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

Only a few days remain for principals and deputy principals to register for briefings on the WACE 2015–16 revisions 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 a thttp://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/Events_and_Forms/Events/wace_2015_2016_K10_Outline_briefings.

Transition arrangements for students completing the WACE in 2016

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

Current arrangements regarding student requirements to achieve a WACE continue in 2014 and 2015 but are replaced by the new requirements from 2016. Because 2014 (for Year 10s) and 2015 (for Year 11s) are transition years for schools, the Authority has established transition arrangements to ensure that the needs of students and obligations of schools can be met. The following table identifies:

• enrolment information for students anticipating completing their WACE in 2016 – note that General (including Foundation,) and ATAR enrolments will not be available from 2014
• recognition arrangements regarding Stage 1, 2 and 3 course/unit completions achieved before 2016.

Student enrolment and course recognition arrangements – 2014

* Students completing Stage 2 who complete Stage 3 in the following year.
** Students completing Stage 2 and exiting the course.

Two WACE Manuals to guide schools in transition to WACE 2015–16

Contact
George Temple (08) 9273 6703
george.temple@scsa.wa.edu.au

The Authority will publish two WACE Manuals to assist schools during the transition to the new WACE requirements in 2015–16.

The manual describes the policies and procedures for senior secondary schooling.

The WACE Manual 2014–15 is available online at http://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/Publications/WACE_Manual. It is important to note the policies and procedures are for Year 11 and Year 12 students in 2014 and Year 12 students in 2015.

The draft WACE Manual 2015–16 will be published online on 31 March 2014. The policies and procedures are for Year 11 students in 2015 and Year 11 and Year 12 students in 2016. This manual will be watermarked as a draft and should not be used for students who will be exiting school in 2014 or 2015.

The Authority will seek feedback from schools on the 2015–16 manual during April and May 2014. The final version will be published in time for the 2015 school year.

Schools should note that both manuals cover 2015, but are designed for different cohorts of students and different WACE requirements.

These manuals will only be available online as an eBook and as a PDF. No hard copies will be provided by the Authority. Both the eBook and the PDF include hyperlinks. However, teachers are encouraged to use the eBook which includes many additional features such as ‘search’, ‘bookmark’, ‘notes’ and ‘highlight’. Any bookmarks, notes and highlights you make to your personal eBook online are available to you each time you logon from the same computer.

Assessment and moderation requirements – seminars for new teachers of WACE courses

Contact
Chris Stone (08) 9273 6365
chris.stone@scsa.wa.edu.au

Seminars are being held for teachers in their first year of teaching at Year 11 or 12 or their first year of teaching WACE courses (i.e. experienced teachers from interstate or overseas). The purpose is to provide new or inexperienced teachers with a summary of the assessment and moderation requirements with which teachers must comply when delivering senior secondary courses in Western Australian schools.

The focus is on the Authority’s requirements when:

• establishing the content to be taught
• planning a set of assessment tasks
• developing assessment tasks and marking keys
• marking assessment tasks
• recording, weighting and collating marks
• assigning grades.

Also included is information about WACE examinations and the moderation processes conducted by the Authority.

A separate seminar will be conducted for each curriculum area (e.g. Science) using examples from a range of relevant courses.

The seminars are two hours in duration, outside of school times and will be conducted in Perth early in Term 1. Details of venue and date/time of these workshops and registrations are available on the Authority website athttp://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/Senior_Secondary/School_Based_Assessment/Seminars_Workshops_for_Teachers.

Schools are required to meet the cost of teacher relief and, where required, teachers’ travel and accommodation.

This seminar is also available online for teachers who are unable to attend a face-to-face presentation. All teachers registered to use the Authority extranet have access to this online seminar. Teachers can check their registration status at
http://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/Apps/lms/default.aspx.

Small group moderation procedures – seminars for teachers in a partnership

Contact
Chris Stone (08) 9273 6365
chris.stone@scsa.wa.edu.au

Seminars are available for teachers of Year 12 students in courses at Stage 2 and Stage 3 who will be working in a small group moderation partnership in 2014 and who have not been involved in small group moderation before or who are seeking greater understanding of the process.

The seminar will:

• outline the Authority’s requirements for small group moderation
• explain the two models that are available to schools
• the procedures that need to be followed to ensure that the marks at partner schools are comparable.

The seminars are two hours in duration and will be held in Perth during Term 1. Details of venue and date/time of these workshops and registrations are available on the Authority website athttp://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/Senior_Secondary/School_Based_Assessment/Seminars_Workshops_for_Teachers.

