Accreditation period Units 1 and 2: 2025-2029; Units 3 and 4: 2025-2029
General assessment advice
Advice on matters related to the administration of Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) is published annually in the
VCE Administrative Handbook.
Updates to matters related to the administration of VCE assessment are published in the
VCAA Bulletin.
Subscribe to the VCAA Bulletin.
Teachers must refer to these publications for current advice.
The VCE assessment principles underpin all VCE assessment practices and should guide teachers in their design and implementation of School-assessed Coursework (SACs).
When developing SAC tasks, teachers should also refer to the VCAA policies and school assessment procedures as specified in the VCE Administrative Handbook section: Scored assessment: School-based Assessment.
The VCAA assessment principles determine that assessment of the VCE should be:
- Valid and reasonable
- Equitable
- Balanced
- Efficient
Essentially, these principles invite schools and teachers to create assessment practices, including tasks and tools, that enable students to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the outcome statements, and the key knowledge and key skills through a range of opportunities and in different contexts (balanced), that do not advantage or disadvantage certain groups of students on the basis of circumstances and contexts (equitable), that are not overly onerous in terms of workload and time (efficient) and that only assess that which is explicitly described in the study design.
The
glossary of command terms provides a list of terms commonly used across the Victorian Curriculum F–10, VCE study designs and VCE examinations and to help students better understand the requirements of command terms in the context of their discipline.
VCE Physical Education Study Design examination specifications, past examination papers and corresponding examination reports can be accessed from the VCE examination webpages.
Graded Distributions for Graded Assessment can be accessed from the VCAA Senior Secondary Certificate Statistical Information webpage.
Excepting third-party elements, schools may use this resource in accordance with the VCAA’s Educational Allowance (VCAA Copyright and Intellectual Property Policy).
For Units 1-4 assessment tasks should be a part of the regular teaching and learning program and should not add unduly to student workload. Students should be clearly informed of the timelines and the conditions under which assessment tasks are to be conducted, including whether any resources are permitted.
Points to consider in developing an assessment task:
- List the relevant content from the areas of study and the relevant key knowledge and key skills for the outcomes.
- Develop the assessment task according to the specifications in the study design. It is possible for students in the same class to undertake different tasks, or variations of components for a task; however, teachers must ensure that the tasks or variations are comparable in scope and demand.
- Identify the qualities and characteristics that you are looking for in a student response and map these to the criteria, descriptors, rubrics or marking schemes being used to assess level of achievement.
- Identify the nature and sequence of teaching and learning activities to cover the relevant content, and key knowledge and key skills outlined in the study design, and to provide for different learning styles.
- Decide the most appropriate time to set the task. This decision is the result of several considerations including:
- the estimated time it will take to cover the relevant content from the areas of study and the relevant key knowledge and key skills for the outcomes
- the possible need to provide preparatory activities or tasks
- the likely length of time required for students to complete the task
- when tasks are being conducted in other studies and the workload implications for students.
- The teacher must consider the authentication strategies relevant for each assessment task. Information regarding VCAA authentication rules can be found in the
VCE Administrative Handbook section: Scored assessment: School-based Assessment.
- Note: publicly available materials (i.e. Commercially produced tasks and VCAA past examinations) cannot be used without significant modification.
- Students should be provided with clear written instructions about timeline and conditions of each SAC task. These instructions should include the specific key knowledge and key skills that will be assessed in the task, how the task will be structured and any materials or resources that will be allowed when completing the assessment task. Assess the task using the selected assessment tool and provide feedback on student performance
Units 1 and 2
All assessments for Units 1 and 2 are school-based. The determination of a satisfactory (S ) or not satisfactory (N ) for each of Units 1 and 2 is a separate consideration from the assessment of levels of achievement. This distinction means that a student can receive a very low numerical score in a formal assessment task but still achieve an S for the outcome.
The decision about satisfactory completion of outcomes is based on the teacher’s judgment of the student’s overall performance on a combination of set work and assessment tasks related to the outcomes. Students should be provided with multiple opportunities across the learning program to develop and demonstrate the key knowledge and key skills required for the outcomes for the unit. If a student, in the judgment of the teacher, did not meet the outcome then they should be afforded additional opportunities through submitting further evidence; for example, a teacher may consider work previously submitted (class work, homework), additional tasks or discussions with the student that demonstrate they have met the outcome.
Procedures for assessment of levels of achievement in Units 1 and 2 are a matter for schools to decide. Schools have flexibility in deciding how many and which assessment tasks they use for each outcome, provided that these decisions are in accordance with VCE Physical Education Study Design and VCE Assessment Principles.
