Register now for WACE 2015–16 and Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline (K–10) briefings

Contact
Caroline Walker (08) 9273 6375
caroline.walker@scsa.wa.edu.au

Principals and deputy principals are reminded they can register for briefings on the WACE 2015–16 and the Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline. The briefings will be presented by Authority CEO Allan Blagaich across the State in February and March and will focus on:

• The WACE 2015–16 revisions (secondary only)
• What’s new in the Outline (primary and secondary).

Register now athttp://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/Events_and_Forms/Events/wace_2015_2016_K10_Outline_briefings.

Online Literacy and Numeracy Assessment information in schools – Year 10 2014

Contact
Ben Businovski (08) 9273 6378
ben.businovski@scsa.wa.edu.au

The Authority has provided principals with information regarding the conduct of the Online Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (OLNA) from 10–21 March 2014.

The set of documents contains:

Core procedural guidelines

• OLNA Information for principals and coordinators
• OLNA Disability adjustments – Information for principals and coordinators
• OLNA Information for assessment supervisors
• OLNA Information for students

Support materials

• OLNA Support materials for teachers
• OLNA Website user guide
• OLNA Student list and password management guide

Administrative form attachments

• OLNA Declaration form
• OLNA Disability adjustments request form
• OLNA School schedule form

The OLNA Information for principals and coordinators document provides principals with guidance for leading and delegating preparations. A checklist is provided at the end of the document detailing when actions need to be completed, the first of which is to be no later than 3 February 2014.

Once logged into the extranet, teachers and school leaders will find the core procedural guidelines and the OLNA Support materials for teachers under Senior Secondary > Online Literacy and Numeracy Assessment.

Teachers and school leaders can register for the extranet at http://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/Apps/lms/default.aspx.

If you are still having difficulties, please email LMSHelp@scsa.wa.edu.au for further assistance.

Frequently asked questioins soon will be available on the Authority website athttp://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/Senior_Secondary/OLNA.

Australian Curriculum Phases 2 and 3 review and implementation timeline

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

The State Government has provided the Authority with $6.9 million to work with teachers and schools to adapt the Australian Curriculum Phase 2 and 3 subjects to suit Western Australian needs.

In a letter provided to school principals this week, Mr Collier stated:
“Western Australia will adopt and adapt the Australian Curriculum K-12 to suit the needs of our students and our schools. Western Australia has always been resolute in its position that we have the flexibility to determine the final syllabus on a year by year basis. Our position on that issue has not changed.

“The funding provided to the Authority at Mid-Year Review will be used for further refinement and adjustment of the curriculum content and the development of resources and materials, including standards of achievement, to fully support  all primary and secondary teachers. This work will commence during 2014 in consultation with teachers.”

“The value of bringing teachers together to develop a range of assessments, illustrate their use and effectiveness in the classroom, and, using the work their students produce to exemplify the standards, cannot be underestimated.”

Timeline
The implementation timeline for Phases 2 and 3:

School leaders and teachers can view the letter at www.scsa.wa.edu.au.

Breach of examination rules 2013–14

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

Breach of Examination Rules Committee found that 56 students had breached examination rules.  All but 14 of the breaches were for the practical examinations. The breaches indicated that teachers were not following the practical examination requirements sent to schools in March and that students were not informed of these requirements, nor had they followed the instructions written in the Year 12 Information Handbook.

The table below summarises the penalties for these breaches of examination rules

Ten candidates appealed the committee’s decision. The appeals committee ruled that all of the candidates had breached the examination rules and that the penalties should stand.

