New name for the circular

Contact
Vanessa Peters (08) 9273 6703
vanessa.peters@scsa.wa.edu.au

Welcome to our re-named circular. The name 11to12 Circular has replaced eCircular to clearly identify the target audience, and complement the Kto10 Circular naming convention.

Encourage your colleagues to subscribe to our circulars to keep up-to-date with the latest information about school curriculum and assessment, standards and certification of student achievement in Western Australia.

Release of the Australian Government’s Review of the Australian Curriculum Final Report

Contact
Vanessa Peters (08) 9273 6703
vanessa.peters@scsa.wa.edu.au

On Monday 13 October 2014, the Australian Government released the final report on the Review of the Australian Curriculum.

A letter to principals regarding the release of the report was sent to schools on 13 October 2014 and can be accessed at: http://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/_Documents/General/Letter_to_schools_Oct_2015.pdf

You can read the report and additional information on the Australian Government's StudentsFirst website:http://www.studentsfirst.gov.au/review-australian-curriculum

The WACE - Information for students starting Year 11 in 2015 (brochure)

Contact
Vanessa Peters (08) 9273 6703
vanessa.peters@scsa.wa.edu.au

This brochure provides a range of information for students starting Year 11 in 2015 on what they need to know to achieve a WACE.  It includes information relating to the depth and breadth requirement, achievement standard, literacy and numeracy standard, examinations, VET and endorsed programs.

The brochure can be accessed at:www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/_Documents/Publications/WACE_Brochure_Yr_11_in_2015.pdf

Endorsed programs update

Contact
Leanne Meldrum (08) 9273 6746
leanne.meldrum@scsa.wa.edu.au

Endorsed programs results 2014
Schools are reminded that:

• 3 November 2014 is the last date for upload into SIRS of Year 12 achievement data in endorsed programs
• 5 December 2014 is the last date for upload into SIRS of Year 10 and Year 11 achievement data in endorsed programs.

Section 7 of the WACE Procedures File provides instructions for uploading achievement data in endorsed programs.
http://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/Publications/WACE_Procedures_File

Endorsed programs list for 2015
The list of endorsed programs available for selection in 2015 is now on the Authority website athttp://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/Apps/EP/display.aspx under the heading

• 2015 Endorsed programs codes and achievement descriptors.

The following new programs have been endorsed:

• Antipodeans Abroad – Expedition
• Australian Guild of Music Education – Music and Speech and Drama examinations
• Charlesworth Ballet Institute – Professional performance program
• Curtin University - Enabling programs
• Horse Vision Centre – Youth support program
• IC Central Pty Ltd – Microsoft examinations
• Keep it Lean Consulting – Just Start IT competition
• School Curriculum and Standards Authority – Community Service
• Tapatak Oz – Dance examinations.

Each program that has been endorsed or re-endorsed for 2015 and beyond has been given a new code and has been allocated one, two, three or four unit equivalents. Two learning programs have been allocated zero unit equivalents so they can be reported on the statement of results.

Workplace learning options for 2015 and beyond
The Authority has endorsed a new Workplace Learning program that replaces the current modes of endorsed workplace learning programs.

2015 is a transition year with the following workplace learning options available:

• Authority-developed endorsed program Workplace Learning (ADWPL) - for Year 10, 11 and 12 students
• Workplace Learning course (1A/B/C/D WPL) - for Year 12 students only
• ASDAN Preparatory Award Programs – Workright - for students with special educational needs only.

From 2016 the Workplace Learning course will no longer be available.

Schools are reminded that students currently undertaking an endorsed workplace learning program (WL1, WL2, PGWS) must complete the program before the results deadlines in 2014 as they cannot be carried over into 2015.

Recognition of university units for 2015 and beyond
From 2015, the Authority will no longer list the university units that WA universities are prepared to offer to senior secondary students. However, if a student successfully completes a university unit the school can apply to the Authority to have the achievement contribute one unit equivalent towards the WACE completion requirement. This will be reported on the student’s WA Statement of Student Achievement.

