Education
P O e h t t u : o m g e n i t s s y a s Ph R TA A w s t ne n e e h d t u t d s n r a o f s n a e m t i t a h w
r 11 s the Yea history. A n o t in ti n a e c d u nd ed ool stu re no sch Queensla e ere h in w w e g d o n n g a will ensla est ch dies they ns in Que the bigg tu o s ti rk r a re a a io in m n y l m e e il S 0 th c exa 2019 w egin their rs of 202 last publi of 2019 b our Senio 974. The r 1 fo e t c u in b s students een port nd has b adford re schools, e 1970 R Queensla th g in ances for w u o n ll e . fo e m d g o e n s cha are by the abolish welcome and there response a s a is m d it n le a b d n e ro g tim to the ing p back, a ry excitin responds e t be teeth t v b a u a o th is ) d it A o all ln CA There wil thority (Q , but all in sment Au d parents s n e a s s ts A n d e n stud ulum a nd Curric arners. Queensla entury le c t s 1 2 r u o needs of
Is it just about changing assessment? The most important thing to realise is that while much of the focus is on changed assessment methods the most important and fundamental element of the new system is in fact the changing syllabus and nature of learning in schools. Each of the Senior syllabi have been re-written to focus on what are termed 21st century skills. These are a researched set of skills and abilities that have been identified essential for our young people if they are to operate, succeed and lead tomorrow’s society. While the assessment change is necessary, and getting all the publicity, it is the changed learning and teaching approaches that are actually going to bring most benefit to our schools and students. However, it is true that parents will be impacted by the changes and will in fact need to have a strong understanding of the system of assessment to assist their child in their choices. The internal-external balance is also a point of difference to other states. In the new Queensland Senior system subject assessment will be 75% internal and 25% external, except for Maths and Science subjects. These will be 50% internal and 50% external. All subjects will have a maximum of four assessment items across Year 12, which is another wonderful change as many subjects have six or more assessments each year which adds significant stress to students and families. In addition to the external endorsement of all assessment items there is also a common marking template for each assessment item, across all subjects. They will not vary from school to school and each teacher’s marking will be checked and approved for consistency.
How is it an improvement? What is it? The ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank) pathway itself will be a new thing for parents and while there are similarities to those external examination systems in other states it is most definitely uniquely Queensland in its approach. Internal school based assessment is still of significant value, but far more keenly moderated than in the current system. As example, all assessment tasks are required to be submitted and endorsed prior to student completion. Currently assessments are moderated across schools post completion, so if inequities exist they cannot be addressed for the cohort who sat them, only the cohort in the following year.
10
Your Local Families Magazine August/September 2018
The biggest area of improvement is the removal of the global cohort moderating examinations that are used to provide school to school, and as such, student to student comparison. Currently known as the QCS test this examination is no longer effective in doing its job. While the examination itself is still of the highest integrity the manipulation of school cohorts has seen normalised results skewed. In simple terms, in 2003 71% of students enrolled in Year 12 sat the QCS test as this course of study was the only way to matriculate into university. In 2017 only 49.6% of Year 12 students sat the examination. Effectively, over the past 25 years, schools have explored other ways of university matriculation for their lower achieving students and subsequently excluded them from the QCS cohort. Having a system where a student’s own dedicated and committed performance is the fundamental determinant to their progression to higher study is certainly overdue.