Procedures and guidelines 2014
The rules for conduct of the Authority examinations will be published in the Year 12 Information Handbook. It is the responsibility of all candidates to ensure that they understand all instructions relating to the examinations. Breaches of examination rules and maximum penalties that might apply include but are not limited to:

1. Impersonation of a candidate:cancellation of all the candidate’s practical and/or written raw examination marks, exclusion from remaining examinations in that year, and the matter reported to the police.
2. Collusion between candidates:cancellation of that practical and/or written raw examination marks of each of those candidates involved, together with an inspection of prior papers/recordings in any common examination for evidence of collusion.
3. Possession or knowledge of examination questions before an examination: cancellation of all the candidate’s practical and/or written raw examination marks. The matter will be reported to the police.
4. Possession of unauthorised materials during the examination:cancellation of part or all of the practical and/or written raw examination marks where unauthorised materials are considered to be relevant to the course being examined (whether or not actual use is established). Possession of mobile technologies (e.g. mobile phone, iPod) and/or calculator in an examination for which it is not approved will result in the cancellation of all or part of the candidate’s marks for that practical and/or written examination.
5. Markings on authorised materials in the examination room:cancellation of part or all of the practical and/or written raw examination mark where markings in tables, data books or dictionaries etc. are considered to be relevant to the course being examined (whether or not actual use is established).
6. Removal of examination materials: unauthorised removal of examination materials from the examination room will result in cancellation of the part(s) of the candidate’s practical and/or written raw examination mark being removed and the matter reported to the police.
7. Examination room behaviour: blatant disregard of examination room regulations will result in the removal of the candidate from the examination room.
8. Failure to follow examination instructions: cancellation of part or all of the candidate’s practical and/or written raw examination mark where the candidate’s failure to follow the instructions is considered to have given the candidate an advantage over the other candidates.
9. False declarations: Cancellation of part or all of the practical and/or written examination mark where the candidate falsely declares that the work presented for external assessment is their own and/or that it conforms to the specifications of the course.

The examination centre supervisor (written examinations) and the chief marker (practical examinations) will report alleged breaches of examination rules to the manager, examinations (logistics) at the School Curriculum and Standards Authority.

Candidates will have the right of appeal against a penalty being imposed on the following grounds:

• a breach of examination rules did not occur, or
• the School Curriculum and Standards Authority procedures used to determine if a breach occurred were not proper.

Such an appeal must be lodged at the School Curriculum and Standards Authority within eight (8) calendar days of the despatch date of the penalty notification.

Advice for schools
Schools should work with their students to ensure that they understand the instructions relating to the examinations. In particular, schools are asked to:

• ensure that teachers and students follow the practical examination guidelines provided to schools in March.
• ensure that when signing a student’s declaration of authenticity form (e.g. for Visual Arts, Drama performance), that the student’s material is their own and that it conforms with the specifications of the course.
• ensure Visual Arts students and teachers are reminded of the safety standards and the other requirements when submitting artwork for marking.
• ensure that where materials are permitted into the examination centre, they are approved according to the relevant syllabus and/or School Curriculum and Standards Authority eCircular and the Year 12 Information Handbook.
• ensure that all students understand the instructions relating to the WACE examinations and that, if they breach these rules, penalties will apply as the onus is on the candidate to ensure that they understand and abide by the published examination rules.
• inform their students that mobile telephones and iPods must not be taken into the examination room (the Breaches of Examination Rules Committee is expected to issue harsher penalties this year).
• inform students that they should not write on their hands or other parts of the body during exams as this may be perceived by supervisors as having been written before the exam and thus constitute unauthorised notes.
• inform their students that, should they observe another candidate breaking the examination rules, they should report this action immediately to a supervisor.
• ensure that teachers are aware they cannot authorise materials to be used in an examination if the material is not approved by the School Curriculum and Standards Authority.
• ensure that Design students take into the examination only the 15 pages of their portfolio which were submitted to the School Curriculum and Standards Authority for marking.

Examinations marked online

Contact
Jenny Morup (08) 9273 6309
jenny.morup@scsa.wa.edu.au
Melanie Jasper (08) 9273 6732
melanie.jasper@scsa.wa.edu.au

In 2014, the online marking of examinationswill be extended to include Human Biological Science Stage 3. The following examinations will continue to be marked online:

• Biological Science Stage 3
• Chemistry Stage 3
• English as an Additional Language/Dialect (EAL/D) Stage 2 and 3
• Mathematics 2CD
• Mathematics 3AB
• Mathematics 3CD
• Mathematics Specialist 3CD
• Physics Stage 3.