Enrolling Year 11 students into the ‘new’ course units in 2015

Contact
Jenny Offer (08) 9273 6313
jenny.offer@scsa.wa.edu.au

Transition arrangements
Current arrangements regarding student requirements to achieve a WACE apply to Year 12 students in 2014 and 2015.  New requirements for the WACE come into effect for Year 11 students in 2015, and Year 11 and Year 12 students in 2016.
2015 is a transition year for schools. Year 12 students will continue to enrol in the existing WACE courses in Stage 1, Stage 2 or Stage 3. Year 11 students, however, must enrol in the new ATAR, General, VET Industry Specific, Foundation and Preliminary courses.
In summary, in 2015, Year 11 students:

• are unable to enrol in the current Stage 1 and Stage 2 course units
• may enrol in the current Stage 3 course units only if they are on accelerated pathways. In these cases, the students would need to apply to the Authority to sit the WACE examination in Stage 3 of a course and these students would be exiting the course. Students who are permitted to sit the WACE examination in Year 11 cannot sit the examination in the equivalent ATAR course when they are in Year 12
• can enrol in Year 11 ATAR, General, Foundation, Preliminary and VET Industry Specific course units.

New WACE courses
The ATAR, General and Foundation courses comprise two Year 11 units (units 1 and 2, which may be studied and reported to the Authority as a pair, or separately when students are required, or choose to change courses at the end of Semester 1) and two Year 12 units (units 3 and 4, which must be studied and reported to the Authority as a pair). Year 12 courses will be available in 2016.
There are instances where students studying a pair of Year 11 units may need to change into another course at the end of Semester 1. Examples include:

• enrolling in a Foundation course, meeting the standard in the Online Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (OLNA) during Semester 1 and being required to change into an ATAR or General course unit in Semester 2
• enrolling in an ATAR course and then changing into a General course in Semester 2 or the reverse (e.g. changing from ATAR English into General English or General English into ATAR English)
• enrolling in an ATAR or General course in a subject and changing into a different subject in Semester 2 (e.g. changing from ATAR Literature into ATAR English).

To facilitate this flexibility for students studying Year 11 courses, the Authority provides the following procedures for 2015:

• Schools will be required to enrol their Year 11 (and in some circumstances, Year 10 students) into a pair of units (E code) or into single units (units 1 and 2) in Semester 1 and Semester 2.
• Where students are enrolled in a Foundation course, but meet the literacy or numeracy standard in the OLNA during Semester 1, the school is required to provide a mark and a grade for the students for unit 1 in the Foundation course, enrol them into unit 2 in an ATAR or General course in Semester 2 and provide a mark and a grade for the unit.
• For students transferring between courses at the end of Semester 1, the school would typically provide a mark and a grade for unit 1 of the course completed, enrol the student into a different course unit in Semester 2 and provide a mark and a grade for unit 2 of this course.

In VETis courses the units are paired in both Year 11 (E code) and Year 12 (T code). If a student withdraws from a VETis course after only one semester, no credit is received.

Minor edits to 2015/16 syllabuses

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

Minor edits to syllabuses in Accounting and Finance, Animal Production Systems, EAL/D, Mathematics, Plant Production Systems are listed in the table below. The updated version of each syllabus can be found within the relevant Learning Area page of the WACE 2015-2016 section of the Authority website.

Updated versions are indicated on the website as: (updated 13/10/14)

Music update

Contact
Jane Alderson (08) 9273 6756
jane.alderson@scsa.wa.edu.au

The 2015 WACE Music written examinations will not include the use of personal listening devices. Music excerpts will be played simultaneously to all candidates from a common source. Given this change, the structure of the written examinations in 2015 will be as follows:

• Section One: Aural and analysis
• Section Two: Cultural and Historical analysis
• Section Three: Music Skills

The Music written examination design briefs for Stage 2 and Stage 3 in the Music syllabus for teaching and examination in 2015 reflect these changes. The revised syllabus for 2015 is available on the Music course page listed under Syllabus with the sub-heading For teaching 2015 only at the following link:http://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/Senior_Secondary/Courses/WACE_Courses/Music

The print, audio and timing components of the written examination will be demonstrated in a sample Music written examination document and a sample recording script. These documents will be sent to all schools that have delivered Stage 2 and Stage 3 Music in 2014 and will also be available on the Authority’s website, listed underExamination materiaIs on the Music course page.