Schools are required to meet the cost of teacher relief and, where required, teachers’ travel and accommodation.

This seminar will be available online for teachers who are unable to attend a face-to-face presentation. All teachers registered to use the Authority extranet have access to this online seminar. Teachers can check their registration status at
http://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/Apps/lms/default.aspx.

Workshops for teachers implementing a revised syllabus

Contact
Chris Stone (08) 9273 6365
chris.stone@scsa.wa.edu.au

To assist teachers to implement syllabuses which have been significantly revised, the Authority is providing workshops during Term 1 2014 for the following courses/stages:

• Applied Information Technology – separate workshop for Stage 2 and Stage 3
• Business Management and Enterprise – combined workshop for Stage 2 and Stage 3
• Career and Enterprise – combined workshop for Stage 2 and Stage 3
• Food Science and Technology – combined workshop for Stage 2 and Stage 3

The seminars are typically two hours in duration and conducted early in Term 1.
The focus and the details of venue and date/time of these workshops are available on the Authority website athttp://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/Senior_Secondary/School_Based_Assessment/Seminars_Workshops_for_Teachers.

Application for alternative instrument – Music practical examinations 2014

Contact
Ela Majocha (08) 9273 6772
ela.majocha@scsa.wa.edu.au

The deadline to submit applications to be examined in an alternative instrument (instruments other than those listed in the practical resource package) is Friday, 28 February 2014 (Week 4 Term 1). The application form is available on the Authority website at http://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/Events_and_Forms/Application_Order_Forms.

Applications must be addressed to:

Ela Majocha
Senior Consultant – Practical Examinations
School Curriculum and Standards Authority
27 Walters Drive
Osborne Park  WA   6017

They can also be faxed to 9273 6318 or emailed to Ela Majocha (contact details above).

Music practical examination – Portfolios
Schools are not required to advise the Authority about proposals for Music portfolios.

Detailed Examination Feedback (formerly known as Maximising Feedback) available in SIRS

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

Detailed Examination Feedback (formerly known as Maximising Feedback) reports are available from the School Information Records System (SIRS) to help schools when reflecting on the achievement of the 2013 Year 12 students in courses with external examinations. The information on individual students is confidential and must not be released to a third party without the permission of the student concerned.

Teachers have found referring to the preceding year’s WACE results available in the Detailed Examination Feedback print-outs of great use in reviewing their teaching programs. These reports are now available, free-of-charge, as a download from SIRS. The following pathway should be used to access these reports:

Pathway: Reports > Maximising Feedback.

There is a report for each course stage in which the school had students sit the 2013 WACE examination.

Each report provides a detailed analysis of how the students at the school performed in the external examination for each course. For each examination, feedback is provided about performance on all items, including multiple-choice items. Where applicable, feedback is also available on the practical component of the examination.

Schools can download Year 12 statistical reports from the student information records system (SIRS) athttps://sirs.curriculum.wa.edu.au/.

The school’s login details of user-name and password are needed to access these reports.  These are available from the SIRS coordinator at your school.

Explanatory notes, containing detailed information on the various reports, can be accessed through the Authority website athttp://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/Publications/Reports/Statistical_Reports/School_Comparison_Statistics.

The reports and their pathways are:

1. STS010 –       Year 12 provider statistics (Part 1 and Part 2)
   Pathway: reports > other reports > report type: statistics
2. STS009 –       Year 12 State statistics (Part 1 and Part 2)
   Pathway: reports > other reports > report type: statistics
3. STS022 –       Year 12 school assessment statistics (for each course examination)
   Pathway: reports > other reports > report type: statistics
4. STS028 –       Year 12 course statistics by provider (for each course examination)
   Pathway: reports > other reports > report type: statistics
5. STS029 –       Distribution of exam statistics
   Pathway: reports > other reports > report type: statistics
6. STS036 –       Statistical moderation and concurrent validity of school assessments
   Pathway: reports > other reports > report type: statistics
7. MF01 –           Detailed written examination feedback (formerly known as Maximising Feedback)
   Pathway: reports > maximising feedback
8. MF02 –           Detailed multiple choice feedback (formerly known as Maximising Feedback) (if applicable)
   Pathway: reports > maximising feedback
9. MF03 –           Detailed practical examination/portfolio assessment feedback (formerly known as Maximising Feedback) (if applicable)
   Pathway: reports > maximising feedback
10. CSE077 –       Student summary details by provider.
    Pathway: reports > other reports > report type: students

If you require assistance with SIRS, contact the Authority helpdesk on 9273 6719 or emailSIRShelp@scsa.wa.edu.au.

