Update –Queensland Review of Senior Assessment and Tertiary Entrance Processes

Secondary APREsMarch 2015

Why a review?• OP System has been in place for approx 20 years

during which time the Senior study and Tertiary Entrance landscapes have changed considerably;

• OP no longer serving the same purpose. Approx 40% of students are non-OP. Approx 50% of Year 12 students who gain tertiary entrance places do not use an OP to do so. Field positions are rarely used;

• In 2013, less than 400 Yr 12 students who applied for a university place did not receive an offer;

• Previous reviews flagged the need for further change;

• General concerns about credibility, reliability, validity…. and concerns about “gaming”.

Internal Assessment 10 PointsInternal Assessment 10 PointsInternal Assessment 10 Points

External Assessment 30 Points

Where are we headed?

• Change in Gov’t• Scaling• Internal Assessment to be ‘endorsed

before use’• External assessment can happen

anytime• QCS costs $6 Mil = 59 Authority

subjects• Not clear about SAS or VET• Four subjects an issue for

mandatory RE in senior• Moderation move from consensus to

blind assessment• Potential valuing of external

assessment over school bases assessment

• Due to resourcing, external assessment could become external exams student stress

Where have we come from?Sept 2013 Terms of Reference

Dec 2013 Online Survey

Feb 2014 Preliminary Thinking & Options Paper and Focus Questions

Mar 2014 Principal Meeting with Gabrielle Matters, ACER Key Stakeholder

MeetingApr 2014 BCE & QCEC Submissions to ACER, ACER Key Stakeholder Meeting

June 2014 Final ACER Key Stakeholder MeetingSep 2014 Final ACER report

published Nov 2014 Key Stakeholder Consultations with Government

representativesDec 2014 Draft Government report published

Points of InfluenceQCEC (sector)BCE (education authority)Professional AssociationsSchool (community advocate) Individual

Our Goal…

As a Catholic Christian community we educate all to live the gospel of Jesus Christ as successful, creative and confident, active and informed learners empowered to shape and enrich our world.

Some overarching principlesValuing the learning of all students• BCE seeks an authentic and valid result of

schooling for all students.• Some TOR not addressed in report. Not sufficient

clarity around impact on non-OP Pathways.Valuing teacher professionalism• Our position has been that building teacher

capacity should be prioritised in any new system.Adequate resourcing• Any changes must be adequately resourced.• Other valued pathways e.g. VET must also be

adequately resourced.

Terms of ReferenceThe review will consider the effectiveness of the systems and identify ways to improve, revitalise or reform them.

as well as…..

Parliamentary Education and Innovation Committee report on

Assessment Methods for Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics (Report No 25)

A number of recommendations were referred for further consideration as part of the independent review of senior assessment and tertiary entrance:• That an external examination count for 50 per cent of a student’s

overall achievement mark in senior mathematics, chemistry and physics (Recommendation 2);

• That the subject-based external examination for mathematics, chemistry and physics be used to scale school-based assessments in these subjects (Recommendation 4);

• That inquiry-based tasks contributed a defined proportion (between 12.5% and 25%) of a student’s overall subject mark (Recommendation 9);

• That a reduced mechanism to enable teachers to set and review school-based assessment tasks continue to operate for senior mathematics, chemistry and physics subjects, but that this mechanism is not used to moderate school-based assessments (Recommendation 14);

Parliamentary Education and Innovation Committee report on

Assessment Methods for Mathematics, Chemistry and Physics (Report No 25)

• The provision of more detail in syllabus documents about the standards of achievement against syllabus criteria (Recommendation 6);

• Having the syllabus prescribe that inquiry-based assessment tasks be completed in class time under teacher supervision, and subject to a maximum number of hours that can be spent on these tasks (Recommendation 7);

• That, in the context of standards based assessment, numerical marking be strongly promoted in mathematics, chemistry and physics subjects, with syllabus documents to include mark ranges that equate of each of the five standards of achievement for each syllabus criteria (Recommendation 13).

23 Recommendations (Acer Review Final Report)

• Separation of responsibilities for senior assessment, tertiary entrance ranking and discontinuation of OP (Recommendations 1, 2, 12, 15)

• New tertiary selection process (Recommendations 11, 13, 14, 20, 21, 22)

• A new senior assessment and reporting system (Recommendations 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 16, 17, 18)

• New quality assurance arrangements (Recommendations 8, 9)

• Implementation (Recommendations 19, 23)

The Qld Government supports the following key elements of the review recommendations subject to further feasibility assessment in collaboration with the tertiary sector and detailed analysis of financial implications.

General Principles – Government Response

• The types of assessment adopted for each senior subject should be appropriate to the subject matter and to the knowledge, skills and understanding being assessed.

• Reports of students’ subject results should be presented in a format that is meaningful to them, their families and their potential employers.

• Tertiary selection processes should be transparent and fair for all Year 12 students seeking entry to tertiary education.

• Implementation timeframes should be adequate for students and families to plan their senior pathways, and for new systems to be developed and implemented;

• The new senior assessment and tertiary entrance processes should be coordinated in their introduction.

• Students who complete their senior program in the usual two year timeframe should do so under the same system that they began under.