The sample Music written examination document will include:

• the front page of the examination paper
• the inside cover of the examination paper
• a sound check sample
• two sample questions from Section One: Aural and Analysis
• instructions for Section Two: Cultural and historical analysis
• the timing for the playing of music excerpts within and between questions.

The timing provided in the sample examination documents is indicative only. The timing in the WACE Music written examination will be dependent upon the length of the music excerpt and the number and complexity of the responses required.

In 2015, candidates will be allocated to a music examination centre according to the context and stage in which they are enrolled. In examination rooms where there are more than 10 candidates, the sound will be managed by a professional audio visual company contracted by the Authority.

Designated works lists
2015 is the final year of the current rotation of designated works. The new Music Designated works lists for 2016-2018 will be published in 2015 to allow teachers time to adapt and acquire resources ready for implementation in 2016.

Music Resource package for the practical component
TheMusic Resource package for the practical componentdocument has been revised to accompany the new WACE ATAR courses with updated technical lists for all instruments across all contexts. The document will be available in Term 4 and will be available on the Music course page of the website with the ATAR course materials at the following link: http://wace1516.scsa.wa.edu.au/arts/

Teacher support materials for WACE 2015 Year 11 syllabuses

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

Teachers are advised that sample course outlines, assessment outlines and assessment tasks with marking keys for Year 11 ATAR, Year 11 General, Year 11 Foundation and units 1-4 of the Preliminary courses are progressively being published on the Authority website during Term 4.

These sample documents will support teachers to meet course delivery requirements for 2015. Published material will be available at http://wace1516.scsa.wa.edu.au/

2015 WACE activities schedule available online

Contact
Jenny Offer (08) 9273 6313
jenny.offer@scsa.wa.edu.au

The Authority’s 2015 WACE activities schedule is available on the Authority website athttp://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/Publications/WACE_Activities_Schedule.

The dates in this schedule are colour-coded. Orange dates are for items to be received by the Authority. Blue dates are for items that will be available to, or received by, schools/providers. Green dates are significant to both schools and the Authority.

The following changes for 2015 should be noted:

Data integrity essential for VET and endorsed programs

Contact
Jenny Offer (08) 9273 6313
jenny.offer@scsa.wa.edu.au
Endorsed programs
Leanne Meldrum (08) 9273 6746
leanne.meldrum@scsa.wa.edu.au
VET
Nicole Gazey (08) 9442 9401
nicole.gazey@scsa.wa.edu.au

VET and endorsed program achievement data submitted to the School Curriculum and Standards Authority are important components in determining if a student has met the WACE requirements.

It is essential that schools provide accurate achievement information for all VET and endorsed programs to the Authority. Schools are urged to be thorough, especially when collecting and uploading VET achievement data from registered training organisations (RTOs) and endorsed program achievement from endorsed program providers.

For endorsed programs, the principal is responsible for ensuring:

• the school has verified the achievement data from the relevant endorsed program provider
• that an appropriate record of the evidence of this achievement is maintained at the school.

For VET, the principal must declare that the achievement data submitted by the school is correct. The declaration will state that:

• the result for each unit of competency has been verified by the RTO
• full qualifications achieved by students have been verified by the RTO.

Appropriate evidence of achievement and verification from RTOs may be in the form of an email or letter bearing the organisation’s logo or on a letterhead, stating the outcomes of individual units of competency and, where relevant, full qualifications that have been achieved by the specified students. If available, a copy of the statement of attainment, qualification certificate or other specified evidence of achievement may be used.

The declaration form will be emailed to schools on Friday, 14 November 2014 with the confirmation of achievement data package for Year 12 students.

Inaccurate information may result in some ‘eligible’ students not receiving a WACE. This may also preclude students from receiving university offers. As students are notified of this information as early as 29 December, principals will be required to ensure school records are updated and the correct data is provided to the Authority in the first few days of the new year before university offers are made. Schools will be charged the costs to make these corrections.