Special examination arrangements assessors 2014 – expressions of interest

Contact
Jenny Morup (08) 9273 6309
jenny.morup@scsa.wa.edu.au
Carolyn Hackett (08) 9273 6316
carolyn.hackett@scsa.wa.edu.au

The Authority is seeking expressions of interest from suitably qualified and experienced persons to assist with the assessment of special examination arrangement applications for the 2014 WACE examinations. Applications to be assessed will relate to candidates within the specific learning disability, psychological or ADD/ADHD categories.

Assessors will work in pairs with a psychologist and a person with whole-of-school management experience. Work will be outside of business hours on a contract basis, with payment per application. As highly sensitive information will be accessed during the assessment process, all assessors will be expected to sign a confidentiality declaration.

Assessing applications will present an excellent opportunity for valuable professional development related to the assessment of candidates with disabilities. The role is also ideally suited to recently retired senior school administrators or those on leave.

Interested school counsellors or educational psychologists should have experience assessing and diagnosing senior students with learning disabilities using current, relevant diagnostic tools.

Interested school representatives should have experience working with senior students with learning disabilities in the school environment. Ideally, applicants would have whole-of-school management experience.

Training, to be provided before the start of the assessment period, is expected to occur in late May or early June 2014. Training will be conducted after business hours.

Most assessments of special examination arrangement applications will be completed within a tight timeframe in June and early July 2014. Assessors should be available between late May and mid-July, with the possibility of some work continuing into August.

An expression of interest does not guarantee appointment. Applicants will be advised in Term 2 if their services will be required. Assessors from previous years are encouraged to reapply for 2014.

The Expressions of interest form is available on the Authority website athttp://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/Senior_Secondary/WACE_Examinations/Special_Provisions.

Media Production and Analysis (MPA) practical (production) requirements

Contact
Naidina Avery
naidina.avery@scsa.wa.edu.au

Teachers are invited to attend a meeting regarding the revised practical (production) requirements documents and marking keys for MPA Stage 2 and 3.

The meeting will be held in the Djidi Djidi room at 28 Walters Drive, Osborne Park on Wednesday, 26 February 2014.

Teachers will receive copies of the:

• MPA Stage 2 and Stage 3 practical (production) examination requirements document 2014
• Stage 2 2014 provisional practical (production) examination marking key
• Stage 3 2014 provisional practical (production) examination marking key
• 2013 MPA examination report Stage 2
• 2013 MPA examination report Stage 3.

Please register your interest in attending at
http://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/Events_and_Forms/Events/MPA_teacher_meeting.

Special arrangements for WACE examinations

Contact
Jenny Morup (08) 9273 6309
jenny.morup@scsa.wa.edu.au
Carolyn Hackett (08) 9273 6316
carolyn.hackett@scsa.wa.edu.au

The application form for special arrangements in the 2014 WACE examinations will be sent to schools soon. The form is to be used for candidates with a permanent or temporary disability that may disadvantage them in the WACE examinations. It is the responsibility of schools to complete the form and submit it to the Authority on behalf of each candidate. It is not advisable to send the form home with students for completion. Completed forms should be submitted to the Authority by 16 May 2014.

Illnesses, such as diabetes, are classed as permanent disabilities and candidates will need special arrangements approved to take medication, food and extra drink into any examination. Any student seeking any type of variation to the standard examination conditions must have an application form submitted for them. Please ensure this requirement is brought to the attention of all students in sufficient time for them to provide the medical evidence to support an application.

Special arrangements are available for practical and written examinations.

Application process
The 2014 application form places considerable emphasis on the school’s case management of a student’s disability. In the first instance, there should be a demonstrated history of targeted remediation to assist the student to develop skills needed in examinations. Schools should consider the needs of their students during Years 10 and 11 so they may trial arrangements for timed assessment tasks. Until a decision has been made by the Authority, all special arrangements must be considered temporary and subject to change. As in previous years, specific information will be required relating to the student’s essay writing ability. Students with a reading disability will also be required to provide recent results of a PAT-R reading comprehension test.

Schools must ensure any special examination arrangements offered at school level are in line with arrangements granted by the Authority for the WACE examination, as described in the special provisions documents on the Authority website and Section G of the application form. Arrangements offered by schools that are outside the published guidelines will not be approved for the WACE examination.

