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. This covers semester reporting as one part of the reporting process.

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.
• Opportunities must be provided for parents/carers and students to discuss student reports with teachers and/or school leaders.
• The report can be in print or digital form. It must be accessible and easy for parents/carers to understand.
• Schools must report directly against the Victorian Curriculum F–10 Version 2.0 achievement standards.
• Both student achievement and progress must be included in the report. This means that for each curriculum area taught, the report must include:
  • a teacher judgement(s) (a score assigned against the achievement standards, for example, Level 3.5)
  • an indication of progress since the curriculum area was last reported on
  • a 5-point scale
  • specific requirements for reporting progress in specialist settings can be found at Reporting for students with disability and/or additional needs.
• As outlined in the Records Management policy, student reports must be kept for identified time periods.
• 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.

Details

The reporting process strengthens the partnership between school and home in supporting student learning. It includes the ongoing and timely feedback given to students about their achievement and progress. Semester student reports are a summary of achievement and progress against the curriculum at a point in time and provide parents/carers with objective and accurate information.

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
• Australian Education Regulations 2023.

Reporting to parents/carers

Schools are required to formally report student achievement, progress and provide a 5-point scale. For all curriculum areas (learning areas and capabilities) taught during the reporting period, reports must:

• provide a teacher judgement against the achievement standards, assigned as a score, that accurately reflects where each student is along the relevant learning continuum
• show student progress since the last report on each curriculum area
• use one of the following 5-point scales to report on student achievement and/or progress:
  • an age-expected 5-point scale, indicating the expected achievement based on a student’s age, must be used for English, Mathematics and Science, and can be used for all other curriculum areas except EAL
  • an age-expected scale must not be used for the EAL curriculum area and may not be appropriate to use for students with disability and additional needs. In these cases, the department provides 2 alternative 5-point scales for schools to use:
    • the progress scale is recommended for the EAL curriculum area. For more information refer to: Reporting EAL proficiency and progress
    • the learning objectives met scale is recommended for students with disability and additional needs (the progress scale can also be used, depending on a school’s preference). For more information refer to: Reporting for students with disability and/or additional needs.

The department provides model reports for primary, secondary and specialist school contexts. These meet the department’s reporting policy requirements. They use accessible reporting formats and clearly show what is required and what is recommended. They support a consistent statewide approach to reporting. Schools must ensure their semester student reports reflect and are consistent with the provided model reports.

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.

The Guidance and Resources tabs provide further information and support around reporting student achievement and progress.

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
• Records Management – School Records
• Software and Administration Systems

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:

1. Reporting requirements
2. Efficient reporting practices and model reports
3. Parent/carer conferences
4. Reporting teacher judgements, progress and using a 5-point scale
5. Reporting EAL proficiency and progress
6. Reporting for students with disability and/or additional needs
7. Continuous reporting
8. Records management
9. Uploading teacher judgements to CASES21

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

1. Reporting requirements

Reporting for all enrolled students

Schools must provide a written (print or digital) student report at least twice a year to the parents/carers of each student enrolled at the school. This is a minimum requirement for school registration.

For each curriculum area taught, the report must provide:

• a teacher judgement of the student’s achievement (a score against the achievement standards)
• an indication of the student’s progress
• a rating of the student’s achievement against a 5-point scale.

A report must be provided for every student enrolled at the school, regardless of enrolment date or attendance.

Reporting at each learning stage

Schools must report on every curriculum area taught as per the minimum curriculum delivery requirements outlined in the Curriculum Programs Foundation to 10 policy.

For tables summarising curriculum and reporting requirements refer to:

• Curriculum and reporting requirements (primary school: Prep–Year 6) (DOCX)
• Curriculum and reporting requirements (secondary school: Years 7-10) (DOCX).

Reporting against the achievement standards

Schools must report against the Victorian Curriculum F–10 achievement standards for each learning area and capability taught. This includes achievement standards at Foundation Levels A to D.

Achievement standards are provided in levels or bands for all the learning areas and capabilities. They describe what students can understand and do at the completion of a level or band. For more information on this structure, refer to: Victorian Curriculum F–10 Overview.

Each curriculum area also includes content descriptions explaining what is to be taught and what students are expected to learn. However, achievement standards are the basis for assessing and reporting student achievement.

Teachers must develop a sound knowledge of the achievement standards and understand how the learning evidence for each of their students aligns with the achievement standard descriptions at each level.

For further information about assessment, refer to: Assessment of Student Achievement and Progress Foundation to 10.

Accessible reports

Student reports must be in an accessible form and easy for parents/carers to understand.

This means that all content in reports must be written in plain English. This includes any relevant explanations or comments.

It is strongly recommended that schools proactively offer parents/carers with the option of receiving reports in hard copy (printed) where there is a community or individual need.

For further information about plain English, refer to: Plain language and word choice.

2. Efficient reporting practices and model reports

A semester report provides a summary of achievement and progress at a point in time. It meets the Australian Education Regulations 2023 requirement that schools provide parents/carers with objective and accurate information about their child’s achievement and progress.

The semester report is one part of a school’s broader communications about student learning, achievement and progress. Other examples include:

• teachers’ conferences with parents/carers
• ongoing information about students’ achievement and progress through formative and summative assessment practices.

Recommendations on reporting elements

Comments

The department recommends the following:

• a short summary comment in primary reports (around 100 words recommended)
• no comments in secondary reports
• a short general comment (around 50 words recommended) and select achieved learning goals in reports for students enrolled in specialist schools.

