Senior assessment and tertiary entrance overhaul likely

In the most comprehensive review of Queensland senior assessment and tertiary entrance processes in 24 years – and 40 years after external examinations were abolished – independent reviewers have signalled a raft of changes which will affect teachers and students.

Professor Geoffrey Master and Dr Gabrielle Matters from the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) are undertaking a major review for DETE of the way senior students are assessed. While the final report is not due to be handed to the government until late July, a number of new directions are emerging.

ACER’s current position is to remodel the secondary-tertiary interface, including revitalising school assessment (formerly known as school-based assessment). One proposal is to prioritise, for each authority subject, three or four assessment types that make up a school’s assessment program, not the actual assessment itself. Proposed assessment types include short answer, multiple choice, and essays; some of these could be delivered online.

The reviewers also intend to recommend introducing external assessments in each authority subject, contributing up to 50 per cent of some subject results. This would not be an HSC-style, high-stakes, three-hour external examination. The QTU maintains that the type and weighting of the external assessment should be determined by an expert panel of practising teachers, academics, and experts in curriculum and assessment, and be set and marked by the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA, formerly the QSA). It is essential that school assessment not be statistically moderated against the external assessment.

Also proposed is a finer scale – possibly 1 to 50 - for subject results. Scales will be tested for validity before they become part of the final recommendations. Reviewers are also considering a new way to report to students and parents; school assessment would be combined with external assessment to produce one subject result. The QCAA would not produce OPs (or field positions), so schools would not produce subject achievement indicators (SAIs) as input to the OP, and the QCAA would not undertake scaling against the Queensland Core Skills test - that test would be unnecessary.

Revamped moderation is also under consideration, but alternatives are unclear. Any new system must continue to moderate student outputs, and not simply focus on front-loaded approaches, where school assessments are checked by a panel prior to their use.

Universities may be able to use the Australian Tertiary Admissions Rank (ATAR), already calculated by the QSA but not given to the students, or use year 12 results, interviews, portfolios and special tests for entry into high-demand courses. It will be up to the universities to determine the ranking system, although the Queensland Tertiary Admissions Centre (QTAC) will still be responsible for administering the offers.

The QTU believes that the integrity of the current system must be maintained during any transition. The methodology behind any new senior assessment and tertiary entrance system must be fair, transparent and clearly explained and communicated to parents, teachers and students in a timely way. Teachers must be adequately resourced and supported, and provided with release time during school hours for the necessary panel training, professional development and planning required for implementing any new senior assessment and moderation system.

The timing for the introduction of a new system will be determined by the government, although the Minister for Education has flagged that there will be no change for this year or next year. It remains to be seen what the government response to the final report will be.
The QTU’s position statement on senior assessment is available at www.qtu.asn.au/ps-qrsatp

Leah Mertens
QTU Research Officer- Professional issues

Queensland Teachers' Journal, Vol 119 No 5, 18 July 2014, p6