The Authority does not automatically adopt a medical/psychological provider’s advice or replicate the special examination arrangements that the school may have put in place for school assessment. Applications are considered on an individual basis and are based on the functional impact of that disability in timed assessments. It is essential that no candidate will be advantaged over another candidate in the examinations, except through having more knowledge, understanding and skill relating to the course being examined.

Schools are urged to ensure that all applications for special examination arrangements, along with all supporting information, are submitted to the Authority by 16 May 2014. Schools are encouraged to submit completed applications well before the due date as applications will be processed in order of receipt. Decisions regarding applications received by 16 May will be communicated to schools in time for implementation in Semester 2. Incomplete applications will not be assessed.

Practical examinations
Please also refer to the eCircular item about special format practical examinations that will be required by any candidate with a long-term injury or illness affecting their participation in standard practical examinations. Failure to apply for special format practical examinations for these candidates will jeopardise their completion of course requirements if they are not able to undertake the standard practical examination.

There will be no sickness/misadventure consideration for candidates on the basis of an injury or illness existing at the start of Term 3.

Late applications for special format practical examinations will be accepted until 1 August.

Special format practical examinations for candidates with long-term injury or illness

Contact
Jenny Morup (08) 9273 6309
jenny.morup@scsa.wa.edu.au
Carolyn Hackett (08) 9273 6316
carolyn.hackett@scsa.wa.edu.au

Candidates with an injury or illness existing at the start of Term 3 should apply to be examined in an alternative format, if the injury or illness will affect their participation in the standard practical examination of any course. There will be no sickness/misadventure consideration for candidates on the basis of an injury or illness existing at the start of Term 3.

The alternative format examination will be designed to assess the same aspects as the standard practical examination. An alternative, but equitable, marking key will be developed for these candidates.

Application is to be made on the standard special examination arrangements application form, distributed to all schools in February. The application is to be supported by appropriate medical information. The candidate and school will be advised of the outcome of the application.

Candidates will be expected to report at the designated time and location for completion of this alternative format practical examination. The scheduling of these examinations will coincide with the standard practical examinations for that course.

Candidates studying Physical Education Studies or Dance are the most likely to need special arrangements; however candidates in any course with a performance or interview component may be eligible.

Where the nature and duration of the candidate’s condition is known early (e.g. an elective knee reconstruction), the application should be made by the deadline of 16 May 2014. Where the injury or illness occurs after that date, application should be made as soon as it is known that the candidate will be unlikely to participate in the standard format of the practical examination. Unless a candidate with an injury or illness existing as of the start of Term 3 can be guaranteed to recover sufficiently to sit the standard practical examination, the school should apply for the student to sit an alternative format practical examination. The last date for application is 1 August 2014.

Failure to submit an application will jeopardise the candidate’s completion of the examination requirements for that course. It may also impact on their achievement of the WACE and affect their ATAR. Completion of the alternative format practical examination by a candidate with a long-term injury or illness is not discretionary. Failure to complete the practical examination due to long-term injury or illness will result in a non-genuine attempt status for that examination.

As this is the fourth year of operation for this requirement, no leniency will be provided for candidates or schools not following the required process. In 2013 a number of candidates did not achieve a WACE as a direct result of ignoring this requirement.

Relevant staff should note this information and plan a reminder for the end of Term 2 to allow applications to be prepared in time for submission to the Authority by the deadlines.

It is advisable that this information be included in the school newsletter for parents and students at the start of Term 3.

2013 student achievements – other than Year 12

Contact
Barrie Chick (08) 9273 6770
barrie.chick @scsa.wa.edu.au

Schools have until Friday, 14 February 2014 to verify and confirm the achievement data submitted to the Authority for students in years other than Year 12.

The achievements required include:

• course units
• VET units of competency
• endorsed programs
• VET qualifications.

The declaration forms for course units, VET and endorsed programs are to be completed and signed by the principal. The declaration forms were posted to schools in mid-January 2014.

Some schools had not finalised the transfer of their data by the end of the school year. If your school has not uploaded the appropriate data files to the Student Information Records System (SIRS), please do so as a matter of urgency.

Please note that all enrolments required a grade. The results for students who have left your school need to be finalised if they had enrolments. If the students should have been withdrawn from a course unit, this withdrawal will need to be uploaded through the ENCOS file to SIRS. If students have been withdrawn from VET units of competency and endorsed programs, this will need to be uploaded using the correct code through the RSVET and RSEND files respectively.

