Reporting Student Achievement and Progress Foundation to 10

Policy

This policy outlines school obligations for student reporting across Foundation to Level 10 (F–10) (including English as an Additional Language (EAL) students) to parents/carers and the department.

Summary

• Schools are required to formally report student achievement and progress to parents/carers at least twice per school year for each student enrolled at the school.
• The report must be a written report (print or digital) in an accessible form and be easy for parents/carers to understand.
• Schools must report directly against the Victorian Curriculum F–10 achievement standards.
• Both student achievement and progress must be included in the report. This means that for each curriculum area taught, the report includes:
  • a teacher judgement(s) (a score assigned against the achievement standard, for example, Level 3.5)
  • an indication of progress since the curriculum area was last reported on
  • a five-point scale.
• Opportunities must be provided for parents/carers and students to discuss the school report with teachers and/or school leaders.
• The department does not prescribe a reporting format.
• Schools, in partnership with students and their parents/carers, may consider an alternative to a full report for students with an individual education plan.
• Schools must upload teacher judgments of student achievement data via CASES21 for every student enrolled at the school across each curriculum area taught, twice yearly – by 30 June and 31 December respectively.
• As outlined in the Records Management policy, student reports must be kept for identified time periods.

Details

The requirements for student reporting in Victorian government schools are defined with reference to:

• the Guidelines to the Minimum Standards and Requirements for School Registration issued by the Victorian Registration and Qualifications Authority (VRQA)
• the F–10 Revised Curriculum Planning and Reporting Guidelines issued by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA)
• departmental policies.

Reporting to parents/carers

Schools are required to formally report student achievement and progress to parents/carers at least twice per school year for each student enrolled at the school. The report must be:

• a written report (print or digital)
• in an accessible form, and
• easy for parents/carers to understand.

Schools must report directly against the Victorian Curriculum F–10 achievement standards.

Both student achievement and progress must be included in the report by:

• providing a teacher judgement against the achievement standards, assigned as a score, that accurately reflects where each student is along the relevant learning continuum for all curriculum areas taught during the reporting period
• showing student progress since the last report on each curriculum area
• using a 5-point scale to report on student achievement and/or progress, noting that:
  • this requirement cannot be met by using the levels of the curriculum (for example, Level 2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
  • at least an age-related 5-point scale is required for English, Mathematics and Science
• an age-related scale is not required for all other curriculum areas, including EAL, nor for students with disability and/or additional needs. In these cases, another kind of five-point scale must be used (for example, a scale developed around learning goals, learning dimensions or expected progress)
• more than one scale may be used for the same learning area or capability. For example, Science may include a scale against learning goals as well as the required age-related scale.

The department does not prescribe a reporting format.

Opportunities must be provided for parents/carers and students to discuss the school report with teachers and/or school leaders.

Interpreting services are available for communicating with parents/carers who require assistance in understanding their child’s achievement and progress. Refer to Interpreting and Translation Services.

Note, in the case of students with an individual education plan, there may be specific instances where a school decides in partnership with an individual student and their parents/carers that an alternative to a full report for that student is appropriate.

Further support, guidance and advice regarding student reporting can be found on the Guidance tab.

Reporting to the department

Schools must upload their teacher judgements of student achievement for each curriculum area taught for every student enrolled at the school via CASES21, twice yearly – by 30 June and 31 December each year.

Schools must record data in the department’s specified format so that CASES21 can accept it.

There are 2 methods for recording data:

• an import/export process utilising commercial reporting software, or
• direct entry into CASES21.

If schools use commercial reporting software, they must ensure the vendor complies with the department’s specified format.

This data is used by the department to:

• automate some reporting processes for schools — for example, preparation of the performance summary in each school’s annual report to the school community, which is a statutory requirement for every school
• provide school improvement reports to school leaders so they can better understand student achievement and progress at the cohort levels and across the whole school — such reports can help inform school strategic planning and review
• identify characteristics and trends in data across schools that may need to be investigated or attended to by the department (for example, a sharp increase or decline in achievement at the highest levels in one or more learning areas).

Further support and advice can be found in the Guidance tab.

Records management

Schools are required to create, manage and dispose of electronic and hardcopy public records – for example, student records, in accordance with the Public Records Act 1973 (Vic), standards issued by the Public Record Office Victoria (PROV) and policy and guidance issued by the department.

For further information on records management in schools refer to Records Management – School Records. The School records retention guide (XLSX) (staff login required) in this topic provides information on common school records, including student reports, and their minimum retention periods.

Definitions

CASES21
The software component of the Computerised Administrative System Environment for Schools

English as an additional language (EAL) student
A student for whom English is an additional language (EAL) is a student who:

• comes from a language background other than English
• speaks a language other than English as their main language at home
• may or may not attract EAL index funding

Related policies

• Assessment of Student Achievement and Progress Foundation to 10
• Curriculum Programs Foundation to 10
• Individual Education Plans (IEPs)
• Records Management – School Records

Guidance for reporting student achievement and progress Foundation to Level 10

This guidance is provided to assist schools to report achievement and progress to parents/carers and the department. Information, examples, and checklists are provided to support schools to meet the requirements to report and record student achievement and progress as well as information and advice to inform and enhance the report writing process including making teacher judgements and involving students.