Teachers should note the cognitive demand of the command terms in the outcome statements to determine the type of teaching and learning activities and evidence of student understanding that will be needed for students to demonstrate satisfactory completion of each outcome.
| Units 1 and 2 task type | Scope of task |
|---|
a written report, such as a media analysis, a research investigation, a blog post or a case study analysis | - Given the option of structured questions, this task requires a traditional written report (extended piece of writing) format
- One or more examples of contemporary stimulus should be provided that requires students to synthesise information, organise ideas and suggest findings or outcomes, presented through an extended piece of writing
- Students may be presented with previously unsighted stimulus material or, depending on the stimulus chosen, be provided with time to read and understand the material prior to undertaking the assessment task
- The report should contain three sections: introduction, body and conclusion
- The introduction should include a brief summary of the main findings.
- The body should unpack the main findings and provide a detailed description supported by reference to stimulus material
- The conclusion should include what was learnt through the investigation or analysis, including a summary of findings or outcomes.
- Each section should contain scaffolding prompts for students to respond to. These could be dot points of required knowledge, an inquiry question, a broad statement for students to respond to, or a combination of approaches
Example of potential U1 & U2 application - Unit 1 Area of Study 2 – Research report youth health focus
|
a visual presentation, such as a graphic organiser, a concept/mind map, an annotated poster or a digital presentation | - Visual presentations should allow students to display their understanding in a creative way, which may be using a
Prezior similar
- A stimulus context, a broad concept (encompassing multiple key knowledge points) and/or a specific question(s) could be used to scaffold the visual presentation
- The key skills need to be provided so as students know what they are expected to do with their knowledge in responding to the question(s)
- Planning time should be provided where students can collect or organise information based on the questions and any scaffolding prompts
- Consideration should be given to the constraints that need to be put in place regarding the planning time; amount of time provided, what students are asked to prepare, what they have access to (i.e. stimulus material) and how many notes can be prepared. Teachers should collect these notes and return them when the visual presentation is completed.
- The visual presentation is created using the prepared notes. The prepared notes would be submitted and should be assessed along with the visual presentation.
Example of potential U1 & U2 application - Unit 1 Area of Study 1 – Visual presentation: sociocultural influences on health and wellbeing
|
an extended response question analysing a range of data sources with an emphasis on annotating, synthesising and planning the response | - See the detailed example in Unit 4
Example of potential U1 & U2 application Unit 2 Area of Study 1 – Extended response question (including a concept map): Developmental transitions |
an oral presentation, such as a debate or a podcast | - The task could be a persuasive oral presentation, debate of a specific topic or an informative podcast that responds to a question
- 3 minutes is a reasonable time limit for an individual oral presentation
- Students should be provided with the topic (encompassing multiple key knowledge points) or specific question to complete the research required prior to completing the oral component
- The key skills need to be provided so that students know what they are expected to do with their knowledge in responding to the topic or question
- Planning time should be provided where students can collect or organise information based on the questions and any scaffolding prompts
- Consideration should be given to the constraints that need to be put in place regarding the research time; amount of time provided, what students are asked to prepare (script if a podcast or palm cards for an oral presentation), what they have access to in preparing the notes (i.e. any stimulus material or class notes) Teachers should authenticate any prepared material and these should be all students have access to in completing the oral component.
- The oral presentation and completed notes are assessed.
Example of potential U1 & U2 application - Unit 1 Area of Study 3 – Debate ‘Young people and food marketing’
- Unit 2 Area of Study 1 – Podcast ‘Healthy mums and bubs’
|
structured questions, including data analysis | - See the detailed example in Unit 3
Example of potential U1 & U2 application - See the detailed example in Unit 3
|
Units 3 and 4
Unit 3 Sample approach to developing an assessment task
Teachers are encouraged to use a range of assessment types in assessing students’ understanding of an outcome, rather than using assessment tasks to prepare students for the written examination. When selecting the assessment task types, it is important to ensure the task considers:
- compliance (to the study design, unit, area of study, outcome, key knowledge, key skills and VCE assessment principles)
- rigor (accessible to a range of student abilities, correct use of command terms and mark range/allocation)
- engagement (school and student context, stimulus material and preferred learning styles).
- In Units 3 and 4, each assessment task type can only be selected once across Outcome 1 and Outcome 2
Structured questions – General advice
Delivering the task
Assessing the task
- Mark the task, rank student performance and provide feedback.
- The Unit 3 Outcome 2 performance descriptor provides a useful guide for ensuring the mark guide (scheme) assesses all levels of student performance and therefore validates the appropriateness of the mark guide.
Extended response – General advice
- This task requires students to annotate a range of stimuli to synthesise key ideas and to develop a detailed plan based on the components of the question and stimulus material provided by the teacher.
Preparing for the task
- As this example is for Unit 4 Outcome 2, the selection of an extended response task is dependent upon this task type not being used in Unit 4 Outcome 1.