RSQUAL (results qualification) file upload
Schools are asked to ensure that only students who have achieved a full qualification – as evidenced by either the issuing of a certificate or written notification from the registered training organisation (RTO) – are included in the RSQUAL file.

If a student does not have the correct number of units of competency linked to a qualification in the RSVET file, the RSQUAL file will fail to upload to SIRS. Schools will be notified by an error message.

Please note: SIRS will count units of competency achieved in the current and previous year if the qualification code is the same.

If the qualification code has changed from the previous year, or the student is using units of competency from a different qualification, then those units of competency are required to be included in the current RSVET file and recorded as 60: Credit transfer.

More detailed information about the RSQUAL file is provided in the WACE Procedures File. See section 7.1.4 (SIS) or section 6.3 of Appendix 2 (MAZE). The WACE Procedures File is available on the Authority website athttp://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/Publications/WACE_Procedures_File/WACE_Procedures.

VET students granted exemption from sitting the 2014 WACE examinations
A cross-check of VET qualification achievement data and the VET students that have been granted exemption from sitting the 2014 WACE examinations will be implemented to identify inconsistencies in qualification completion data. An Authority officer will follow up anomalies with the relevant schools on a case-by-case basis.

Ensure your Year 12 student details and community service hours are accurate

Contact
Lynn Galbraith (08) 9273 6702
lynn.galbraith@scsa.wa.edu.au
Jenny Offer (08) 9273 6313
jenny.offer@scsa.wa.edu.au

Schools are reminded the last date for uploading Year 12 student registration and demographic data is 21 November 2014.

All schools are requested to upload their SRGDG (Student registration and demographic file) on a regular basis to ensure the accuracy of student registration and demographic data. This is particularly important for the Year 12 students who will be receiving their WACE and/or statements of results through Australia Post early in 2015.

Please ensure that the student home and postal address details are correct. The Certificate Name that appears on the CSE059 Report is the name that will be printed on the student’s statement of results and WACE. This information is taken from the Certificate Name field in the SRGDG file. These details can be checked by running the Verification of student details report via the pathway Reports > Other Reports > Enrolments > CSE059 – Verification of Student Details.

Schools should ensure students check this information carefully, make any changes and upload their SRGDG file. Instructions for uploading the SRGDG file can be found in Section 5 of the WACE Procedures File athttp://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/Publications/WACE_Procedures_File.

If a student has received prior learning block credit, this will also show on the Verification report.

It is a legislative requirement that all secondary students in Western Australia are registered with the Authority until the end of the year in which they turn 17 years and 6 months of age, regardless of their study program. This applies to students undertaking ‘Flying Start programs’, students at intensive English centres, or students at education support centres. This does not apply to those classed as an ‘overseas student’.

Community service hours
The number of community service hours a student has completed can be uploaded through the SRGDG file, and this will appear on students’ statements of results. If no hours are noted, no mention of community service will be made on the statement.

Left Provider/Left Secondary Education
Year 12 students should not be removed from the school roll unless they have left Western Australia, are deceased, or the school has received advice from either the Department of Education or the Authority that the student is on an approved Notice of Arrangements. Students who have been removed from the roll and marked as ‘Left’ will not receive a statement of results from the Authority, even if they have results for Year 11 and a portion of Year 12.

Introduction to SIRS 2015

Contact
Lynn Galbraith (08) 9273 6702
lynn.galbraith@scsa.wa.ed.au

Schools are invited to send staff who use the Student Information Records System (SIRS) to a familiarisation seminar at the Authority. The seminar is aimed at new and existing users who have not previously attended a seminar.

Ideally, two staff members should attend; the clerical staff member who may be responsible for maintaining the changes on the school database and the deputy or associate principal who is responsible for timetable changes for students.

The seminar will cover the system’s basic operations and functions regarding data transfer and generation of reports which enable the information that has been transferred to SIRS to be checked.

The seminar will last two hours. Participants will log into SIRS using their own school login and password.

There will be four sessions available prior to school commencing in 2015, which may be preferable for staff in remote and country WA.

Seminar dates and times (2015)

More sessions may be provided if these sessions are fully booked.

Registrations can be made online at
www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/Events_and_Forms/Registrations_and_Logins/SIRS_intro.