The guidance contains the following chapters:

• Reporting to parents and carers – general information
• Reporting to parents and carers – students with disability and/or additional needs
• Reporting to parents and carers – EAL students
• Guidance for reporting at each learning stage
• Reporting to the department
• Records management
• Student reports and parent/carer-teacher-student conferences
• Making teacher judgements and assigning scores for student reporting
• Involving students in assessment and reporting processes
• Student portfolio and reporting
• Developing and reporting on individual learning goals
• Student reporting professional learning program

Information and guidance on assessing student achievement and progress is available at Assessment of Student Achievement and Progress Foundation to 10.

Reporting to parents and carers – general information

Written reports twice a year

Schools are required to provide a written (print or digital) student report at least twice a year to the parents or carers of each child enrolled at the school.

This is a minimum requirement for school registration — schools have a legal obligation to provide a written (print or digital) student report at least twice a year to the parents/carers of each child enrolled at the school.

Reports must be accessible

Student reports are required to be in an accessible form and easy for parents or carers to understand.

Parents want to know what was learned and how well, where improvement is needed and what should be done next. This means that reports should be written in plain English, giving parents and carers a clear picture of their child’s progress and achievement against clearly defined standards.

The department advises that, if comments are used in student reports, they should:

• complement the teacher judgements made and the corresponding 5-point scale used
• describe strengths, areas for improvement and/or where students need to be further assisted or extended
• not be generic.

The following tips will assist you to write clear, easy to understand and informative reports:

• Quick tips for writing reports (DOCX)
• Quick tips for writing reports (PDF)

This checklist is designed to help teachers review the comments they have written:

• Student report writing checklist (DOCX)
• Student report writing checklist (PDF)

Reporting against achievement standards

Schools are required to report against the Victorian Curriculum F-10 achievement standards, which includes towards foundation levels A-D.

This means:

• reporting directly against the achievement standards (not the level or band descriptions, or content descriptions)
• reporting against the achievement standards defined for each learning area and capability taught, consistent with the teaching and learning program(s) schools have designed.

Each curriculum area includes content descriptions explaining what is to be taught, what students are expected to learn, and achievement standards describing what students are able to understand and do. Achievement standards (not content descriptions) are the basis for reporting student achievement.

The Victorian Curriculum F-10 achievement standards are provided in levels or bands for all the learning areas and capabilities. For more information see Victorian Curriculum F-10 structure.

For students who are progressing towards achieving the Foundation level achievement standards, the Towards Foundation levels of the Victorian Curriculum (levels A to D) are used to record levels of achievement. Levels A to D are a suitable record of levels of achievement for many students, including students with disability and/or additional needs.

Student reports to include both achievement and progress

Both achievement and progress against the achievement standards are required to be included in the student report.

Achievement means locating a student on a continuum of learning for a learning area and/or capability by making an on-balance, holistic, evidence-based and defensible judgement of assessment evidence gathered during a reporting period. This includes providing a teacher judgement against the achievement standards, assigned as a score, for each curriculum area taught.

Progress means representing the growth in learning that has occurred by referencing the last time such achievement standards were reported against for that student in the school.

For an example, refer to achievement and progress along a continuum (DOCX)

A 5-point scale must be used when reporting

A 5-point scale is to be included in every student report to provide more detail on the student's learning and to rate the quality of the student's achievement and/or progress against the achievement standards.

This requirement provides an opportunity for schools to communicate information on the student’s learning growth – their increased skills, knowledge and understandings within a curriculum area(s) over time.

A 5-point scale may be written or use a graphical representation. A written scale may use letters, numbers, or worded descriptors. If worded descriptors are not used, the scale must be explained.

For more information and examples of 5-point scales (including examples relating to EAL students) refer to 5-point scale (DOCX).

Level D now included in the 5-point age-related scale

From Semester 2, 2023, students who are working at Level D can now be identified as below age-expected standard in student reports from Semester 1 of Prep. This addition to the 5-point age-related scale will be automatically generated by school reporting software.

A template letter is available to support schools communicate this change with parents and carers: Template letter to parents/carers regarding Level D and reporting (DOCX).

Opportunities to discuss the school report

Opportunities must be provided for parents/carers and students to discuss the school report with teachers and/or school leaders

This means that parent/carers need to receive the report with sufficient time before a school break commences so that parents and carers can discuss their child’s report with teachers and/or school leaders.

The department does not prescribe a reporting format

Schools should decide on the format of reports in partnership with students, parents/carers and the school community. Reports can be customised to suit school and individual student needs.

Schools can decide how the following elements are represented:

• student achievement against the Victorian Curriculum F-10 achievement standards
• student progress along the learning continuum
• student achievement and progress related to individual learning goals and targets.