• Any new arrangements will be designed to minimise workload impacts for schools and teachers.

Separation of responsibilities for senior assessment and tertiary entrance

ranking and discontinuation of the OP system (Recommendations 1, 2, 12, 15)

The Government supports in principle:

• The separation of responsibilities with QCAA continuing to be responsible for senior assessment and QTAC for tertiary entrance ranking and decision making.

• A managed transition away from the OP system acknowledging that other tertiary entrance arrangements provide for the transition of nearly half of senior students into tertiary education.

• Inter-subject scaling could be used to compare results from different subjects.

New Tertiary Selection Processes (Recommendations 11, 13, 14, 20, 21, 22)

The Government:• Accepts in principle that tertiary selection

processes should be the responsibility of the tertiary sector and agrees it is critical for tertiary selection processes to be equitable and transparent, while offering flexibility for student entry and tertiary institutions.

• Acknowledges that Qld tertiary institutions have a strong preference that the ATAR be used as the primary selection mechanism for Year 12 completers.

• ACER has suggested that the calculation of an ATAR could be based on results in four senior subjects (rather than the current 5), and that senior subject combinations could be required as prerequisites for some tertiary courses. The government seeks to work collaboratively to consider minimum subject requirements for the ATAR, how fine-grained subject results need to be and comparability with other Australian states and territories.

A new senior assessment and reporting system (Recommendations 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10,

16, 17, 18)The government:

• Endorses the value of school-based assessment. • Proposes in-principle support for four summative assessment

activities: three school assessments plus one external assessment generally contributing 50% of a senior subject result.

• Subject to resourcing constraints, external assessment could be introduced to all subjects unless there were a compelling practical or educational reasons not to do so. Staged introduction is a possibility.

• Consistent with the government’s response to the Parliamentary Education and Innovation Committee report, 50% of external assessment is supported in senior mathematics, chemistry and physics. While the government supports in-principle external assessment contributing 50% of the subject result in other subjects, further work is required to determine whether there are any subjects where this approach is less applicable e.g. Performing Arts

A new senior assessment and reporting system (Recommendations 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10,

16, 17, 18)The government:

• Anticipates finer grained results (than current 5 Exit LOAs) could more fully reflect the rich assessment evidence from a two year course of senior study and better support the generation of a Tertiary Entrance Rank.

• A 60 point scale (made up of three 10-point schools assessments and one 30-point external assessment) would need to be tested to check whether a 10-point marking scale for each school assessment would provide sufficient differentiation of student achievement, particularly at the upper levels and whether 60 points is enough to produce a tertiary entrance rank.

• Once it has been established that the scale of the subject result is fine enough, the government agrees in principle that simple numerical addition of the results of the four assessment activities would be sufficient to give a subject result for each subject.

A new senior assessment and reporting system (Recommendations 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10,

16, 17, 18)The government:

• ACER argues against scaling school assessment results of the external assessment, asserting that upfront specifications of the assessments and simple additions of results would make scaling unnecessary. This recommendation is contrary to the findings of the EIC report and will be subject to further feasibility assessment.

• At this stage, the government has some reservations about the 60 point scale being able to communicate enough information for students, parents and prospective employers. Further work is needed to ensure that senior subject results provide a clear statement of what students know and can do in a format that is meaningful to the ordinary person.

New quality assurance arrangements (Recommendations 8, 9)

The government:

• Supports in principle ACER’s proposals for a revitalised moderation process, with a focus on the quality of teacher-devised assessment activities and independent blind reassessments of teacher judgement. ACER’s recommendation is consistent with recommendation 14 of the Parliamentary EIC report.

• Endorses in-principle the introduction of dedicated assessment supervisors but further consideration would need to be given for processes for their selection, engagement and associated resourcing

• Some interim measures suggested – e.g. QCAA directly selecting sample work folios of panel reviews, additional exemplars and resources to support teachers in developing high quality assessments and additional training for panel members. A trial of supervisors with particular expertise in maths, science and chemistry subjects could be tested and act as a support group for panel reviews.

Implementation (Recommendations 19, 23)

The government:

• Would ensure that ongoing development and implementation of new arrangements would be conducted in a clear and transparent manner. Practitioners and organisations responsible for the administration of these activities would be directly involved in their formulation through involvement in two ministerial taskforces and preliminary pilots.

• Acknowledges that the terms of reference did not require a review of the QCE. However, the senior assessment model proposed by ACER has potential implications for the QCE and would need to be the subject of further consideration.

What else is happening?

QCAA is trialling some elements of some recommendations (based on feedback from Principals meetings) e.g. “Endorse before use” trial in Philosophy & Reason, Study of Society and Mathematics B (Brisbane South Region)

Government response flagged pilots for common external assessment to be commissioned in a small number of senior subjects in 2015 so that suitable external assessment activities can be developed and tested. With the change in Govt – these trials are unlikely to proceed in 2015.

QCAA is establishing 22 Senior Curriculum and Assessment Working Groups to provide expert advice on current directions in curriculum and assessment specifically in relation to the development of syllabuses and internal and external assessment. These working groups include a practicing teacher with working party discipline expertise from the Catholic sector.