Assessment

Accreditation period Units 1-4: 2023-2027

General assessment advice

Advice on matters related to the administration of Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) assessment is published annually in the VCE Administrative Handbook. Updates to matters related to the administration of VCE assessment are published in the VCAA Bulletin.

Teachers must refer to these publications for current advice.

The principles underpinning all VCE assessment practices are explained in VCE assessment principles.

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 Food Studies Study Design 2023-2027 examination specifications, past examination papers and corresponding examination reports can be accessed from the VCE Food Studies examination webpage.

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).

General information on assessment

Refer to the relevant sections in the VCE and VCAL Administrative Handbook (for example, Authentication, School assessed coursework, Redeeming outcomes).

VCE assessment principles

Teachers should be familiar with the area of study and outcome statement, relevant key knowledge and key skills in order to plan for the assessment task. It should be noted that the assessment task does not have to identify every key knowledge and key skill dot point; nor should the task focus on too narrow a range of key knowledge and key skills.
The key principles underpinning all VCE assessment practice need to be used to ensure that the assessment instruments enable judgments to be made about demonstration of the outcomes and levels of achievement fairly, in a balanced way and without adverse effects on the curriculum or for the education system. The VCE assessment principles are:

VCE assessment should be valid and reasonable
VCE assessment should be equitable
VCE assessment should be balanced
VCE assessment should be efficient

Further information about these can be found at VCE assessment principles.

Teachers may develop their own marking schemes for the outcome, provided they reflect the VCAA performance descriptors.

Teachers must decide the most appropriate time and conditions for conducting this assessment task and inform the students ahead of the date. This decision is a result of several considerations including:

the estimated time it will take to teach the key knowledge and key skills for the outcome
the likely length of time required for students to complete the task
the classroom environment in which the assessment task will be completed
whether the assessment task will be completed under open-book or closed-book conditions
whether the assessment task is submitted online, electronically, in hardcopy and / or via what students do, say or make through practical activities
any additional resources required by students
when tasks are being conducted in other subjects and the workload implications for students.

Authentication

Most work for the assessment of unit outcomes and School-assessed Coursework must be completed in class; however, this does not preclude normal teacher expectations for students to complete research and learning activities that contribute to gaining key knowledge and key skills outside of class time.

A task for the assessment of unit outcomes may require preliminary preparation and activities associated with the task (for example, gathering necessary research data). The amount of work to be completed as homework is decided by the study teacher, taking into account the nature, scope and purpose of the task. Students should be advised just before beginning the task that some information or data may be collected outside the classroom.

For School-assessed Coursework undertaken outside of class time, teachers must monitor and record each student’s progress through to completion. This requires regular sightings of the work by the teacher and the keeping of records in the Authentication Record for School-based Assessment form, downloaded from VASS.

Teachers are not required to formally sight drafts or to record their completion of drafts unless it is for authentication purposes. Drafting can remain a part of a teaching and learning strategy, and students may do preliminary drafting; however, drafts are not to be submitted to the teacher for the purpose of getting feedback on an incomplete task that will contribute to the total School-assessed Coursework score. Teachers must not mark or provide comments on any draft submitted for School-assessed Coursework.

The School-assessed Coursework task for Unit 3 Outcome 1 is a range of practical activities and records of two practical activities related to the science of food. The following provides advice on designing and implementing an assessment task examining specific dietary needs.

Title: Range of practical activities and records of two practical activities related to the science of food

Step 1

List the key knowledge and key skills that are being assessed.
The VCE Food Studies Study Design provides details of the key knowledge and key skills related to Unit 3 Outcome 1 in the area of study: Food in daily life, pages 21–22.

Step 2

The Outcome 1 assessment tasks are listed on page 24 of the VCE Food Studies Study Design.
In this example, students will undertake a range of practical activities and record two related to nutritious foods to examine specific dietary needs. Remember that tasks must be comparable in scope and demand where a choice is offered.

Step 3

Examine the assessment advice. The performance descriptors should be fully understood because they give a clear indication of qualities and characteristics that are required in a student response. Note, the performance descriptors need to be tailored to suit the requirements of the assessment task.

Step 4

Identify the qualities and characteristics that you are looking for in a student response and design the criteria and a marking scheme.

Step 5

Identify the nature and sequence of the teaching and learning activities. Plan a sequence of teaching and learning activities that will develop pre-task knowledge and skills in relation to examining specific dietary needs.

Teaching the pre-task knowledge and skills

Use the key knowledge and key skills for Unit 3 Outcome 1 to ensure that students are able to:

explain appetite, satiety and the sensory appreciation of food
explain the physiology of digestion and its relationship to absorption and utilisation of macronutrients
explain the role of diet and gut microbiota for health
discuss the nutritional rationale of the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating.