Schools can customise other elements including:

• brief descriptions (curriculum area overview) of what was taught
• areas for improvement/future learning
• what the school will do to support the student’s learning
• what parents and carers can do to support the student’s progress
• attendance
• work habits assessment
• extra-curricular comments
• student comment
• parent and carer comment/feedback.

For examples of report formats, refer to student report format (DOCX).

Reporting to parents and carers – students with disability and/or additional needs

Schools are required to report on the achievement of all students with disability and/or additional needs, but have considerable flexibility in determining how they do so.

In most cases, reports will provide teacher judgements, an indication of progress since curriculum areas were last reported on, and 5-point scales.

In rare instances – agreed in partnership with the individual student and their parents/carers – progress against the student’s individual education plan learning goals for the curriculum area(s) taught may be used. This alternative to a full report should only be used where a student makes minimal progress against the achievement standards in a reporting period.

Teacher judgements

Teacher judgements for students with disability and/or additional needs are based on evidence collected through the reporting period. Student learning evidence can include student work samples, observations notes, portfolios, parent/student/teacher conferences, student self-assessments. Achievement for a student with disability and/or additional needs can be reported anywhere on the learning continuum between Level A to Level 11.

Progress for students with disability and/or additional needs may be reported in a way that best suits the individual student, either as a graphical representation or worded description. For example, where a student has not made progress from one curriculum level to the next, a comment describing progress within a single curriculum level may be more suitable.

Five-point scale

Schools, in consultation with their school community, may decide an age-related 5-point scale is not appropriate to use for students with disability and/or additional needs. In these circumstances, schools may use another kind of 5-point scale (for example, a scale developed around learning goals or learning dimensions) for each curriculum area taught during the reporting period.

Further information

For further reporting advice relating to students with disabilities and additional needs, refer to VCAA Students with Disabilities Guidelines (PDF).

Reporting to parents and carers – EAL proficiency and progress

The progress of English as an Additional Language (EAL) students in learning English should be reported against the levels of the Victorian Curriculum F–10 EAL Achievement Standards rather than the Levels of the English Achievement Standards.

The Victorian Curriculum F–10 EAL Reporting Resource, developed by the department, allows teachers and schools to report on the English language proficiency of students before they reach the achievement standards. This resource is designed to complement and support the Victorian Curriculum F–10 EAL. As EAL students may not reach the achievement standard described by the curriculum for more than one reporting cycle, teachers can demonstrate that during this time students are making satisfactory progress in learning English as an additional language. The resource allows teachers to use Beginning (.1), Consolidating (.2) and Achieved (.3) proficiency levels for assessment and reporting purposes for EAL students.

All third-party software providers will continue to enable teachers and schools to use the .1, .2 and .3 descriptors in student reporting.

The length of time during which a student will be assessed against the EAL achievement standards depends on many factors, such as the:

• existing English language proficiency of the student
• number of years of schooling completed
• level of literacy in their first language, and
• background experiences.

Teachers should continue to use the EAL achievement standards, if:

• a teacher’s assessment of an EAL student against the English achievement standards places the student well below their peers, and
• the student still requires substantial support in learning English as an additional language.

It is not appropriate for an EAL student to be assessed against:

• the English achievement standards in one language mode, such as Speaking and Listening, and
• the EAL achievement standards in other language modes.

While the oral language proficiency of an EAL student may appear to correspond to that of their peers, as students progress through the year levels, the demands of the curriculum become more complex, and these students can struggle to cope with the academic requirements of the English curriculum.

Students can be transferred to the Victorian Curriculum F–10 English for assessment and reporting purposes once they have reached the end of their respective A, B or C Pathway, and achieved the standard in all 3 language modes of:

• Speaking and Listening
• Reading and Viewing
• Writing.

The curriculum companion resources provide more detailed advice about when to transfer students, and information about the typical pathways EAL students might follow along the Victorian Curriculum F–10.

EAL teachers should use a range of assessment data and strategies to inform their judgements regarding EAL students’ progress. For more information about the assessment of EAL students, refer to Tools for Enhancing Assessment Literacy for teachers of English as an Additional Language students (TEAL).

The format of the report for EAL students can be modified to reflect their achievement and progress if they are newly arrived and enrol in the school shortly before the reporting cycle. This will be determined by the school, in partnership with parents and carers.

As students begin to demonstrate appropriate knowledge and understanding of the curriculum content and they can express their understanding of ideas and information well enough in English, the same reporting format and approach as for other students can be used.

Interpreting services are available for communicating with parents and carers who require assistance in understanding their child’s progress. Refer to Interpreting and Translation Services.

Guidance for reporting at each learning stage

The VCAA F–10 Reporting Guidelines provide guidance to meet the minimum requirements for student reporting. Below is a summary from the Guidelines of the minimum requirements of reporting against the achievement standards at each learning stage.