Introduction to SIRS seminars

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

Schools are encouraged to register staff for SIRS familiarisation seminars.

The Authority is holding familiarisation seminars for staff who use the Student Information Records System (SIRS). 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 basic operations and functions of the system regarding data transfer and generation of reports that enable checks to be carried out on the information that has been transferred into SIRS.

The seminar will be two hours long and participants will log into SIRS using their own school login and password.

The remaining seminars will be available at the times detailed below:

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 sessions will be held in the Koorli and Maali rooms at the Authority, 27 Walters Drive, Osborne Park. Limited parking, designated by red cones, will be available. Public transport options are encouraged.

Notification of Notice of Arrangements – ensure your contact details are accurate

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

Each week, the Department of Education advises the Authority of all students who are on a Notice of Arrangements (NoA) – whether they have been approved, rejected, cancelled or are still pending.

The enrolment of students on an approved NoA are transferred by upload from the school to the Department of Education (code 9000) and withdrawn from any course units, VET units of competency and endorsed programs in which they have not achieved a result. Students on a pending or rejected NoA remain enrolled at their school with the NoA details noted on the student record in the School Information Records System (SIRS).

The principal and the moderation and standards contact at the school are notified by email when a student in their 16th or 17th year has been transferred to an approved Notice of Arrangements to attend full-time study other than at a school or to start an Apprenticeship/Traineeship or full-time employment.

Schools are requested to ensure the name and contact details of their moderation and standards contact is included in the School Contact Information Update Form 2014, sent to schools in late January. The Authority also requests that it be notified if there is any change to this information during the year.

It is compulsory that a student remains in education until:

1. the end of the year in which the child reaches the age of 17 and six months, or
2. the child satisfies the minimum requirements for graduation from secondary school established under theSchool Curriculum and Standards Authority Act 1997, or
3. the child reaches the age of 18.

It should be noted that a student's name can only be removed from the school's enrolment register on:

• the advised date the student enrolled at the new school
• the date the district education office advises that the parent has registered for home education
• the date the parent advises that the student is leaving the school to enrol outside the State
• the date that the student tracking officer at the Department of Education advises that the student is deemed to be a child 'whose whereabouts are unknown'
• the date the Department of Education advises that a Notice of Arrangements has been approved that does not involve part-time studies at school (this could also be an email from the School Curriculum and Standards Authority)
• the date the school is advised that an exemption from schooling has been granted, or
• the date the school receives advice of enrolment at an interstate school through the ISDTN process.

Schools should contact Lynn Galbraith with questions regarding Notices of Arrangements or the information received from the Department.

Private candidate enrolment for Languages: interstate (including CCAFL)

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

Year 12 students can register with the Authority as private candidates to sit an external examination in a Languages: Interstate course (including CCAFL, background speaker, Arabic, Hebrew, Modern Greek, Polish and Spanish courses), but only if they are enrolled to sit WACE examinations in at least three other courses in the same year so that the language mark can be scaled.

Students may not be enrolled in an interstate language examination at the same time as being enrolled in that course with the State that hosts the language.

The scaled mark from the external examination can contribute towards the calculation of the student’s Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR) but does not appear on the student’s statement of results.

The Authority will advise students of their examination mark by letter in January 2015.

Recording of achievements in senior secondary programs for Year 8 and Year 9 students

Contact
Barrie Chick (08) 9273 6770
barrie.chick@scsa.wa.edu.au

Schools wishing to apply for permission to record the WACE achievements of Year 8 and/or 9 students need to complete the application form available on the Authority website. The form is available athttp://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/Events_and_Forms/Application_Order_Forms.

Schools should apply only if the studies for these students are part of a longer term program for students who are gifted and talented or for those students in remote community schools where learning programs relate directly to the local industry.

The completed application form is to be returned to the Authority by Thursday, 27 March 2014.

Registration of secondary students and requests for student numbers

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

Schools and other education providers are required to register their Year 10 students with the Authority by Friday, 21 February 2014, and their Year 8, 9, 11 and 12 students by Friday, 21 March 2014.

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 are available 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 student numbers
The SCSA student number is a unique identifier that is used throughout the student’s secondary schooling, including any non-school options (work, apprenticeships, further training and so forth). Each student must be issued with one student number only. If a student has more than one student number, the student risks not meeting WACE requirements since their results may be split over two or more records.

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

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-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 that it is 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.

If schools have any questions regarding the registration of students, please contact Lynn Galbraith.