In relation to Unit 3: Outcome 1, teaching and learning activities could involve:

Explore the term ‘appetite’ and discuss how it relates to one’s desire to eat.
Discuss the term ’satiety’ and identify nutrients that contribute to satiety. Ask students to identify foods high in these nutrients and identify where these foods are found in the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating. Students complete a concept map to explain which foods from the five food groups contribute to satiety.
Explore the microbiology of the gastrointestinal tract and its accessory organs by asking students to conduct a demonstration of digestion, and then annotate a diagram of the human digestive system to identify key organs in the process of digestion. Discuss where, and in which sequence, digestion, absorption and utilisation of the macronutrients, including enzymative hydrolysis, occur in the human body.
Conduct a product analysis of two tubs of yoghurt. Use the ingredient lists to discuss satiety and conduct a taste-tasting of the yoghurts in regard to the amount of fat / mouthfeel. Discuss bacterial fermentation of milk and its role in gut health.
Conduct a taste-test using different grains (such as oats, quinoa, buckwheat, freekeh and rice) and discuss how eating a variety of food from different biological origins is believed to be beneficial to health. Discuss the different roles of soluble fibre, insoluble fibre and resistant starch, and how they contribute to gut health. Then discuss how different grains contribute to physical health by identifying which grains contain which types of fibre; for example, soluble fibre from oats is considered beneficial to causing a small reduction in blood cholesterol while insoluble fibre from wheat may assist with bowel function. Collate information in a table.
Design and produce a dish that typically contains meat so that it is suitable for a vegan. Discuss how the changes made need to relate to the nutritional rationale of the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating. Ask students to annotate their original recipe with the changes.

Step 6: Design the assessment task.

This task requires students to respond to a series of questions related to three practical activities and records of two. The teacher needs to format the assessment task in such a way that it allows students to demonstrate the highest level of performance and the qualities and characteristics that define this.

Teachers should develop an assessment task that allows the student to:

explain appetite, satiety and the sensory appreciation of food
explain the physiology of digestion and its relationship to absorption and utilisation of macronutrients
explain the role of diet and gut microbiota for health
discuss the nutritional rationale of the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating.

In this example, students will need to refer to the following three practical activities:

product analysis of two types of yoghurt
taste-testing of grains
demonstration of digestion

and two records of practical activities

data collected from the taste-testing of grains
labelled diagram of the digestion demonstration.

Students will be able to bring these two records of practical activities into class when completing the assessment. Students could be given one fifty-minute session to answer the questions related to the three practical activities and records of two. Students are informed about which three practical activities and records of two will be used for assessment. The assessment task must ask questions related to the content being assessed and make reference to the three practical activities and two records. Questions could relate to:

explanation of which foods contribute to satiety, with reference to the product analysis of different types of yoghurt
explanation of the digestion of carbohydrate, using information from the digestion demonstration and its record of practical activity
explanation of different types of fibre in the diet and their contribution to gut health, with reference to the taste-testing of grains
explanation of the role of insoluble fibre in the diet and its contribution to physical health, using information from the taste-testing of grains and its record of practical activity
discussion of how the nutritional rationale of the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating contributes to health, using information from the taste-testing of grains and its record of practical activity.

Marking the task

The performance descriptors can be adapted into a marking scheme, which should be explained to students before starting the task.

When to assess the students

The teacher must decide the most appropriate time to set this task. This decision is the result of several considerations including:

the estimated time it will take to cover the key knowledge and key skills for the outcome
when tasks are being conducted in other subjects and the workload implications for students.

Feedback is provided to the student by the teacher about their performance according to the criteria for assessment.

The assessment task for Unit 4 Outcome 2 is a research inquiry report that includes a selected food-related topic based on a range of practical activities, explanation of concerns related to ethics, sustainability and / or food sovereignty, analysis of work being done to solve problems and support solutions, and a conclusion outlining major findings and suggested set of practical guidelines for food consumers.

The following provides advice on selecting a topic for this report and a suggested framework for the investigative process and presentation of the research inquiry report. This report can be submitted electronically; for example, as a blog, wiki, video or audio file, or in hard copy.

Unit 4: Guide to choosing a topic

Topics must be food-related and students must be able to apply research questions concerning one or more of the following:

ethics
sustainability
food sovereignty.