Foundation Stage: Prep to Year 2

The VCAA’s Curriculum Planning and Reporting Guidelines (VCAA Guidelines) for the Foundation Stage (Prep to Year 2), require schools to report student achievement and progress against the achievement standards in:

• English or EAL (Reading and Viewing, Writing, and Speaking and Listening) twice a year, indicating the level of achievement reached by each student and the age-related expected level of achievement for each student
• Mathematics twice a year, noting that:
  • schools teaching Mathematics VC 1.0 in 2024 will continue to report against the 3 strands of the achievement standards (Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry, and Statistics and Probability) indicating the level of achievement reached by each student and the age-related expected level of achievement for each student
  • schools teaching Mathematics VC 2.0 in 2024 will report against the achievement standards as a whole, indicating the level of achievement reached by each student and the age-related expected level of achievement for each student.
    Note: As of Semester 1 2025, all schools must report against Mathematics VC 2.0.
• Physical Education twice a year (separately to Health Education)
• Health Education, the Arts, and the Personal and Social Capability. These are reported on as they are taught over this stage of schooling, in line with each individual school's learning program(s).

In addition, the VCAA Guidelines for the Foundation Stage require schools to draw on the following curriculum areas when developing a teaching and learning program:

• Humanities (History and Geography)
• Science
• Technologies (Design and Technologies and Digital Technologies)
• Capabilities (Critical and Creative Thinking, Ethical Capability, Intercultural Capability).

These are reported on as they are taught over the Foundation Stage.

The department's Languages Education policy for the Foundation Stage requires that schools must provide languages education across all year levels, delivered by a Victorian Institute of Teaching (VIT) -registered teacher or staff with VIT Permission to Teach. Schools are required to report on Languages at least once a year.

Breadth Stage: Years 3 to 8

The VCAA Guidelines for the Breadth Stage (Years 3 to 8), require schools to report against the achievement standard in:

• English or EAL (Reading and Viewing, Writing, and Speaking and Listening) twice a year indicating the level of achievement reached by each student and the age-related expected level of achievement for each student
• Mathematics twice a year, noting that:
  • schools teaching Mathematics VC 1.0 in 2024 will continue to report against the 3 strands of the achievement standards (Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry, and Statistics and Probability)
  • schools teaching Mathematics VC 2.0 in 2024 will report against the achievement standards as a whole indicating the level of achievement reached by each student and the age-related expected level of achievement for each student.
    Note: As of Semester 1 2025, all schools must report against Mathematics VC 2.0
• Science at least once a year indicating the level of achievement reached by each student and the age-related expected level of achievement for each student
• Physical Education twice a year. This is reported on separately to Health Education
• all other learning areas and capabilities are reported on as they are taught over the 2-year band of school in line with each individual school's learning program(s). These include:
  • Health Education
  • the Humanities (History, Geography and Civics and Citizenship and, from Year 5, Economics and Business)
  • the Arts (all 5 Arts disciplines in Years 3 to 4, at least 2 Arts disciplines, one from Performing Arts and one from Visual Arts, in Years 5 to 6 and at Years 7–8)
  • the Technologies (both Design and Technologies, and Digital Technologies)
  • the 4 capabilities (Personal and Social Capability, Ethical Capability, Intercultural Capability, and Critical and Creative Thinking).

The department’s Languages Education policy for the Breadth Stage, requires that schools must provide languages education across all year levels, delivered by a VIT-registered teacher or staff with VIT Permission to Teach. Therefore, schools are required to report on Languages at least once a year.

Pathways Stage: Years 9 to 10

The VCAA Guidelines for the Pathways Stage (Years 9 to 10) require schools to report against the achievement standards in:

• English or EAL (Reading and Viewing, Writing, and Speaking and Listening) twice a year indicating the level of achievement reached by each student and the age-related expected level of achievement for each student
• Mathematics twice a year, noting that:
  • schools teaching Mathematics VC 1.0 in 2024 will continue to report against the 3 strands of the achievement standards (Number and Algebra, Measurement and Geometry, and Statistics and Probability)
  • schools teaching Mathematics VC 2.0 in 2024 will report against the achievement standards as a whole, indicating the level of achievement reached by each student and the age-related expected level of achievement for each student.
    Note: As of Semester 1 2025, all schools must implement reporting against Mathematics VC 2.0
• Science at least once a year, indicating the level of achievement reached by each student and the age-related expected level of achievement for each student
• Physical Education and Health Education. These are to be reported on separately: Physical Education twice a year and Health Education over the 2-year band of school in line with the school’s teaching and learning program(s)
• other curriculum areas in line with the school's teaching and learning programs over the 2-year band. Students must be provided with opportunities to engage with the full Victorian Curriculum F–10, including:
  • the Humanities (including a band of History, Geography, Civics and Citizenship, and Economics and Business)
  • the Arts (at least one art discipline)
  • Technologies (both Design and Technologies, and Digital Technologies)
  • the 4 capabilities (personal and social, ethical, intercultural, and critical and creative thinking).

The department’s Languages Education policy for the Pathways Stage requires that schools must provide languages education across all year levels, delivered by a VIT-registered teacher or staff with VIT Permission to Teach. Schools are required to report on Languages at least once a year.

The school-based curriculum program must recognise that in these years of schooling some students begin to focus on areas of specialisation related to both their future school years and intended pathways beyond school.