Reprinting of statements of results/course reports for Year 12 students

Contact
Jenny Offer (08) 9273 6313
jenny.offer@scsa.wa.edu.au
Marie Parker (08) 9273 6303
marie.parker@scsa.wa.edu.au
Jessica Wright (08) 9273 6752
jessica.wright@scsa.wa.edu.au

Schools are reminded to be vigilant in their management of the upload of student result data to the Authority.

The provision of incorrect or unchecked student result can be embarrassing and expensive for schools.

After the release of the 2013 Year 12 students’ results, the Authority received a number of queries from Year 12 students and parents in relation to incorrect data provided to the Authority by schools.

These errors included:

• schools not uploading VET qualifications achieved into the School Information Records System (SIRS)
• failure to update ‘postal address’ (when relevant)in SIRS when updating the ‘street address’
• provision of incorrect registration data relating to the:
  • spelling of students’ names and
  • schools not providing correct certificate name
• provision of incorrect school assessments for either the written or practical components of the course unit
• (in the situation where a student had changed schools, in particular from Semester 1 to Semester 2 in Year 11), failure of the first school in ensuring the appropriate recording of the achievements in the course units studied in Semester 1.

Where an error required the Authority to reprint a student’s statement of results or course report, the school was charged a fee of $31 for each student.

Schools must carefully check all Year 12 achievement and personal data submitted to the Authority. Failure to do so may have serious consequences for production of accurate results in the post-examination period and, in particular, the production of WACE course reports and ATAR calculations.

WACE Year 11 equivalence – 2014

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

Schools are encouraged to submit applications for Year 11 equivalence at the start of the school year. Some students did not initially achieve the WACE in 2013 because schools did not request Year 11 equivalent studies for the student. This can cause unnecessary stress and inconvenience for the students involved. The cost of reprinting statements of results is the responsibility of the school.

If schools consider that studies completed elsewhere indicate that the student has the potential to achieve the WACE, they may enrol a student in Year 12.

To gain recognition of prior studies for a student, schools need to complete the Year 11 equivalent studies for a Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) form available in sub-section 5.8.1 of the 2014 WACE Procedures File. The file is available on the Authority website athttp://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/Publications/WACE_Procedures_File.

The form should be returned to the Authority by Friday, 16 May 2014.

If the student successfully meets the WACE requirements, then recognition will be given for having achieved the equivalent of one year or one semester of senior secondary studies (Year 11) overseas, interstate or through training.

Full details about what students subsequently need to achieve in Year 12 for their WACE are available on page 121 of the WACE Manual 2014–15, available online at http://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/Publications/WACE_Manual.

Schools are able to check in the School Information Records System (SIRS) which of their students has been awarded block credit for Year 11 studies.

Workplace Learning course – Awards Selection Report 2013 now online

Contact
Carolyn Hackett (08) 9273 6316
carolyn.hackett@scsa.wa.edu.au
Leanne Meldrum (08) 9273 6746
leanne.meldrum@scsa.wa.edu.au

The Workplace Learning course – Awards Selection Report 2013 is now available online athttp://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/Senior_Secondary/Exhibitions_and_Awards.

The Authority recommends that school leaders and people delivering Workplace Learning read the report, which provides valuable information for teachers who supported the nomination of students in 2013 and for those who plan to do so in 2014.

It presents statistics on the number of students involved in the awards selection process and detailed information on how students were selected for awards, including feedback and recommendations for teachers.

The names of award winners, published in the media in early January, are listed on the Authority website.

Information relating to the 2014 awards will be available to schools in Term 2 at the above address. Hard copies of the information are no longer distributed to schools.

Vocational Education and Training – Awards Selection Report 2013 now online

Contact
Carolyn Hackett (08) 9273 6316
carolyn.hackett@scsa.wa.edu.au
Nicole Gazey (08) 9440 9401
nicole.gazey@scsa.wa.edu.au

The Authority recommends that school leaders and people delivering VET in Schools read the Awards Selection Report now available on the Authority website athttp://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/internet/Senior_Secondary/Exhibitions_and_Awards.

The report provides valuable information for teachers who supported the nomination of students in 2013 and for those who plan to do so in 2014.

It presents statistics on the number of students involved in the awards selection process and detailed information on how students were selected for awards, including feedback and recommendations for teachers.

The names of award winners, published in the media in early January, are listed on the Authority website.

Information relating to the 2014 awards will be available to schools in Term 2 at the above address. Hard copies of the information are no longer distributed to schools.