessment tasks that provide for a comprehensive sampling of the syllabus content and provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate the full range of achievements.

Teachers participating are required to provide a student assessment file for three students (one at each grade from A to C), including all assessment types and all marked assessments up to the time of providing the file. Additionally, schools will be required to provide a proposed grade distribution for the course at the time of the meeting.

Course specific information will be provided to schools in Term 1, 2023.

In the Perth metropolitan area and larger regional centres consensus moderation occurs at meetings of typically 10–15 teachers. Schools more than 100 km from the nearest scheduled meeting venue will be given the option of either attending meetings at their nearest location or participating in an online meeting following the same process as the face-to-face meetings.

Consensus moderation meetings will be conducted in Weeks 7, 8 and 9 of Term 2 and in Weeks 2, 3 and 4 of Term 3, 2023.

Further information on consensus moderation can be found in Section 3.4.3 of the WACE Manual 2022.

During Term 1, 2023, each school will be required to register one teacher for each of the courses below that the school is delivering.

Information regarding registration of teachers and specific course requirements will be sent to Principals in Term 1, 2023.

Teachers are reminded they need to have procedures in place to ensure that all marked student work is retained for moderation purposes. This includes evidence collected for courses with portfolios and/or practical requirements. Please see the WACE Manual 2022 (Section 2.8) for further details.

Courses in Consensus Moderation in 2023

WACE Language course applications – Year 11 or 12 2023

Contact
Adriana Douglas (08) 9273 6784
Adriana.Douglas@scsa.wa.edu.au

Schools in Western Australian are advised that the 2022 date for submission of a WACE Language course application has been closed. Applications for new enrolments in Year 11 and Year 12 will open from Monday, 23 January 2023 to Thursday, 23 February 2023.

Applications are to be submitted online via the Student Records Management System (SRMS) student portal https://studentportal.scsa.wa.edu.au/.

How to check the language course application status of students intending to enrol in a language course
To complement report CSE208 (Language Course Application Status) in the Student Information Records System (SIRS), a new report (CSE229 – SRMS Language Course Application Status) has been developed. CSE229 shows the status of all online language course applications submitted via the Student Record Management System (SRMS) student portal. CSE208 shows the application status of students who have submitted language applications using the paper form, and those students who have submitted online language applications through the student portal that have been finalised. CSE208 will be phased out in 2024.

CSE229 is available via the following SIRS pathway:

Reports > Other reports > Report type: Enrolments, Report: CSE229 – SRMS Language Course Application Status.

After selecting the current calendar year, it is important to select the relevant Academic Year (eg: Year 10 in 2022 for students intending to enrol in Year 11 in 2023).

If you have any questions, please use the School guide for online applications for WACE language courses or Student guide for online applications for WACE language courses to assist you/your students in completing the applications, or email languagesenrolment@scsa.wa.edu.au.

How to Search for a WASN in SIRS

Contact
Data Services (08) 9273 6344
numbers@scsa.wa.edu.au

dataservices@scsa.wa.edu.au

If a student arrives at your school from another school in Western Australia, or even from overseas/interstate, you have the ability to search in the Student Information Records System (SIRS) for that student’s Western Australian Student Number (WASN) using a family name, given name and date of birth.

At this time of year, you are able to search for all 2022 (and previous years) students in the database.

1. Hover over Enrolments in the menu bar.
2. Click on Student Enrolment > Student Maintenance > Find Student Number (see image below).

The Find Student Number directory will appear (see image below). Enter the student’s Family Name, Given Name and Date of Birth.

3. Click Search.If the information you have entered exactly matches the information in SIRS, you will find a result even if the student is not at your school (see image below).

If the details you have requested are different from the information in SIRS (e.g. date of birth is different, Jackie is spelt as Jacky), no information will be found. In this case, please email numbers@scsa.wa.edu.au and provide the student’s:

• Family Name (Surname)
• Given Name (First Name)
• Date of Birth
• Academic Year
• Previous School (if known).

Troubleshooting: Search WASN

1. What happens if the requested information does not show?

   Email numbers@scsa.wa.edu.au and provide student name, academic year and date of birth.

2. What happens when a single year (e.g. 2012 to 2012) is entered in the date range?

   Only a result for that year will be returned.

3. What does it mean when the Department of Education is shown as the student’s main provider?

   It means the student is likely to be under a Notice of Arrangements or may have been on the Whereabouts Unknown List (more likely with Years K-10).

Registration of students on SIRS in 2023

Contact
Data Services (08) 9273 6344
dataservices@scsa.wa.edu.au

Schools and other education providers are reminded that in 2023, NAPLAN tests will be conducted from Wednesday 15 March to Monday, 27 March 2023 (instead of being administered in May, as was the case in 2022).

Therefore, schools must ensure that all registration uploads for students in Year 3, 5, 7 and 9 must be completed by Friday, 24 February 2023. There will not be an opportunity for school data to be transferred to the NAPLAN platform beyond this date.

Please also note the following important dates for the upload of student registration and demographic information to the Student Information Records System (SIRS) in 2023.

Thursday, 9 February 2023

• Initial 2023 registration and demographic information for Years 10–12 students (required for Online Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (OLNA) student lists and password generation (via SRGDG file).
• Initial 2023 registration and demographic information for students in Years 3, 5, 7 and 9 (required for National Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) (via SRGDG file).
• Initial 2023 registration information for all teachers where students attend schools using Brightpath (via THREG file).

Thursday, 30 March 2023

• Registration and demographic information for all remaining Kindergarten – Year 8 students other than those listed above is due to be uploaded by Thursday, 30 March 2023.

Updates to registration and demographic information should be uploaded into SIRS on a regular basis for the remainder of the year.

Details of how to register students are provided in the Data Procedures Manual with links to assist schools using various school databases. There is also a separate Student Registration Procedures Manual to assist primary schools with creating and uploading their Student Registration and Demographic File (SRGDG).

Schools are requested to include their school code in any correspondence.

Recording of enrolment and achievement of VET units of competency delivered through VET credit transfer or VET qualifications – Year 9 students, 2022

Contact
Jacky Woods
Jacky.Woods@scsa.wa.edu.au

Permission must be obtained from the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (the Authority) for Year 9 students to enrol and have achievements in Vocational Education and Training (VET) units of competency achieved through VET credit transfer or VET qualifications contribute towards the Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE).

Schools should apply only if the studies for these students are part of a longer-term program where:

• students are in remote community schools where learning programs relate directly to the local industry, or
• students are accessing VET as part of an individual education program (IEP), and
• a valid opportunity has been presented which supports an ongoing and coherent training pathway.

An application form for permission for the recording of enrolment and achievement of VET units of competency delivered through VET credit transfer/VET qualifications – Year 9 students, 2022 is available on the Authority website via the following link: https://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/forms/forms under Achievements.

The completed application form is to be returned to the Authority by Thursday, 22 December 2022.

Please note, the closing date for application of enrolments and achievements has been extended.