The seminars will be in the Authority’s Temby and Louden rooms at 303  Sevenoaks Street, Cannington.  Further details will be supplied to participants once registered.

In 2014, two sessions were held in Bunbury for South West participants, and if we have enough interest for 2015, it may be possible to conduct sessions there again.  Please contact Lynn.Galbraith@scsa.wa.edu.au if you would be interested in attending SIRS Familiarisation in Bunbury.

Registration of secondary students and early registration of Year 10 students in 2015

Contact
Lynn Galbraith (08) 9273 6702
lynn.galbraith@scsa.wa.edu.au

Schools and other education providers will be required to register their Year 10 and Year 11 students with the Authority by Thursday, 19 February 2015.  All other students in Years 7, 8, 9, and 12 must be registered by Friday, 20 March 2015.

It is critical that Year 10 and Year 11 students are registered by 19 February to ensure their inclusion in the compulsory Online Literacy and Numeracy Assessment in March (unless prequalified through Year 9 NAPLAN performance, or have already achieved the standard as Year 10s). Demonstrating the minimum standard in the three components of the assessment (reading, writing and numeracy) is a requirement for students to achieve the WACE from 2016.

Please note this is the first year for Year 7 students to be registered on SIRS.  The process is the same as registering Years 8 – 12.

Details of how to register students will be noted in the updated Data Procedures Manual 2015 with instructions to assist schools using Reporting To Parents, MAZE, and Excel.

School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA) student numbers
For information about SCSA student numbers, see the relevant item in this eCircular.

Requests for SCSA student numbers for 2015

Contact
Lynn Galbraith (08) 9273 6702
lynn.galbraith@scsa.wa.edu.au
SCSA student numbers info line (08) 9273 6344
numbers@scsa.wa.edu.au

Schools may request School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA) student numbers automatically through the Student Information Record System (SIRS) for Year 7 and Year 8 students starting in 2015. Details of how to request SCSA student numbers are in Section 5.1 of the WACE Procedures File 2014, which is available online athttp://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/Publications/WACE_Procedures_File.  The WACE Procedures File will be replaced in 2015 by a Data Procedures Manual.

For students other than Year 7 or 8, schools are encouraged to do an initial search in SIRS for student numbers via Enrolment > Student Enrolment > Find Student Number. If no record is found, schools can emailnumbers@scsa.wa.edu.au and advise the following:

• your school code
• student first name
• student surname
• date of birth
• academic year
• if the student has arrived in WA from overseas or interstate.

This will enable a more comprehensive search to be undertaken before a new number is issued.

Schools who allocated Year 7 numbers to their students in 2014 are requested to utilise the same number for each student, and upload via their Student registration and demographic (SRGDG) files in 2015 when the students enter Year 8.

Students on a Notice of Arrangements – uploading results 2014

Contact
Lynn Galbraith (08) 9273 6702
lynn.galbraith@scsa.wa.edu.au

Students who have received an approved Notice of Arrangements late in the year may be entitled to receive results for course units completed.

If you are uploading results for a student who has previously been withdrawn from a course unit on transfer to code 9000 with a Notice of Arrangements, you will receive warning messages similar to the following:
“The Course Results (RSCOS): rscos1234y1up.csv has been successfully processed but has recorded the following warnings:
Warning occurred on record: 8 (Student: 12345678: Doe, Jane). The following issue should be noted:
-     The student with Student No 12345678 has been re-enrolled to the course unit 2AACF of course ACF.
Warning occurred on record: 23 (Student: 12345678: Doe, Jane). The following issue should be noted:
-     The student with Student No 12345678 has been re-enrolled to the course unit 1AAET of course AET.”

Please note this is not an error; it means the student has been re-enrolled into the course unit and a result has been recorded for that unit. It will not create a new enrolment, it will only re-enrol. To receive a green tick to indicate a successful upload, please upload the same file again – the warning messages will not appear as the re-enrolment has already taken place.

Similar warnings will be received when uploading RSVET and RSEND files to advise a student has been re-enrolled into the Unit of Competency or Endorsed Program.

Year 12 students on a Notice of Arrangements will also receive a statement of results from the Authority.

