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

The School Curriculum and Standards Authority is pleased to announce that it has developed a WACE Checker for Year 12 students. The WACE Checker is a tool which Year 12s can use to check their progress towards achieving their Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) and is now available on the Authority website at: https://wacechecker.scsa.wa.edu.au/wace.

The WACE Checker is provided as a guide only. The report it gives students must not be interpreted as a guarantee the student will achieve a WACE. Achievement of the WACE is dependent on the calculation of a student’s final results and completion of courses. Individuals are encouraged to consult the WACE Manual for the relevant year, or their school, should they wish to confirm WACE eligibility for a student based on enrolment and predicted/actual achievement.

To use the WACE Checker, students will need to add information about their achievements in Year 11 and their expected achievements in Year 12. The checker will be of most assistance if the information provided for Year 12 is realistic. When students add their anticipated grades for Year 12, they need to add what they realistically expect to achieve this year.

The WACE Checker allows students to save the summary of their input as a Portable Document Format (PDF). They can use this PDF to track their progress and to check the impact of any changes to their enrolment or achievement.

Students can also use a save function which will keep the data entered into the checker for a month. An access code is provided to allow students to use the ‘Fetch My Data’ button when they select that option in the checker.

More information is available under the ‘Tell me more’ button on the checker.

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

Rick Browner (08) 9273 6386
rick.browner@scsa.wa.edu.au

With a large number of students now registered with a Western Australian Student Number (WASN), it is imperative that this number remains with the student throughout their school life. Schools need to recognise the importance of the WASN to avoid duplication of records and maintain continuity of student data.

From Term 4 2017, batches of WA Student Numbers can only be requested through SIRS for students entering Kindergarten in 2018.

Schools where most students already have a WASN and new students have enrolled who require a number, please check first using the ‘Search for WASN’ process – explained in ‘How to Search for WA Student Numbers in SIRS’ in the Circular July 2017. If you cannot locate a number, please contact numbers@scsa.wa.edu.au and give details of the student’s legal surname, legal first name, date of birth and academic year.  It is also useful to include your school code in any correspondence.

All secondary schools will be required to send a complete list of Year 7 students entering their school, including the student’s legal surname, legal first name and date of birth. Numbers will be sent back where allocated to students and new numbers requested for those without.

If your school is registering all of your students for the first time, please send a spreadsheet of the student information to numbers@scsa.wa.edu.au, and include legal surname, legal first name and date of birth.  We will then check to see if any of the students have a WASN already and advise you of this number, and if not, we will issue batches of numbers which you can import into your database/system prior to uploading the SRGDG to SIRS.

A reminder that details of how to register students can be found in the Student Registration Procedures Manual 2017 – Primary Students found at  https://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0009/349641/Student-Registration-Procedures-Manual-2017-Primary-Students-web-version.PDF with links to assist schools using Integris (RTP), Civica Maze, and Excel.  There is also a Guide to uploading Student Registration and Demographic (SRGDG) file found at https://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0004/349636/GUIDE-TO-UPLOADING-STUDENT-REGISTRATION-AND-DEMOGRAPHIC-FILE.pdf and some online training videos found at https://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/sirs-info/primary-schools.

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

Thank you to schools whose students have submitted the online Student Declaration and Permission at https://www.wace.wa.edu.au opens in new window.

There are still many students who have not completed the process. This is the last opportunity for your students to complete the online Student Declaration and Permission and these must be completed by Wednesday, 20 September 2017.

Students can access the submission page at https://www.wace.wa.edu.au opens in new window.

Information for teachers can be found at http://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/the-wace/student-declaration.

The following students are required to complete the online Student Declaration and Permission:

• All Year 12 students
• Year 11 students who are studying ATAR Units 3 and 4 and sitting the 2016 ATAR course examinations
• Year 10 students who have been given approval to study ATAR Units 3 and 4 and sit the 2016 ATAR course examinations.

Failure to complete the submission process may impact schools with students who:

• may win an award (including students who are not sitting ATAR course examinations) and who have not indicated their preference to have/not have their name published in the media
• are unaware of the requirements for achieving the WACE.

Schools are requested to ensure all students complete the submission process by the extended deadline of Wednesday, 20 September 2017.

Schools can monitor which students have completed the online Student Declaration and Permission via the report CSE058 – Student Release Choices by Provider. The pathway to the report is: Reports > Other reports > Report type: Students, Report: CSE058.