For examination scripts to be scanned for online marking, the format of the paper includes the following features:

• a barcode at the bottom of the front page
• a solid 5mm square in each corner of the front page
• a unique identifying number printed on every page within the paper.

The margins of each page will be excluded from the area available for writing and will be marked with the wording ‘DO NOT WRITE IN THIS AREA AS IT WILL BE CUT OFF’.

It is recommended that you do not use pencil, except in diagrams.

The front covers of each examination will be sent to schools in August.

Expression of interest for chief markers 2014

Contact
Jenny Morup (08) 9273 6309
jenny.morup@scsa.wa.edu.au
Melanie Jasper (08) 9273 6732
melanie.jasper@scsa.wa.edu.au

The Authority is seeking expressions of interest for the positions of chief marker (practical and/or written) for the 2014 WACE examinations.

In 2014, the Stage 2 examinations are optional and the Year 12 student number is smaller due to the half cohort. Therefore, the chief marker of a course will be responsible for leading the marking of both Stage 2 and Stage 3 examinations (excluding Mathematics and English).

The Authority encourages people who have at least five years’ experience teaching in the relevant course, and some experience of marking WACE examinations, to complete an expression of interest form, available on the Authority (details below).

The following information will be required by chief markers:

• Teacher’s registration number and date of expiry of financial membership

or

• National Police Certificate – certificate number required

A scanned copy of the relevant document will be required at time of contract.

Important information
Before completing the expression of interest, it is important that the following documents are read and understood:

1. Duties of Chief Markers and markers
2. Code of conduct for markers

These documents are available on the Authority website with the expression of interest in the Employment section athttp://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/About_Us/Employment/chief_marker_2014.

Expressions of interest
Expressions of interest must be received at the Authority no later than 5pm on Monday, 10 February 2014.

Multiple-choice answer sheet changed

Contact
Steve Donatti (08) 9273 6359
steve.donatti@scsa.wa.edu.au
Kerry Cribb (08) 9273 6787
kerry.cribb@scsa.wa.edu.au

Changes have been made to the layout of the multiple-choice answer sheet to be used in the Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) examinations in 2014.

A sample of the multiple-choice answer sheet is available on the associated course page athttp://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/Senior_Secondary/Courses/WACE_Courses.

Opting out of Stage 2 WACE examinations in 2014

Contact
Jenny Offer (08) 9273 6313
jenny.offer@scsa.wa.edu.au
Jenny Morup (08) 9273 6309
jenny.morup@scsa.wa.edu.au

At the time of enrolling in a pair of Stage 2 or Stage 3 course units, Year 12 students are automatically enrolled to sit the WACE examination in that stage of the course. However, in 2014, examinations for Stage 2 unit pairs in Year 12 will be optional.

The Opting out of sitting Stage 2 WACE examinations in 2014 form will assist schools to collect information on students opting out of Stage 2 examinations. This form will be in Section 6 of the 2014 WACE Procedures File, soon available online at http://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/Publications/WACE_Procedures_File.

Schools are advised to counsel their students before they opt out of sitting Stage 2 examinations as they may limit their post-school destinations.

The Opting out of sitting Stage 2 WACE examinations in 2014 form is a school record only and it must not be sent to the Authority. The form is to be retained by the school until all data has been accepted and verified for the printing of the statement of results issued by the Authority.

From the information collected, schools will need to indicate on their enrolment file (ENCOS) if a student is opting out of sitting one or more Stage 2 examinations. Details on how to include this information on the enrolment file will be in Section 6 of the 2014 WACE Procedures File.

The due date for this upload into the School Information Records System (SIRS) – as outlined on the 2014 WACE Activities Schedule – is 16 May 2014.

It should be noted that in 2014, Year 12 students who are enrolled in a pair of Stage 3 course units must sit the WACE examination in that course, unless exempt.

WACE examination dates 2014

Contact
Jenny Morup (08) 9273 6377
jenny.morup@scsa.wa.edu.au

The 2014 WACE written examinations will run from Monday, 3 November to
Friday, 28 November.