- Given that this outcome is worth 50 marks out of the 100 marks available for School-assessed Coursework in Unit 4, it may be appropriate to have students complete only one task or to split the assessment of the outcome over two tasks. If splitting the task, teachers can either use the same task type or a different task type for the second task (provided this was not used in Unit 4 Outcome 1).
- Identify the assessment tool. A rubric should be used to assess this task. The Unit 4 Area of Study 2 performance descriptor is an appropriate starting point in designing an assessment tool for this task; however, this requires modification to ensure it meets the needs of the task.
- Identify the nature and sequence of teaching and learning activities used to cover the key knowledge and key skills outlined in this area of study. The teaching and learning activities included in the support materials for Unit 3 Outcome 2 account for different learning styles and will allow students to build and consolidate their knowledge and skills.
Designing the task
- The teacher needs to set a question that provides good coverage of the outcome and allows students to demonstrate the highest level of performance and the qualities and characteristics that define this. To do this, refer to the
outcome statement on page 28 of the study design.
- Look carefully at Outcome 2 and the key knowledge and key skills relevant to this statement. The introductory statement to the unit and area of study and the relevant performance descriptor will also provide a clear guide as to the qualities and characteristics of performance for this task.
- All or some of the assessable
Unit 4 Area of Study 2 key knowledge and key skills on pages 28 and 29 could be assessed in this task.
- After considering the key knowledge and key skills that are being assessed, the teacher needs to source and select two or three stimuli that students will use in their response. The stimuli selected should have strong links to the outcome being assessed and allow students to apply their understanding of the key knowledge and to demonstrate the key skills. The stimuli should include a variety of types such as:
- data (tables or graphs or text-based data) related to a key feature of an SDG or an aspect of health and/or human development
- an infographic outlining the key features of an SDG
- a case study, of an aid program addressing an SDG or a WHO priority
- a photograph, linked to an SDG.
- Students are to be provided with time to plan their response. During this time students should be encouraged to annotate the stimulus material and plann the components of their response.
- To complete the planning element, students could develop their own hardcopy mind map or use mind mapping software such as
SmartDraw,
Presi,
MindManager,
Mind42
Delivering the task
- Decide on the conditions under which the task will be conducted and include this in instructions to students. A suggested time allocation for this task could be:
- 30–40 minutes annotating and planning
- 20–30 minutes writing the response.
Assessing the task
- Use the rubric to assess the planning tool and the extended written response. Mark allocation should be prioritised towards the extended response.
- Mark the task, rank student performance and provide feedback.
The VCAA performance descriptors are advice only and provide a guide to developing an assessment tool when assessing the outcomes of each area of study. The performance descriptors can be adapted and customised by teachers in consideration of their context and cohort, and to complement existing assessment procedures in line with the
VCE Administrative Handbook and the
VCE assessment principles.
VCE performance descriptors can assist teachers in:
- moderating student work
- making consistent assessment
- helping determine student point of readiness (zone of proximal development)
- providing more detailed information for reporting purposes.
Using VCE performance descriptors can assist students by providing them with informed, detailed feedback and by showing them what improvement looks like.
Teachers can also explore the VCE performance descriptors with their students, unpacking the levels of expected performance so students have a clear understanding of what can be possible in terms of development and achievement.
When developing SAC tasks, teachers are advised to adapt the VCAA VCE performance descriptors to relate to the SAC task used and their school context. Teachers should use their professional judgment when deciding how to adapt the rubrics, considering the
VCE assessment principles, the requirements of the relevant study design, the relevant outcome, key knowledge, key skills and assessment tasks, and the student cohort. Teachers may consider using the following guidelines when adapting the VCE Performance descriptors and/or developing an assessment tool:
- Develop the SAC task and assessment rubric simultaneously.
- Assess the outcome through a representative sample of key knowledge and key skills. Not all key knowledge and key skills will be formally assessed in a SAC task – some key knowledge and key skills are observable in classroom engagement and learning – but all criteria in any assessment tool must be drawn directly from the study design.
- Select the components of the VCE Performance descriptors that are most appropriate and most relevant for the selected outcome and SAC task.
- Attempt to capture the skill level of a range of students within the cohort: the lowest expected quality of performance should be something most or all students can do, and the highest expected quality of performance should be something that extends the most able students. Similarly, ensure that the range of qualities identified in the rubric shows the lower and the upper range of what an individual student could show in terms of the outcome, key knowledge and the key skills.
- Where necessary, add specific key knowledge and/or key skills to provide context to the expected qualities of performance.
- Where necessary, remove expected qualities of performance that may not be relevant to the selected outcome and developed SAC task.
- Show a clear gradation across the expected qualities of performance, indicating progression from one quality to the next.
- Use consistent language from the study design outcome, key knowledge and key skills.
- Ensure command terms reflect the cognitive demands of the outcome. Refer to the
glossary of command terms for a list of terms commonly used across the Victorian Curriculum F–10, VCE study designs and VCE examinations.