VELS Level 1 - 6 Assessing Literacy Using the Standards and Progression Points

Victorian Essential Learning Standards

The standards define what students should know and be able to do at six levels. They are, in effect, outcomes against which student achievement will be assessed and reported on and provide valuable information about student progress which can form the basis of further teaching and intervention.

(Victorian Essential Learning Standards Overview page 8)

The standards

• define what students should know and be able to do at six levels
• are written for one or more dimensions within each domain
• are set at a challenging, not a minimum level

Progression points

• Are descriptors that indicate what typical progress towards the standard may look like
• Assist teachers in making judgements about student progress towards a standard
• Inform discussions about curriculum planning

Assessment maps

• Support teachers in the assessment of student work by answering the questions
• What does student work at this standard look like?
• What are the typical features of the work of students progressing towards a standard?

 

Elaboration on progression points

The progression points are indicators of progress towards a standard. They support consistent judgements across the state and also support effective planning and teaching.

The progression points range from 0.5 to 6.75. With the exception of level 1, where there is one progression point, there are three progression points within each level.

Note: neither the progression points nor the standards are indicative of the development of all students. Students learn in different ways and at different rates. It is likely that within a class, students will be working across a range of levels. Individual students may also be working at different levels in different dimensions, as well as in different domains.

A common understanding of the standards and progression points is a fundamental underpinning of consistency within and across schools.

Assessment maps show typical progress towards the standards, illustrated through work samples. The samples include assessment items selected from student responses to tasks that have been independently judged by practising Victorian teachers as reflecting progress against the standards. The work samples are not intended to show the full range of student achievement of the standards at a particular level.