Topics should relate directly to issues and debates raised by engagement with the key knowledge of Unit 4 Area of Study 2. It is suggested that topics be specific and contained by a research question whether generated by the student and approved by the teacher or generated solely by the teacher. Students can be encouraged to follow their interests and to engage with recent food debates.

Teachers should keep in mind that the table below is a guide to the process of topic selection and the examples are by no means a list of prescribed topics. Teachers must authenticate student work. Teachers also must ensure that students are not provided with too much scaffolding and consequently undue assistance when completing this assessment task.

Guide to topic selection

General topic	Example points of interest	Examples of focused research questions
Global food security	Technological solutions	Is lab-grown (or 3D printed) food a solution to food insecurity? Can genetic modification of food crops contribute to global food security? How can artificial intelligence contribute to improving global food security?
	Improved equity in food access and distribution	Given the importance of small farms to food security across the globe, how can Australian small farmers be supported to ensure the sustainability of their business? Australia produces enough food to feed around 61 million people. What are some steps to be taken to help ensure the equitable distribution of this food to all Australians?
	Food sovereignty	How does food sovereignty relate to food security? How can food sovereignty of particular population groups (such as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples or refugee groups) be improved? What changes need to be made to food systems to better support food sovereignty?
Food ethics	Treatment of animals	Is Australia’s approach to ‘free range’ chickens and eggs suitable? Should ‘live trade’ of Australian livestock be banned?
	Working conditions	Is Fairtrade an effective model for the equitable treatment of food producers? How effective are current policies to prevent the exploitation of immigrant workers on Australian farms and orchards?
	Food purchasing	Is it ethical to purchase strawberries out of season? How can Australians take a more ethical approach to purchasing food, outside of the major supermarkets? What decisions does a 'food citizen' make when purchasing food?
Environmental sustainability: primary food production	Use of chemicals such as fertilisers and pesticides	Does the regulation of pesticides, antibiotics and hormones in Australia ensure the safety of the consumer? Is the use of industrial chemicals necessary to ensure an adequate food supply?
Environmental sustainability: primary food production	Water usage	Water: what does the future hold for our food growers? How can we protect our precious rivers and waterways?
	Choice of crops and animals for farming	What are the smartest food crops and farming methods for drought-prone Australia? What’s best for the land: a mix of crops and / or stock or just one main commodity?
	Biosecurity	Is Australia ready for a biosecurity threat like foot-and-mouth disease (or African swine fever or varroa mite)? How do we protect our livestock, orchards and market gardens against biological threats brought by imported meat, fruits and vegetables?
	Climate change	What can Australian food growers do to help tackle climate change? Climate change: Is the Australian food bowl at risk?
	Biodiversity	Is the Slow Food Ark of Taste a great idea for Australia? Does increased biodiversity increase food production?
Environmental sustainability: food processing, manufacturing, retail and consumption	Food packaging	Is Australia doing enough to reduce the amount of food packaging landfill? How can we increase the amount of food package recycling?
	Food transportation	Do food miles matter? Is it correct that the less distance food travels, the more likely it is to be fresh, tasty and a better environmental choice?
	Food wastage	Which food wastage strategies and programs are working? Why do we waste so much food and how can we reduce this level?
Different approaches and methods in farming and primary food production	GM foods	Is GM food production a positive step forward? Are the regulations and safeguards for GM foods appropriate?
	Low-impact (or regenerative) farming	Can Australia produce enough food with regenerative methods? Why are farmers making this change from industrial farming?
	Organic farming	What are the benefits of organic farming and who benefits? Are organic farms threatened by GMO?

Framework for the investigative process and setting out the research inquiry report

The research investigation and research inquiry report could incorporate the following steps:

Selection and approval of an appropriate food-related topic, expressed as a focused question.
Identification of credible sources of information on the topic (for example organisations, governmental departments, qualified experts, experienced practitioners, researchers and academics).
Background to the issue: how the topic relates to ethics, sustainability and / or food sovereignty and an outline of specific problems.
Explanation of varying points of view on causes, consequences and / or what is to be done.
Analysis of how to solve problems and support solutions (with details of at least one case study of work being done).
A conclusion outlining major findings, identifying where further research is required and making recommendations for the future.
Topical, practical and achievable guidelines for food consumers who wish to consider ethics, sustainability and / or food sovereignty in their food choices.

The performance descriptors are advisory and designed to support teacher judgments in making holistic assessments of students' demonstration of the key knowledge and key skills for each outcome. They provide a way for teachers to differentiate between levels of student achievement. Teachers may use their professional judgement to customise the performance descriptors in line with the VCE Administrative Handbook and the VCE assessment principles.

School-based Assessment

VCE Food Studies School-based Assessment Report