Glossary

Assessment design

A collaborative process that identifies and documents the assessment of different dimensions of learning. It provides insight into student:                                            

  • knowledge and understanding
  • proficiency in skills and capabilities
  • learning dispositions.

                                            

Assessment task

Tasks that enable students to demonstrate what they know, understand and are able to do in relation to learning goals.                                             

                                            

Curriculum design

A collaborative process that identifies what students should know, do or become. Often includes:                                             

  • driving questions
  • key concepts
  • big ideas
  • learning continua and standards against which student learning will be assessed. 
                                           

Curriculum standard

Statements that describe what students are typically able to understand and do, and are the basis for reporting student progress and achievement. Also referred to as the achievement standard.                                        

                                        

Formal report

A written document, summarising student achievement and progress, required twice a year to parents/carers and students. Includes a teacher judgement/s, an indication of progress, and a five-point scale for each curriculum area taught across the reporting period (semester).                                         

                                         

Informal reporting

Conversations about learning progress between teachers, students and families. Can be impromptu or organized.                                         

                                         

Interim reporting

Describes reporting that occurs prior to formal reporting to give an early 'heads up' to students and parents about student learning progress.                                         

                                        

Learning architecture

The time, space, organisation and structures established to systematically enable and sustain professional learning.                                          

                                        

Learning continua

A set of achievement standards articulated in levels, accompanied by incremental descriptors of progress.                                         

The Victorian Curriculum offers a continuum of learning with scope and sequence charts designed to help teachers work out where students are in their learning progress.                                        

Content descriptors are generally defined in terms of concepts to understand, skills to acquire and the knowledge needed to engage with a discipline.                                        

Level standards offer advice on assessment and a progression of learning over time. The rationale for each discipline often defines significant dispositions students need to develop for success.

Learning portfolios

Deliberately gathered set of learning artefacts and reflections that richly illuminate learning progress and growth over time.                                       

                                        

Learning progress

A student’s gain, growth or increasing proficiency along a validated continuum of learning as measured over time.

Moderation

A collaborative process where teachers work together to clarify their expectations and understandings of curriculum standards in light of range of data and evidence of learning. Helps improve the consistency of judgements made about where students are along a continuum of learning and what progress has been made.

Other Validated Continua

Other achievement standards that come from the broader educational evidence-base. Can be used to complement, and help unpack, the Victorian Curriculum.

Student report

The ‘what’ of student reporting - the high-level, point-in-time views of the achievement and progress that can be determined through analysis of assessment evidence. Whilst a student report can have a broader purpose and use, its primary purpose is to communicate to parents/carers; as such, it should be designed around their information needs, and attend to the best way to communicate this.

Student reporting

Describes the school's total approach, within an academic year, to communicating to parents/carers about a student's achievement and learning progress.  This includes consideration of the 'when,' 'who' and 'how' of reporting.

Continuous reporting

Refers to reporting that provides teacher, students and parents access to assessment information in ‘real-time’. Can provide scope for teacher judgements to be made against the achievement standards at any time in a reporting period. Herein, not tied to an 'end-of-semester' formal report.

Teacher judgement

 A professional judgement made by teachers in the course of their work about student learning and progress, which informs decision-making. Formal judgements against standards for reporting to parents occurs at least twice per year.

Structured learning conversations

Can take many forms, including:

  • Parent-Teacher Interviews- commonly led by the teacher
  • Student-Led Conferences- commonly led by the student, who shares all or part of a learning portfolio
  • Student Learning Conversations- commonly take the form of a three-way dialogue (teacher, parent, student), where all take turns to lead part of the conversation, learning with and from each other.