8 | 2024 Assessment Handbook Version 2.0
Assessment Schedule
* NOTE: Scheduling of tasks in this handbook may change due to unforeseen circumstances. In this event, students will be given a minimum of two weeks’ notice of a change in due date.
Assessment Policy
What is Assessment?
Assessment is the broad name for the collection and evaluation of evidence of a student's learning. It is integral to teaching and learning and has multiple purposes. Assessment can enhance student engagement and motivation, particularly when it incorporates interaction with teachers, other students and a range of resources https://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/k-10/understanding-thecurriculum/assessment/assessment-principles
This booklet provides details of the formal Assessment tasks that will be administered in the various subjects and of the procedures that teachers and students will be asked to follow in the administration of these Assessment tasks.
Timing of assessment
Prior to commencement of Assessment in any given term, Assessment tasks will be published to the parent/student portal at least two weeks prior to when each task is due.
Prior to the assessment task the teacher will give students further details, e.g., scope and type of the task, proposed timing and duration, and weighting.
Students absent on the day of a notice of assessment
It is the responsibility of any student who is absent from school when assessment information is given out, to obtain the appropriate details from their teacher upon their return to school
Submission of tasks
• Tasks must be submitted by the due date and time on the assessment notification.
• Students who are completing assessment tasks using technology, are encouraged to make regular backup copies of their work. Problems with technology will not be accepted as an excuse for non-submission, sub-standard or incomplete work. If there is a problem with technology, students must be able to show evidence of their progress on a task.
• A student who has been suspended from school for disciplinary reasons will still be required to submit the task to the class teacher on the due date. If the task is an examination the student will be required to attend the college in school uniform only for the duration of the exam. It is also the responsibility of a student who has been suspended to ensure that he finds out any information about an assessment task that may have been set while the student is suspended from school. The student will also be required to complete the task by the due date.
Requests for Extensions
Students can request an extension from their classroom teacher. The teacher will discuss this with the relevant Leader of Learning and the outcome will be communicated to the student.
Absence on the day of an assessment task
• If a student is aware that they will be away the date of the task for a justified reason (including representing the school, state or country), they should make their teacher aware of this. An alternate date for the task will be organized by them in consultation with the Leader of Learning.
• If a student is absent on the date of a task, parents are required to email the class teacher advising them of the reason. An alternate date will be set for the task in consultation with the class teacher and Leader of Learning. In circumstances where the task cannot be completed at another time, an estimate may be given by the Leader of Learning.
Extended Absence
Planned Absence
Students who are aware that they will be absent for an extended period of time eg. for more than two weeks are responsible for notifying their teacher and must complete the Extended leave application form. https://stedwards.nsw.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Student-Contract-Extended-Leave-Application.pdf
• If students are missing classwork that will be relevant to later assessment the student is responsible for obtaining the work that they have missed out on in order to prepare to complete the assessment on their return.
• If a student is absent for a whole unit of work the teacher may if appropriate set an alternate task upon the student’s return to provide evidence of learning.
• Strategies will be put into place by the College to ensure that there is clarity about the expectations of any work to be completed while the student is absent.
Unjustified Leave
For all leave during a school term, students must complete the ‘Student contract for extended leave’ form located https://www.stedwards.nsw.edu.au/parent-community/parent-attendance/. This form must be completed and signed by all teachers and/or Leaders of Learning at least five school days prior to going on leave.
If a student is travelling during the term, it is the student’s responsibility to make arrangements for the task to be submitted on time, or prior to the due date. Students must ensure that they have made these arrangements with the relevant teachers and/or Leaders of Learning when they have their leave form signed, at least five school days prior to going on leave.
For assessments submitted late due to unjustified leave, the penalty is a deduction of 10% for Years 7-9, of the initially available marks, per day.
If a student is absent due to unjustified leave for an exam, they will be required to complete the exam in an academic assistance afternoon as soon as possible on their return. In a situation where the exam is unable to be caught up (e.g., A practical exam) or completed within a reasonable time frame, the student will receive an estimate.
Students who do not fulfil their responsibility to liaise with their teacher with regard to an exam or assessment that falls within the period of unjustified leave, will receive 0 for the assessment.
Unplanned Absence
Students who are absent due for an extended period of time should ensure that they address the issue of any missed assessment tasks upon their return to school.
• The Leader of Learning and the class teacher will then decide as to whether it is appropriate for the student to complete the task, complete an alternate task or receive an estimate. This decision will be made according to the learning and pastoral needs of individual students and should involve consultation with the student’s Pastoral Leader.
Late and Non submission of assessment tasks
Late submissions
• In years 7-9, late submissions will incur a penalty of 10% of the initially available marks every school day, with a maximum penalty of 50%.
Non submission of assessment tasks
• Students who fail to submit after 7 days of the due date, will complete the task in an academic assistance afternoon.
• Parents and the Pastoral Leader will be notified of the non-submission of the task.
Malpractice and Plagiarism during assessment tasks
Malpractice is any activity that allows students to gain an unfair advantage over other students. It includes, but is not limited to:
• copying or providing someone else’s work in part or in whole, and presenting it as their own
• using material directly from books or the internet without reference to the source
• building on the ideas of another person without reference to the source
• generating answers or other parts of a task using artificial intelligence (e.g. ChatGTP)
• which is not acknowledged and referenced as a source
• buying, stealing or borrowing another person’s work and presenting it as their own
• submitting work to which another person, such as a parent, coach or subject expert, has contributed substantially
• using words, ideas, designs or the workmanship of others in practical and performance tasks without appropriate acknowledgement
• paying someone to write or prepare material
• breaching school examination rules
• using non-approved aids during an assessment task
• assisting another student to engage in malpractice.