Schools must report against the VC F–10 achievement standards for English and Mathematics in Year 10 for all students; inclusive of students undertaking a Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) subject, the VCE Vocational Major and/or Victorian Pathways Certificate (VPC) units.

Students must be provided with the opportunity to develop their knowledge and skills in the other 6 learning areas of the Victorian Curriculum F–10 in their Year 10 program.

For more information on reporting against the achievement standards at the different stages please refer to the VCAA F–10 Revised curriculum planning and reporting guidelines.

Reporting to the department

Schools are required to upload to the department twice yearly teacher judgement of student achievement data across each curriculum area taught for every student enrolled at the school.

Schools can view the data they have uploaded into CASES21 via the School Information Portal. This achievement data from CASES21 is included in the Annual Report to the school community.

Student reporting software packages provided by commercial suppliers enable schools to report on student achievement against the Victorian Curriculum F–10 achievement standards, as reflected in the school's teaching and learning plan.

The reporting software must include certain functional specifications in order to meet the minimum mandatory requirements for:

• reporting student achievement to the department
• producing student reports for parents and carers.

Software packages enable customisation of report formats to suit schools’ and individual students' needs. Schools are advised to contact their reporting software vendors to discuss their specific needs.

Using software from a commercial supplier is not mandatory. Schools may elect to develop their own version for importing the data into CASES21.

Schools with very small student enrolments, including special developmental schools, can manually enter achievement data into CASES21 for reporting to the department. This process is not able to be used to generate student reports for reporting to parents and carers. Information on the direct entry method is found in the annual CASES21 administration user guide.

• Vendor software specifications student reporting (DOCX) – provides commercial software suppliers with information to meet the minimum mandatory requirements for the production of student reports in Victorian government schools. They contain:
  • the requirements for student reporting against the Victorian Curriculum F–10
  • technical information
  • links to supporting documentation
• CASES21 importing and exporting interface specifications (DOCX) (staff login required) – defines the specific business systems requirements to enable the import and export of Victorian Curriculum F-10 report data to CASES21
• Victorian Curriculum F–10 reporting codes and scoring range (DOCX) – includes all the unique reporting codes for each curriculum area (learning area and capabilities), and the scoring range for each curriculum area. Further information is provided in the chapter on assigning scores for student reporting.

A step-by-step process for preparing student achievement data and sending summary results to the department is provided in the CASES21 administrative guide, chapter 23, student achievement (PDF) (staff login required).

Schools should contact the service desk prior to the end of the semester if they have data-entry concerns.

Self service: Services Portal (staff login required)
Phone: 1800 641 943
Email: servicedesk@education.vic.gov.au

Records management

Student reports must be kept for identified time periods.

Schools should have a system for managing their electronic and hardcopy records to ensure the:

• authenticity
• security
• reliability and
• accessibility of these records.

Where public records are stored with an online service – for example:

• services that provide virtual spaces, and
• portals through which
  • information can be stored and shared, and
  • transactions between schools and parents/carers can be recorded, for example, cloud technologies.

a school must be able to access those records during the retention period.

Student reports must be kept for the following time periods:

• Prep to Year 8 (all reports): 6 years after student departure
• Year 9 to 12 reports – excluding final report: 30 years after student departure
• Year 9 to 12 reports – final report: A permanent record – must be kept in the school until a transfer to the Public Record Office Victoria is arranged by the department.

For further information on records management in schools, refer to Records Management — School Records.

Student reports and parent/carer-teacher-student conferences

Purpose of conferences

Parent/carer-teacher-student conferences provide valuable opportunities for the teacher, student, parents and/or carers to share and learn more about the student socially, emotionally and academically.

They are a good way to establish and maintain collaborative relationships between parents/carers, teacher and student, regarding the student’s academic achievement, learning and wellbeing.

Conferences provide opportunities for:

• building positive relationships
• sharing information about the student’s interests and learning behaviours
• sharing information about the student’s health and wellbeing
• student agency, through showcasing their work
• providing specific feedback on student achievement and progress
• talking more in-depth about the student’s report
• understanding more about how to support the student in their learning
• establishing goals for improved learning and achievement in the future.

Preparation for conferences

Leadership level

The school should decide on the processes and protocols of the conferences in consultation with the school community. Conferences can be offered twice a year, at least once for each semester of the school year.

School leadership teams should:

• ensure the conferences are within the agreed working hours for teachers and that teachers have allocated break times during the conferencing period
• have process and protocols in place to guide the conferences, for example, setting an appropriate date, length of conferences, appropriate space for conferences, follow up processes if parents/carers cannot or do not attend the conferences
• ensure the conferences are purposeful and timely, for example, if one of the intents is to discuss student reports, then they would need to be held shortly after reports are received
• provide plenty of notice to parents/carers of the date(s) of conferences, so they have ample time to organise to attend
• provide seated waiting areas for early arrivals
• set up a system to enable parents/carers to select conference time(s) that are suitable for them
• ensure school leaders are available to attend conferences if needed.