WACE eligibility – identifying WACE requirements to be met

Contact
Jenny Offer (08) 9273 6313
jenny.offer@scsa.wa.edu.au
Lynn Galbraith (08) 9273 6702
lynn.galbraith@scsa.wa.edu.au
Kerry Tarrant (08) 9273 6770
kerry.tarrant@scsa.wa.edu.au

To enable schools to determine the progress of their Year 12 students towards achieving a WACE, schools can generate the SIRS report, WACE Eligibility – Students Not Achieving WACE, which lists the requirements achieved and not achieved. It is available via the pathway: Reports > Other Reports > Certification > Report: CSE015.

This report lists all Year 12 students who, according to the data currently uploaded into SIRS, will not achieve a WACE. The report indicates for each student whether or not he/she has met each of the WACE requirements relating to breadth and depth, achievement standard and English language competence.

The report is applicable only after students’ achievements have been uploaded into SIRS. It is important to note that the eligibility status of students may change with the uploading of new achievement data into SIRS.

The SIRS database will be ‘locked’ on Friday, 21 November 2014. Schools will no longer be able to upload changes to Year 12 student achievements.

From Monday, 24 November 2014, schools will be able to run the Confirmation of Students’ Results report in SIRS. This report indicates the number of full-time Year 12 students:

• eligible to receive a WACE
• who will receive a WACE if the results submitted by the school are accepted by the Authority.

This report is available via the pathway: Reports > Other Reports > Certification > Report: CSE078. The report also lists the names of the full-time eligible Year 12 students who will not receive a WACE. This part of the report is similar to the table generated by CSE015. Note also, by checking the Yes/No status of listed students with respect to the criteria, schools may see which of these criteria have not been met.

Year 11 enrolments in course units – 2015

Contact
Jenny Offer (08) 9273 6313
jenny.offer@scsa.wa.edu.au

New courses
For the first time in 2015, Year 11 students (and Year 10 students if applicable) will enrol in ATAR, General, Foundation, Preliminary and VET Industry Specific courses.

Year 10 and Year 11 students cannot enrol in the current Preliminary, Stage 1 and/or Stage 2 course units in 2015. These students may enrol in Stage 3 course units only if they are on accelerated pathways. In these cases, the students would need to apply to the Authority to sit the WACE examination in the Stage 3 course and it would be expected that the students were exiting the course.  Students who are permitted to sit the WACE examination in Year 11 (or Year 10) cannot sit the examination in the same subject when they are in Year 12.

Due date to upload enrolments – Year 10 and Year 11 students
In order to assist schools to monitor their students’ enrolments, the Authority will be collecting Year 10 and Year 11 enrolments earlier in the year (than in previous years).  Schools will be required to upload into SIRS enrolments for Year 10 and Year 11 students studying units in ATAR, General, Foundation, Preliminary and VET Industry Specific courses by 6 March 2015.

Eligibility for Year 11 Foundation and Preliminary Courses
As part of the reforms to the Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE), the Authority has developed Foundation and Preliminary courses to ensure that the full range of student abilities and interests are met.

To ensure that enrolment in Foundation course units is restricted to students for whom these courses are appropriate, the Authority will not accept the enrolment in the following cases:

• where Year 10 and Year 11 students have not pre-qualified and have not sat the ONLA, they are not eligible to enrol in any Foundation course.
• where Year 10 and Year 11 students have achieved the minimum standard of literacy in the literacy component of the Year 10 Literacy and Numeracy Assessment or have pre-qualified through Year 9 NAPLAN, they are not eligible to enrol in Foundation English and other List A Foundation courses (i.e. English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D) Foundation course, or Career and Enterprise Foundation course).
• where Year 10 and Year 11 students have achieved the minimum standard of numeracy in the numeracy component of the Year 10 Literacy and Numeracy Assessment or have pre-qualified through Year 9 NAPLAN, they are not eligible to enrol in Foundation Mathematics and other List B Foundation courses (i.e. Applied Information Technology Foundation course and the Health, Physical and Outdoor Education Foundation course).
• where Year 10 and Year students have achieved the minimum standard of literacy and/or numeracy in Semester 1 of Year 11, they are not eligible to enrol in the associated Foundation courses in Semester 2 of that year.