Acknowledgment of plagiarism and malpractice
• When a teacher suspects that a student has plagiarised or has engaged in malpractice they will discuss their concerns with the student.
• Parents will be informed of the plagiarism and/or malpractice and of the penalty to be imposed.
• If appropriate, students may be required to attend Thursday afternoon academic detention to complete the task or relevant section of the task.
Assessment Details by Subject
NOTE: Scheduling of tasks in this handbook may change due to unforeseen circumstances. In this event, students will be given a minimum of two weeks’ notice of a change in due date.
Type: I = In-class task; H = hand in assignment; E = examination; Prov = provisions (Yes/No)
Year 8 Visual Arts
Task # and Name
Type Term/Week Description
AT1: CASE STUDY I T2/W2 & T4/W3
AT2: VISUAL ARTS DIARY I T2/W5 & T4/W5
Case Study completed on Canvas on selected artists and artworks
Submission of all learning tasks in student folder completed during the semester
AT3: BODY OF WORK I T2/W8 & T4/W7 Submission of all practical tasks completed during the semester
Year 8 English
Task # and Name
Type Term/Week Description
AT1: Extended Response I T2/W3 AT1- ‘Me, Myself and I’ Extended Response. In class with quote sheet and scaffold.
AT2: On the Case. Tiered creative task and justification. H T3/W4 AT2 On the Case.
Part A: students select from a variety of creative multimedia options Part B: students submit a justification of their multimedia creation, demonstrating their understanding of the conventions of crime fiction.
AT3: Advocacy H T4/W4 AT3 Persuasive Speech on a topic studied during the advocacy unit. A transcript of the speech will be submitted on Canvas.
Year 8 French
Task # and Name
Type Term/Week Description
AT1: Je me présente I T1/T6 AT1: In class, choice-based task on Education Perfect with reading and listening texts, introducing themselves and others.
AT2: La Famille I T2/W7 AT2: Hand in task. Students create a written and spoken commentary about their family and hobbies/sports
AT3: A Table I/H T3/W8 AT3 Portfolio of Work
AT4: Les Animaux I T4/W5 AT4: In class task, reading and listening to texts about pets in France
Year 8 HSIE
Task # and Name
AT1 GEO: Water in the World Field Task I/H T1/W8 A field study of a local water environment
AT2 GEO: Interconnections & Skills In class Quiz E T2/W5 In-class task reviewing Geographical skills
AT1 HIS: Vikings / Medieval Europe Museum Display H T3/W9 Create an informative museum display of Viking or Medieval Europe artifacts
AT2 HIS: Japan Shogun/Europe Black Death Source Analysis Quiz I T4/W6 An in-class analysis task on sources from both Japan Under the Shogans and the Black Death studies
Year 8 PDHPE
Task # and Name Type Term/Week Description
AT1: European Handball practical I T1/W2-11 AT1 European Handball practical participation and performance
AT2: Good Choices – Fact sheet & strategies I/H T2/W6 AT2 Good Choices – Mental health fact sheet & strategies to manage mental health challenges
AT3: Lacrosse practical I T2/W1-8 AT3 Lacrosse practical participation and performance
AT4: AFL practical I T3/W1-10 AT4 AFL practical participation and performance
AT5: Let’s Talk – Bullying research & presentation I/H T3/W9 AT5 Let’s Talk – Research & choice of options to present information on bullying
AT6: Basketball practical I T4/W1-6 AT6 Basketball practical participation and performance
Year 8 Mathematics
Task # and Name Type Term/Week Description
AT1: Formative Class Mark I T1/W 4,7,10 Three formative quizzes completed each 2-3 weeks
AT2: In-class Task I T2/W5 In-class test
AT3: In-class Task I T3/W7 In-class test
AT4: Online Task I T4/W5 Online Canvas Quiz
Year 8 Music
Task # and Name Type Term/Week Description
AT1: Listening Skills Task I T2/W4 & T4/W4
AT2: Composition or Performance task I/H T2/W6 & T4/W6
Year 8 Religion
Aural recognition of instruments, musical terms, and rhythmic patterns reflecting unit of work studied.
Students choose to present a Composition task or Performance pieces as their elected final assessment task.
Task # and Name Type Term/Week Description
AT1: Action project I/H T2/W3
AT2: Research Task I/H T3/W3
Action project: Jesus & his Scriptures. Students will be given opportunities within and outside of class to work on this task. Students will be given this task in Term 1 Week 6.
Research project: Courageous Christians. Students will develop knowledge and skills on both past and contemporary martyrs. This task will be given to students in Week 9 of Term 2 for them to work on within and outside of class.
AT3: Exam E T4/W4 Examination on Semester 2 modules.
Year 8 Science
Task # and Name
AT1: Body Systems Model Making H T1/W8
Model construction of one of the human body systems to explore structures and their associated functions.
AT2: Research Task H T2/W5 Environmental science research task.
AT3: Practical Workbook H T3/W8 Practical workbook submission.
AT4: Yearly Examination E T4/W4 Knowledge, process and skills in class examination
Year 8 TAS – TAS Engineering Systems
Task # and Name Type Term/Week
AT1: Engineering Careers Poster I T1/W6 or T3/W5 In class - Research Task
AT2: Solar Car Design Portfolio I T2/W6 or T4/W5 In class – Solar Car Portfolio
AT3: Solar Car Project I T2/W7 or T4/W6 In class – Practical Project
Year 8 TAS – TAS Materials Technology
Task # and Name Type
AT1: Timber & Materials Research Task and Online Quiz I T1/W7 or T3/W7 In class – Research Task and Online Quiz
AT2: Light Box Project I T1/W10 or T3/W9 In class – Practical Project
AT3: Fire Pit Product I T2/W7 or T4/W6 In class – Practical Project