Teacher level

Before the conference, teachers should:

• ensure their schedule of conferences is at hand
• organise a translator(s) if needed
• collate learning evidence for each child, and have student workbooks or work samples available for viewing
• have discussion questions ready which are aligned to the purpose of the conference.

During the conference teachers should:

• greet the parent/carer and students and provide a brief overview of the purpose of the meeting
• arrange a follow-up meeting with parents/carers if needed
• avoid using teacher terms to ensure the parents/carers and students have a good understanding of all terms used
• provide opportunities for the student to discuss their learning
• provide opportunities for the parent/carer and students to ask questions or provide further information about the student
• be positive; including the student’s areas of strength, as well as areas for growth
• use evidence about the student’s learning and behaviour and, if necessary, ask somebody else to be there or nearby if needed
• finish the meeting co-creating clear learning and behavioural goals to guide the next steps in student learning and achievement.

After the conference:

• talk with the student about what was discussed and steps to improve their learning
• follow up on any agreed actions and/or plan
• continue to communicate with the parents/carers.

For more information

For schools:

• Attendance and working hours — Teaching Service — Parent-teacher meetings
• FISO Community engagement in learning
• Student voice practice guide (Amplify)

For parents:

• Student reports and parent-teacher conferences

Making teacher judgements and assigning scores for student reporting

Teacher judgements

Teachers make on-balance, holistic, evidence-based and defensible judgements against the achievement standards and determine scores that accurately reflect where the student is located on a learning continuum for all curriculum areas taught during the reporting period. These judgements form the basis of information presented in student reports.

Teacher judgements are made through an ongoing process of:

• gathering data over a period of time from a variety of formal and informal tasks and learning experiences
• analysing and interpreting this data
• moderating initial judgements with colleagues – against achievement standards and school defined and disseminated frames of reference, such as scoring guidelines and assessment criteria.

Scores

All students’ achievement can be recorded using a score. Using scores supports the monitoring of the student’s progress along the learning continuum. Scores are recorded using a value within the scoring range for the curriculum area being reported:

• the scoring range for the Victorian Curriculum F-10 is A -11.0
• the Towards Foundation Level A to D curriculum is used for students who are progressing towards achieving the Foundation level achievement standards
• the Victorian Curriculum F-10 EAL scoring range is from:
  • A1.1 to A2.3 for students on the A pathway
  • BL.1 to B3.3 for students on the B pathway
  • CL.1 to C4.3 for students on the C pathway.

When more than one teacher teaches the same curriculum area (learning area and/or capability) to a student during the reporting period, each teacher will make a judgement about where the student is located on the learning continuum.

The school’s moderation process should be used to determine the level of achievement to be reported and the score to be recorded or each teacher could record a score for the student’s level of achievement in the school’s reporting software.

A single score will be created by the software. This final score should be confirmed by the relevant teachers.

A ‘did not participate’ or ‘DNP’ is used when students are not being assessed in a curriculum area/strand/mode for the reporting period. Teachers would use a ‘DNP’ entry when they do not have a suitable amount of evidence of a student’s level of achievement, due to special circumstances, to make a defensible and on-balance judgement against the standards. Refer to:

• Special circumstances (DOCX 29.89kB)
• Special circumstances (PDF 60.62kB)

Scores are recorded in the school’s student reporting software package or directly into CASES21, refer to Reporting to the department chapter of these Guidelines.

Student progress and curriculum planning

Student progress will be influenced by each school’s individual teaching and learning plan, and by factors such as time allocation and frequency of tasks. The school’s teaching and learning plan will identify what is taught, assessed and reported.

Curriculum planning should align to and be supported by assessment planning. Considering opportunities for assessment and embedding assessments, such as formative assessments and pre/post-tests, is an important aspect of curriculum planning. Information from these assessments help teachers monitor student progress to inform their planning and provide learning evidence to support reporting.

For information and guidance about curriculum programs and assessment in schools, visit:

• Curriculum Programs Foundation to 10
• Assessment of Student Achievement and Progress Foundation to 10.

Teachers may consider co-developing indicative progress descriptions with students to assist with setting learning expectations of students and to assess and report student achievement.

An important aspect of curriculum planning is being able to articulate what student progress looks like, using the achievement standards in the curriculum continuum.

Visit VCAA curriculum area advice for:

• indicative progress templates
• annotated indicative progress examples
• student work samples for specific curriculum areas.

For information about whole-school curriculum planning, visit VCAA curriculum planning resource.

Mathematics Version 2.0

The revised Mathematics curriculum includes changes to the achievement standards used by teachers to assess and report student learning across Levels Foundation to 10.

Schools must implement reporting against Mathematics Version 2.0 when they commence teaching the Mathematics Version 2.0, either in Semester 1 2024 or Semester 1 2025.

Schools are required to report across Levels Foundation to 10 with an overarching teacher judgement each semester, providing a single, aggregated score to parents/carers (in the student’s report) and the department (submitted via CASES21).

