k10outline - Reporting on student achievement

Reporting on student achievement Mandated Materials

2.1. Components of written reports

Schools provide plain language reports to parents/carers at the end of each semester which:

are readily understandable to those responsible for the student
give an accurate and objective assessment of the student's progress and achievement
include an assessment of the student's achievement in terms of the Western Australian achievement standards detailed in the Outline
include, for subjects studied, an assessment of the student's achievement:
1. in terms of the grades A, B, C, D and E (or an equivalent five-point scale/achievement descriptor), clearly defined in terms of Western Australian achievement standards, and
2. in relation to the performance of the student's peer group²
include information about the student's attitude, behaviour and effort in terms other than the five-point scale which is used as a measure of achievement
include any additional information the school considers relevant, including an overall teacher comment.

In addition, for Pre-primary to Year 2, school reports are to include a description of the student's progress in personal and social learning.

² For Pre-primary to Year 10, consistent with the Australian Education Regulation 2013 reporting requirement for reporting relative to the performance of the student's peer group, schools must prepare information that shows the number of students in each of the five achievement levels for each of the learning areas taught in each year. Schools may choose to provide this comparative information to parents as part of the normal reporting process or to provide parents with advice that this information is available on request. In the latter case, schools must advise parents that this information is available and must provide this information on request. Possible wording that could be used on the report is: 'You can ask the school to provide you with written information that clearly shows your child's achievements in the subjects studied in comparison with that of other students in the student’s peer group at school. This information will show you the number of students in each of the five achievement levels'.

2.2. Achievement in learning areas

In Western Australia, student achievement is reported on a five-point scale for all years from Pre-primary to Year 10.

For the Pre-primary year, student achievement is reported using achievement descriptors and without letter grades.

For Years 1–2, student achievement is reported using system-based or school-based achievement descriptors or those in Table 3. Schools may use letter grades.

Details regarding the flexibility provided for school systems or schools in reporting on Pre-primary to Year 2 student achievement is detailed on the following page.

For Years 3–10, letter grades and achievement descriptors outlined in Table 3 must be used.

Table 3: Letter grades and achievement descriptors

Letter grade	Achievement descriptor
A	The student demonstrates excellent achievement of what is expected for this year level.
B	The student demonstrates high achievement of what is expected for this year level.
C	The student demonstrates satisfactory achievement of what is expected for this year level.
D	The student demonstrates limited achievement of what is expected for this year level.
E	The student demonstrates very low achievement of what is expected for this year level.

Pre-primary to Year 2 reporting

In the Pre-primary year, schools:

report student achievement in English and Mathematics
are strongly encouraged to report in Science
may choose to report in other learning areas
report using achievement descriptors but without letter grades. The achievement descriptors used may be system-based, school-based or those in Table 3, but must align with the achievement standards described in the Outline
include information on the report about the student's attitude, behaviour and effort in terms other than the five-point scale which is used as a measure of achievement
report on the student’s progress in personal and social learning
include on the report any additional information the school considers relevant, including an overall teacher comment.

In Years 1 and 2, schools:

report on student achievement in all the learning areas taught
report using system-based or school-based achievement descriptors or those in Table 3 and may use letter grades. The achievement descriptors must align with the achievement standards described in the Outline
include information on the report about the student's attitude, behaviour and effort in terms other than the five-point scale which is used as a measure of achievement
report on the student’s progress in personal and social learning
include on the report any additional information the school considers relevant, including an overall teacher comment.

Years 3–10 reporting

For Years 3–10, schools:

report on student achievement in all the learning areas taught
report using letter grades and achievement descriptors provided in Table 3
include information on the report about the student's attitude, behaviour and effort in terms other than the five-point scale which is used as a measure of achievement
include on the report any additional information the school considers relevant, including an overall teacher comment.

All schools implement the learning area reporting requirements outlined in Table 4. Schools may choose to report at a more detailed level than the minimum requirements identified in Table 4.

Table 4: Learning area reporting requirements for each semester report

Learning areas	Reporting requirements³
English	Schools report one grade (A–E) as a minimum for English.
Mathematics	Schools report one grade (A–E) as a minimum for Mathematics.
Science	Schools report one grade (A–E) as a minimum for Science.
Humanities and Social Sciences	Schools report one grade (A–E) as a minimum for Humanities and Social Sciences.
Health and Physical Education	Schools report one grade (A–E) as a minimum for Health and one grade (A–E) as a minimum for Physical Education.
Languages⁴	Schools report one grade (A–E) as a minimum for Languages.
Technologies⁵	Across a year schools report one grade (A–E) as a minimum for Design and Technologies and one grade (A–E) as a minimum for Digital Technologies: where subjects are taught concurrently during the year, two grades are required each semester where the subjects are taught in separate semesters it is permissible to report on Design and Technologies in one semester and Digital Technologies in the other semester.
The Arts⁶	Across a year schools report one grade (A–E) as a minimum in a performance arts subject and one grade (A–E) as a minimum in a visual arts subject: where subjects are taught concurrently during the year two grades are required each semester where the subjects are taught in separate semesters it is permissible to report on a Performance Arts subject in one semester and a Visual Arts subject in the other semester.

³See section 2.2: Achievement in learning areas.
⁴See section 1.3: Curriculum requirements and available options.
⁵See section 1.3: Curriculum requirements and available options.
⁶See section 1.3: Curriculum requirements and available options

Mid-year reporting

The achievement standards articulated in the Outline describe the expected achievement for students who have been taught the curriculum content for the full year of schooling. Therefore, in mid-year reports, teachers make a professional judgment regarding the level of achievement that the student is demonstrating relative to the achievement standard, taking into account the curriculum that has been taught and assessed to that point in time. Thus, students demonstrating excellent achievement at that point in time are allocated an ‘A’ grade or ‘Excellent’ achievement, and students demonstrating satisfactory achievement are allocated a ‘C’ grade or ‘Satisfactory’ achievement.

2.3. Modified reporting

If there is a legitimate reason for a student to be following a modified curriculum (as outlined in section 1.1), in consultation with parents/carers, schools report on a student’s progress/achievement in terms of the modified curriculum. For students with disability or for whom English is an additional language/dialect additional reporting on the student’s progress/achievement in terms of year-level achievement standards is not required.

Schools use discretion in regard to the use of the ABLEWA assessment tool and the EAL/D Progress Map when monitoring and reporting on the progress/achievement of students with disability and additional learning needs and students for whom English is an additional language/dialect.

2.4. Recognition of an alternative method of reporting student achievement

In order to ensure that an alternative method of reporting student achievement aligns with the Outline, schools must obtain approval from the Authority. The alignment will be assessed in terms of the Authority’s alternative curriculum/reporting process, detailed in the Outline.