Helpdesk

If you are unsure about your password or your account has been locked:

• try Forgotten Password opens in new window function (only works with your first 10 tries); or
• email wacehelp@scsa.wa.edu.au (monitored from Monday to Friday between 8.00am to 5.00pm)
  • You must provide within your email:
    • Full name
    • Student Number and School Name
    • Date of Birth
    • Home address details as they would appear in your WACE

In some cases we may call you directly to confirm your details and your request.

The Authority appreciates your assistance in obtaining this important information.

Contact
Louise Dodman (08) 9273 6785
louise.dodman@scsa.wa.edu.au

Teachers are reminded that the EAL/D eligibility process applies to both Year 12 course enrolment and extra time for OLNA. Please refer to the EAL/D course page of the Authority’s website http://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/syllabus-and-support-materials/english/english-as-an-additional-language-or-dialect for all relevant information. New dates for 2017 and 2018 regarding this process have now been published including application dates for Year 9 students in 2017 who wish to apply for eligibility for EAL/D status in order to be granted additional reading time for OLNA tests from and including March 2018.

Please note that students do not need to submit two applications if they wish to apply for both course enrolment and extra OLNA time. The submission of a single application is sufficient for both of these purposes.

Submission dates for eligibility applications:

Contact
Ian Gaynor (08) 9273 6530
ian.gaynor@scsa.wa.edu.au

A minor addition has been made to the Computer Science ATAR Year 12 syllabus and is listed in the table below.

The updated version of the ATAR syllabus can be found on the Technologies Learning Area, Computer Science course page of the Years 11 and 12 section of the Authority’s website:

https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/syllabus-and-support-materials/technologies/computer-science

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

Schools are advised about the review of the Year 12 ATAR, General and Foundation grade descriptions. Reviews are either completed, currently under way or scheduled for review in 2018. Revised grade descriptions are developed from advice provided by systems/sector course teachers and Course Advisory Committees. The advice is based on the empirical review of Year 12 student samples.

Current grading levels of Year 12 students are not affected by use of the new grade descriptions. The revised grade descriptions do not change the pitch of a grade description. The intent of the revisions is to provide greater clarity and indicators of evidence to support teachers making more informed grading judgements.

Annotated student samples to exemplify the revised grades are being progressively uploaded.

Year 12 courses with the revision of grade descriptions completed are:

Contact
Kaylene Power (08) 9273 6777
kaylene.power@scsa.wa.edu.au

Kerry Cribb (08) 9273 6787
kerry.cribb@scsa.wa.edu.au

The stimulus material for the 2017 Dance ATAR course written examination has been distributed to schools. A DVD and a CD were provided to each teacher of the course and each student enrolled to sit the examination.

The DVD contains a copy of the stimulus material ‘AORTA’ and the CD contains the ‘Support document for stimulus material AORTA by Chunky Move’. Candidates will be required to make reference to the stimulus material in at least half of the questions in Section One of the written examination.

The DVD will not be played during the examination. However, the examination paper will include a Source booklet that contains images from the stimulus material as prompts or reminders of the stimulus DVD.

Contact
Kerry Cribb (08) 9273 6787
kerry.cribb@scsa.wa.edu.au

Front covers for the 2017 ATAR course examinations are available on the School Curriculum and Standards Authority website under the ‘Examination Materials’ heading on the relevant course page at https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/syllabus-and-support-materials.

The examination front covers should be distributed by teachers of the relevant courses to help prepare students for the examinations. Feedback from students last year suggests that some teachers did not make copies of the front covers available to their students, nor did they discuss the significance of the information in them.

Principals and Curriculum Leaders in schools are asked to impress on their teachers the importance of sharing this information with students.

The front covers contain details of the structure of each examination, the allocation of marks and the rules governing the conduct of the examination. Teachers are strongly encouraged to familiarise students with the front covers of both the written and practical examinations.

Front covers are not included for those language examinations that are set by curriculum authorities in other states.

Contact
Naidina Avery (08) 9273 6334
naidina.avery@scsa.wa.edu.au

Kerry Cribb (08) 9273 6787
kerry.cribb@scsa.wa.edu.au

The stimulus material for the 2017 Media Production and Analysis ATAR course written examination has been distributed to schools. A USB was provided for each teacher of the course and each candidate enrolled to sit the ATAR course examination.

The USB contains audiovisual and online stimulus material.

Candidates will be required to make reference to the stimulus material in their responses to Section One: Short answer in the written examination.

The USB will not be used during the ATAR course written examination. However, the examination materials will include a Source booklet with excerpts or stills from the stimulus material.

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

New programs added to the 2017 Endorsed Programs list
The following programs were endorsed by the Authority Board on the 16 May 2017 and are available to students in Years 10, 11 and 12 for WACE recognition from 2017:

School-developed endorsed programs