The content descriptions of the Mathematics Version 2.0 are structured in 5 strands at Levels Foundation to 2 and 6 strands at Levels 3 to 10. Schools can determine how the 5 to 6 strands are implemented across each year (for example, for Year 4, a school may cover Statistics in semester 1 or in semester 2 or in both semester 1 and 2). The Mathematics Version 2.0 achievement standards do not separate the strands of mathematics.

How schools choose to aggregate assessments each semester will be dependent upon how the curriculum has been delivered in individual schools and links made between content from different strands. Using the learning evidence against the strands taught across the reporting cycle each semester, teachers make an on-balance, holistic and defensible judgement with reference to the achievement standards that accurately reflects where the student is along the learning continuum for Mathematics Version 2.0.

Teacher judgements must also align to the school’s local Mathematics curriculum program and there are factors for individual schools to consider at each reporting cycle for Mathematics Version 2.0. These considerations include:

• which of the 6 strands were taught
• the quantity and weighting of the strand in the curriculum (for example, Level 1 has more Number content than Algebra and Level 10 has more Algebra content than Number)
• how much of each strand was covered.

While this is not a requirement of the department, schools can continue recording and using information on each of the 6 strands delivered in Mathematics Version 2.0 if they find it useful for their internal purposes – for example, if it helps with providing feedback on or insight into how their students are progressing. This additional information may also be included in student reporting to parents/carers, as long as an overarching teacher judgement against Mathematics Version 2.0 is also provided. If the school decides to include strand level achievement data in the report, schools should provide guidance for students, parents and carers about how the overarching teacher judgement was made.

Reporting below Foundation level for schools who have taught Mathematics Version 2.0

Levels A–D of Mathematics Version 2.0 are yet to be released. As such, schools that have taught Mathematics Version 2.0 in Semester 1 2024 have 2 options for reporting achievement for students who have not yet achieved a score of 0.5.

Option 1: report against Levels A–D of Mathematics Version 1.0

This option is restricted to situations in which teachers:

1. identified that a student/s was not yet ready to access Foundation level
2. taught and assessed against Levels A–D of Mathematics Version 1.0.

In this option, teachers must report against the 3 strands of Mathematics Version 1.0. This includes providing a teacher judgement, a 5-point scale, and an indication of progress from the previous time mathematics was taught (not required for Prep students in Semester 1) against the 3 strands of Version 1.0.

Option 2: report against Mathematics Version 2.0

This option is appropriate where teachers have only taught Mathematics Version 2.0, and the learning evidence collected shows the student/s has not yet achieved a score of 0.5. In this option, the teacher may leave the teacher judgement blank. However, an age-related rating, for example, ‘below-expected standard’ must be provided, along with a comprehensive comment outlining the achievement during the reporting period.

Webinar on Mathematics Version 2.0 and student reporting requirements

A webinar to support school leaders and teachers assess and report against the Victorian Curriculum F-10: Mathematics Version 2.0.

Supporting resources

Mathematics Version 2.0 and student reporting requirements slide deck (PPTX)

Involving students in assessment and reporting processes

Involving students in the assessment and reporting processes is critical so that students:

• understand their current performance
• monitor their progress, and
• know what to do next to improve their learning

Quality student assessment underpins and forms the foundation upon which quality reporting can occur. Assessments embedded in the teaching and learning cycle inform the information provided to parents, carers and students in their reports.

An important process of involving students is through giving and receiving feedback. Providing effective feedback is:

• a key element of the incremental process of ongoing learning and assessment
• a significant means of improving achievement in learning

Effective feedback is a two-way process that supports progress in learning and understanding about where the learners are on the learning continuum. It is:

• timely
• clear
• focuses on improvement strategies, and
• encourages reflection

Feedback can be from:

• the teacher to student
• student to teacher, or
• peers

Student reporting is one type of feedback.

Giving and receiving feedback as part of the reporting process means that the students have:

• a clear picture of progress made to date
• an understanding of their strengths and areas for improvement
• the capacity to set individual learning goals and targets to achieve further improvement

For information on feedback and reporting, refer to VCAA feedback and reporting.

Student portfolio and reporting

Portfolios can:

• assist teachers to make judgements about student achievement against the achievement standard that are
  • on-balance
  • holistic
  • evidence-based
  • defensible
• support teachers and students to explain and share student progress.

Using portfolios, teachers make judgements based on a planned and targeted selection of evidence of student learning collected during the reporting period. Examples in the student’s portfolio of work, such as assessment tasks, can be used to provide a greater level of detail of the student’s achievement and progress to parents and carers.

Schools are encouraged to use information directly from student portfolios when writing student reports, or by referring to the information contained in the portfolio on the student report.

For information on using digital portfolios, visit Digital portfolios.

Developing and reporting on individual learning goals

Individual learning goals and targets aim to:

• improve students’ learning and achievement
• build students’ capacity to learn.

Individual learning goals and targets motivate students to:

• become more active participants in the learning process
• become independent learners
• identify what is important to their own learning
• achieve their full potential.

Research into the motivation and efficiency of students who set their own learning goals and targets indicates that students have more confidence to take on more challenging tasks, regardless of their ability.