However, the Authority will accept the enrolment in the following cases:

• where Year 11 students have achieved the minimum standard of literacy in Semester 2 of Year 11 or during Year 12 they will be permitted to continue in Foundation English and other List A Foundation courses in Year 12.
• where Year 11 students have achieved the minimum standard of numeracy in Semester 2 of Year 11 or during Year 12 they will be permitted to continue in Foundation Mathematics and other List B Foundation courses in Year 12.

The above enrolment restrictions will be set in SIRS to prevent schools enrolling students in Foundation courses who have met literacy and/or numeracy minimum standards.

Year 12 achievement data due by 3 November

Contact
Kerry Tarrant (08) 9273 6770
kerry.tarrant@scsa.wa.edu.au

In accordance with the 2014 WACE activities schedule, it is time for schools to provide achievements for Year 12 students in:

• course units for Semester 1, 2 or full year
• VET qualifications
• VET units of competency
• endorsed programs.

Also, any Year 11 students sitting WACE examinations this year.

The achievements are to be submitted to the Student Information Record System (SIRS) through the RSCOS, RSVET, RSEND and RSQUAL files by 3 November 2014.

Grades
For each course unit at Stage 1, 2 or 3, schools must submit a grade of A, B, C, D, E or a ‘U’ notation. In the case of Preliminary stage units, schools report either completed (A) or not completed (U).

A ‘U’ notation can be submitted for Stage 1, 2 or 3 units only when the student:

• is returning to repeat Year 12 in 2015
• has been given the opportunity to submit work for assessment after the achievements are due at the Authority.

In the second instance, the school must amend the course unit mark and assign a grade by
21 November 2014. After this date no more changes can be made to Year 12 achievement data.

Course unit marks
A course unit mark and a course unit written mark must be submitted for each completed course at Stage 2 or Stage 3. For courses with a practical examination (oral, performance, portfolio or production submission) a course unit practical mark, a course unit written mark and a course unit mark must be submitted. Schools are also encouraged to submit a course unit mark for Stage 1 units. Marks must be entered as a whole number out of 100.

The course unit written mark is calculated by adding the weighted marks for the assessment tasks (or parts of tasks) which the teacher determines are written assessment tasks and converted to a mark out of 100.

The course unit practical mark is calculated by adding the weighted marks for the assessment tasks (or parts of tasks) which the teacher determines are practical assessment tasks (e.g. assessing practical skills/techniques) and converted to a mark out of 100.

The Authority will use each school’s written WACE examination marks to statistically moderate their course unit written marks. The practical WACE examination marks will be used to statistically moderate the course unit practical marks. This process will provide fairness for those students whose performance differs between the written and practical aspects of the course.

VET and Endorsed program achievement
Use the values and achievement descriptors relevant to the VET units of competency and specific endorsed program to submit student achievement through the appropriate file to SIRS.

Information regarding the submission of the achievement data was emailed to schools on
13 October 2014. If schools require clarification regarding the achievement collection processes, please contact Kerry Tarrant.

Copies of 2014 examination papers available at the examination centre

Contact
Jenny Morup (08) 9273 6309
jenny.morup@scsa.wa.edu.au

Schools with candidates presenting for a WACE examination can collect one copy of the examination paper one hour after the start of the examination. Multiple copies of the examination paper will not be given to a school as this would contravene the Copyright Act.

Teachers must not enter the examination room to request copies of the papers. Where prior arrangements have been made with the chief supervisor, a copy of each examination paper will be left in the school reception area. For examinations with an aural or visual component, copies of the CDs/DVDs cannot be distributed.

For schools whose students are sitting the examination at a centre other than their school, a copy of the examination paper may be collected from the examination centre as outlined above or they can email exams@scsa.wa.edu.au prior to Friday, 28 November 2014 to arrange for a copy to be sent to them. Phone requests cannot be accepted due to the provisions of the Copyright Act.

For schools that do not have candidates sitting the WACE examination in that course in 2014, a copy of the examination papers will be available for download from the Authority website early in 2015.