The 2014 WACE practical examinations will be scheduled as follows:

1. Saturday, 27 September to Sunday, 5 October (Saturday, Sunday and the public holiday included)
   Aviation, Dance, Drama, Music and Physical Education Studies
2. Saturday, 27 September to Sunday, 12 October (Saturday, Sunday and the public holiday included)
   English as an Additional Language/Dialect (overseas schools)
3. Saturday, 18 October
   Chinese: Second Language
4. Saturday, 18 October and Sunday, 19 October
   Japanese: Second Language and Indonesian: Second Language
5. Saturday, 18 October to Sunday, 26 October (Saturday and Sunday included)
   English as an Additional Language/Dialect (Western Australian schools), French, German and Italian

The school will notbe able to specify particular day/s for the practical examinations to be held for all of its students. Students from a school must be randomly allocated to examination times throughout all of the days allotted for a course. This process ensures anonymity for all candidates.

Schools are advised to plan activities such as school examinations, final-day assembly, graduation, valedictory dinners and leavers’ breakfast on dates other than those listed above. These activities should be scheduled when there are no examinations for local students, such as between Monday, 6 October and Friday, 17 October or between Monday, 27 October and Friday, 31 October.

Schools are requested to communicate the written and practical examination dates to students, teachers and parents. No allowance in the timetable can be made for holidays, work or personal arrangements.

Registration of secondary students and early registration of Year 10 students in 2014

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 students with the Authority byFriday, 21 February 2014. All other students in years 8, 9, 11 and 12 must be registered by Friday, 21 March 2014.

It is critical that Year 10 students are registered by 21 February to ensure their inclusion in the compulsory Online Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (unless prequalified through Year 9 NAPLAN performance) in March. 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.

The instructions to assist schools to register students are detailed in Section 5 of the WACE Procedures File. The specific sub-sections are detailed below and will be available soon athttp://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/Publications/WACE_Procedures_File.

• 5.1 SIRS instructions for requesting student numbers
• 5.2 Registration of students with the School Curriculum and Standards Authority
  • 5.2.1 RTP (Reporting to Parents) instructions for extracting student registration and demographic information
  • 5.2.2 MAZE instructions for extracting student registration and demographic information
  • 5.2.3 EXCEL instructions for creating a CSV file of student registration and demographic  information
• 5.3 SIRS instructions for uploading student registration and demographic information
• 5.4 SIRS instructions for verifying student registration and demographic information

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

Transfer of students between schools
There is a legal requirement for an enrolling school to notify a student’s former school that the student has been enrolled and obtain the SCSA student number. Under the Raising the School Leaving Age legislation, the commencement of students at a school should be notified within 14 days and cessations should be notified within seven days.

Maintenance of student registration details
The Authority must be informed, via SIRS, of all changes to a student’s registration details. It is essential that schools maintain accurate student records on school databases and regularly upload details to SIRS via student registration and demographic (SRGDG) files. Unless inaccuracies are corrected on the school database, each upload will overwrite any corrections the Authority has made in SIRS.

Schools can upload SRGDG files for individual or small numbers of students, though many schools have found it is a good practice to upload files to SIRS regularly for all students. This is also better for managing errors.

Please note that the registration of students is a separate process to the uploading of school offerings and the enrolment of students in courses.

Requests for SCSA student numbers for 2014

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 8 students starting in 2014. Details of how to request SCSA student numbers are in Section 5.1 of the WACE Procedures File, soon available online athttp://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/Publications/WACE_Procedures_File.

For students other than Year 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 with a Year 7 intake, that require SCSA student numbers in 2014, need to email numbers@scsa.wa.edu.auand advise how many numbers are required and specify that they are for Year 7 students. These numbers can be allocated to your students, but must not be uploaded to SIRS.

Schools who allocated Year 7 numbers to their students in 2013 are requested to utilise the same number for each student, and upload via their Student registration and demographic (SRGDG) files in 2014 when the students enter Year 8.

Introduction to SIRS

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.

Seminar dates and times (2014)

More sessions will be made available 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 Koorli and Maali rooms at 27 Walters Drive, Osborne Park. Limited parking, designated by red cones, will be available. Use of public transport is encouraged.