By Mrs Anna Hardy, Assistant Principal Curriculum

College Assessment Policy

As a College we value the importance of assessment in the learning process. We are committed to an educational philosophy that encourages all students to achieve personal excellence in their desired pathways.

It is this reason that we have an assessment policy that ensures that assessment is completed by all students in all subjects. It is at this time of the term, with numerous assessment being completed that as parents you may hear from teachers about the status of your child’s assessment status.

Below is the excerpt from our policy that explains the non-submission and extension process.

Absence from internal assessment, including examinations

Advance Notice

Assumption College recognises that some students may require extensions for assessment due to circumstances that may impact their opportunity to engage in learning and be assessed fairly. These circumstances may include medical situations, bereavement, prolonged illness, family circumstances, and school-sanctioned or representative academic or sporting events. A student in Year 7 to Year 12 who wishes to request a modification to the due date of an assessment instrument must complete an Extension Form at least three days before the submission of the draft, final response or examination. In Year 7 to Year 10, evidence (e.g. a signed note from home) must be submitted with the application. In Year 11 and Year 12, a medical certificate or other documentary evidence is required to accompany the form (note the QCAA policy regarding illness and misadventure below for restrictions regarding assessment in Units 1 - 4).

Unforeseen Circumstances

Unforeseen circumstances regarding illness and misadventure include illness, injury, incidents on the day of the assessment, family circumstances and bereavement. Technology failure is not an unforeseen circumstance, as students must maintain backups by saving their work to their OneDrive.

Year 7 to Year 10 students may submit a draft, a final response or sit an internal examination late without penalty when the following supporting documentation is produced:
• written note from a parent explaining the situation or
• written advice/note from a relevant College professional or Pastoral Leader or
• a medical certificate is also accepted (but not expected in our College community where securing a medical appointment can be challenging)

Year 11 and Year 12 students may submit a draft, a final response or sit an internal examination late without penalty when the following supporting documentation is produced:
• a valid medical certificate, or
• for non-medical situations, written evidence from a relevant independent professional or another independent third party

Note the QCAA policy regarding illness and misadventure below for documentation requirements involving absence from assessment in Units 1 - 4.

What you can expect if your child does not complete and/or submit draft by the due date. 

• The classroom teacher will make contact with you to discuss the non-submission of a draft.
• The classroom teacher will set an academic support session during a lunch break, for the draft to be completed. This work is collected as evidence in the case of a non-submission of the final assessment piece.
• This draft will not be marked or given any feedback.

• The classroom teacher will make contact with you to discuss the non-submission the final assessment piece.
• The draft will be marked, note that this may be sub-standard and result in a fail.
• The student will be issued an academic detention by the Director of Teaching and Learning. This is conducted after school from 3:15pm-4:15pm.

We understand that there may be extenuating circumstances and illness that contribute to the non-submission of assessment responses. In these cases, students are eligible to apply for an extension. Note that Year 7 to Year 10 students require documentation from parents/guardians to support their application. Year 11 and Year 12 students require a medical certificate for an extension to be approved. This is a QCAA requirement across the state.

Please note that it is College procedure to inform parents and guardians if their child has not passed an assessment item. We would expect this to occur in a timely manner after the assessment is marked and moderated.

Upcoming Exam Blocks

Year 11 Students – End of Unit 2 exams will occur from Wednesday 9 October to Friday 18 October 2024. A detailed timetable will be released to students and parents by the end of this term. This signifies the end of Unit 2 and Unit 3 will begin across all subjects from Monday 21 October 2024.

Year 12 students – we wish them all the best of luck for their exams next week. Their external exam block will begin on Wednesday 23 October 2024 and finish on Tuesday 12 November 2024.

In light of the upcoming exam blocks, I would encourage parents to log in to the below parent webinar information session for parents run by Elevate Education.

Elevate Education works with our students, delivering high impact workshops on study skills, motivation, wellbeing, and exam preparation. By tuning into their webinar series, you will learn how you can help better support your children at home through reinforcing the skills they learn at school:  

Wednesday 18th September 2024 @ 6:30pm (AEST) 

How You can Support Your Child During Exams

Register your place in our parent support series - Elevate Education

Here's what Elevate will be covering:

• What to do in the final days before any test or assessment 
• How to establish a good routine for the night before 
• How to optimise exam-room performance

Term 3 Interim Reports and Parent/Student/Teacher Conferences

These reports will be released in Week 10 of this term via the Sentral Portal.  Following on from these, in Term 4 Parent/Student/Teacher conferences will be held on Tuesday 8 October from 3:30pm.  All bookings for these conferences can be made on the Sentral Portal.