Students tend to achieve more than when working on goals set for them by the teacher, with their motivation to improve and master a task increasing and their self-esteem remaining strong, even in the case of failure.

In the Foundation stage of schooling (Prep to Year 2), individual learning goals and targets may also relate to the 5 Outcomes of the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF). Visit Early childhood learning.

Schools can decide the best way to manage the development, monitoring and reporting of individual learning goals and targets. Developing, monitoring and reporting on learning goals and targets will generally work best when the process is clear and shared across the school. The process also involves conversations about learning between the student and the teacher. Planning for such conversations to occur in a productive and purposeful manner is critical to the success of this process.

When students are assisted to explore their own thinking and learning processes, they are drawn to think about the effectiveness of the strategies they used to achieve the learning goals they set. Planning what to do, monitoring progress towards achieving it and evaluating the outcome can help students take more control over their thinking and learning processes and equip them with learning to learn skills.

For more information, refer to:

• Developing, monitoring and reporting on individual learning goals and targets (DOCX 46.94kB)
• Developing, monitoring and reporting on individual learning goals and targets (PDF 168.94kB)

Student reporting professional learning program

The student reporting professional learning program (program) is an online tool which supports teachers and school leaders to strengthen student reporting by engaging in school-based professional learning. The program guides participants through collaborative investigations, analysis of evidence and scaffolds, enabling strategic design, planning and facilitation of the reporting processes.

The program involves 4 learning focus areas:

1. Reimagining student reporting – partnering to learn with families, students, and colleagues
2. Laying the foundations – strengthening assessment design
3. Assessment and reporting – strengthening teacher judgements against standards
4. Meaningful reporting – making sense of our learning and taking action

For more information about the program visit: Student reporting professional learning program.

Resources

The following resources are provided to assist schools to report student achievement and progress across Foundation to Level 10 to parents/carers and the department.

Reporting to parents and carers

The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) provides guidelines and advice on the minimum requirements for reporting student achievement and progress to parents and carers:

• VCAA Reporting Guidelines (PDF)

Collection of information and advice on the requirements for reporting to parents/carers and the department:

• Unpacking student reporting requirements (PPTX)

Reporting advice relating to students with disability and/or additional needs:

• Students with disabilities guidelines (PDF)

An example of student report format:

• Student report format (DOCX)

Tips to assist teachers to write clear, easy to understand and informative reports:

• Quick tips for writing reports (DOCX)
• Quick tips for writing reports (PDF)

Checklist designed to help teachers review the comments they have written to ensure they are communicating the right type of information in an appropriate way:

• Student report writing checklist (DOCX)
• Student report writing checklist (PDF)

Information and resources to support the implementation of the Victorian Curriculum F–10 including whole-school curriculum planning, assessment and reporting:

• VCAA Curriculum planning and assessment

To support the development of indicative progress descriptions, VCAA has provided:

• Curriculum area advice
  • indicative progress templates
  • annotated indicative progress examples, and
  • student work samples for specific curriculum areas.

Example of reporting achievement and progress along a continuum:

• Achievement and progress along a continuum (DOCX)

Information and examples of student reporting using five-point scales (including examples relating to EAL students):

• Five-point scale (DOCX)

A lookup matrix that may be used to determine an A-E rating or equivalent scale for English, mathematics and science. The use of the lookup matrix is only effective for reporting at age-expected levels.

• Student reporting VC lookup matrix (algorithm for developers) (DOCX)
• Student reporting VC lookup matrix (algorithm for developers) (PDF)

Template letters to support schools to communicate changes to student reporting:

• Template letter to parents and carers regarding Level D and reporting (DOCX)
• Template letter to advise parents and carers of the Victorian Curriculum F–10: Mathematics Version 2.0 changes for student reporting (DOCX)

Reporting to the department

Schools must upload their student achievement data (teacher judgements) for each curriculum area taught for every student enrolled at the school via CASES21.

A step-by-step process for preparing student achievement data and sending summary results to the department is provided in the CASES21 administrative guide chapter 23 – Student Achievement (PDF) (staff login required).

For all the unique reporting codes for each curriculum area (learning area and capabilities), and the scoring range for each curriculum area:

• Victorian Curriculum F–10 curriculum areas reporting codes and scoring range (DOCX)

Information on using ‘did not participate’ or ‘DNP’ for when students are not being assessed in a curriculum area/strand/mode for the reporting period due to special circumstances:

• Special circumstances (DOCX)
• Special circumstances (PDF)

Information required to meet the minimum mandatory requirements for the production of student reports for the software vendors and schools:

• Vendor software specifications student reporting (DOCX)

For the specific business systems requirements to enable the import and export of Victorian Curriculum F–10 report data to CASES21, please see:

• CASES21 importing and exporting interface specifications (DOCX) (staff login required)

Schools should contact the service desk prior to the end of the semester if they have data-entry concerns:

Self service: Services Portal (staff login required)
Phone: 1800 641 943
Email: servicedesk@education.vic.gov.au