A progress comment is required for students enrolled in specialist schools that have opted to not include the previous level achieved in semester reports (around 100 words recommended).

Detailed written comments are not recommended in semester reports nor is the practice of developing and maintaining comment banks.

Learning disposition ratings

Learning disposition ratings can provide parents/carers with valuable insights without writing comments. Recommended effort and conduct ratings are provided in the model reports, including:

• an overall rating in primary reports
• ratings in each learning area in secondary reports.

Model reports and implementation support

The following model reports include the department’s requirements and recommendations. They can be reproduced in commercial reporting software using standard features.

• Option 1 (recommended for primary):
  • primary model report (PDF) and primary explainer (PDF)
• Option 2 (recommended for secondary) model reports:
  • Year 8 report (PDF) and Year 8 explainer (PDF)
  • Year 8 EAL report (PDF) and Year 8 EAL explainer (PDF)
  • Year 10 report (PDF) (including early entry to senior secondary pathways) and Year 10 explainer (PDF)
• Option 3 (recommended for specialist):
  • specialist model report (PDF) and specialist explainer (PDF).

Implementation supports

• Reviewing reporting practices and communicating changes with school staff (PPTX) – slide deck for school leadership summarising the department’s updated reporting guidance. Supports reviewing reporting practices and communicating changes in model reports to school staff
• Communicating changes to reporting to parents/carers (DOCX) – template letter

3. Parent/carer conferences

Opportunities to discuss the report

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

Parent/carer conferences

Parent/carer conferences can be offered at least once each semester. They provide valuable opportunities to establish and maintain positive relationships between schools and parents/carers.

The department recommends that conferences are aligned with the reporting cycle and include a focused discussion of a student’s:

• achievement and progress
• learning behaviours
• next steps in their learning and how their progress can be supported.

Within the limited time available for conferences, a teacher is best positioned to lead this discussion directly with parents/carers, providing opportunities for parents/carers to seek clarification, share contextual information and ask questions.

For these reasons, the department recommends against student-led conferences.

Preparation for conferences

Conferences must be planned for in alignment with the Attendance and Working Hours – Teaching Service and Time in Lieu – Teaching Service policies. The school can decide on the processes and protocols of conferences in consultation with the school community. For example:

• ensure conferences are scheduled in alignment with the Attendance and Working Hours – Teaching Service policy and that teachers have allocated break times
• determine whether to hold face-to-face and/or online conferences
• set appropriate dates aligned to the purpose of each conference, for example, if one of the conferences is to discuss student reports, then it would need to be held shortly after reports are received
• provide plenty of notice to parents/carers of the date(s), length and purpose of conferences, so they have ample time to organise and prepare to attend
• set up a system to enable parents/carers to book conference time(s) that are suitable for them, with the option to request a translator if necessary
• set a clear booking cut-off date so that teachers be provided with a schedule of conferences and adequate time to prepare
• where possible, provide appropriate space for face-to-face conferences, including seated waiting areas for early arrivals
• decide upon and communicate a suitable online platform for video conferences
• ensure teachers have a quiet space to conduct online conferences
• ensure school leaders are available to attend conferences if requested by teachers and/or parents/carers
• establish follow up processes if parents/carers cannot or do not attend the conferences.

During the conference, it is recommended that teachers:

• use evidence about the student’s learning and behaviour to guide discussion
• avoid using teacher terms, educational jargon, acronyms or complex language
• be positive, including the student’s areas of strength as well as areas for growth
• provide opportunities for the parent/carer and students to ask questions or provide further information about the student
• record any actions that require follow up.

4. Reporting teacher judgements, progress and using a 5-point scale

Teacher judgements

Teacher judgements of student achievement for each curriculum area taught in the semester must be included in reports to parents/carers and also uploaded to the department through CASES21. This is a score assigned against the Victorian Curriculum F–10 achievement standards.

Progress

Student progress must be shown in written reports. In the primary and secondary model reports this is shown by including the previous teacher judgement, if the curriculum area has previously been reported on.

Specialist schools are not required to provide previous teacher judgements. If a specialist school chooses not to include previous teacher judgements they must meet the progress requirement by including a progress comment.

The progress comment must include detail about the student’s progress over the reporting period, relative to the start of the reporting period, including what the student has achieved that they hadn’t previously.

This requirement is shown in the Option 3 (recommended for specialist) model report.

5-point scales

A 5-point scale must also be included to provide more information on student achievement. The department uses 3 standardised scales:

• an age-expected scale
  • rates performance against what is expected of a student at the time of reporting based on their age/year level
  • must be used for English, Mathematics and Science
  • can be used for all curriculum areas except EAL
• a progress scale
  • rates progress, but not against age-based expectations
  • is recommended for the EAL curriculum area, for more information refer to: Reporting EAL proficiency and progress
• a learning objectives met scale
  • rates how many learning objectives have been met in each curriculum area
  • is recommended for students with disability and/or additional needs.

Either the learning objectives met scale, or progress scale, may be preferred for students with disability and additional needs.

The example below shows all 3 reporting requirements (reporting teacher judgements, progress and using a 5-point scale). In this example for the Science learning area, the student’s current achieved level is shown as a score and rated against an age-expected 5-point scale. The student’s progress is indicated by including their previous reported level, shown as a score.

Rating against age-expected 5-point scale

• Well above expected level
• Above expected level
• At expected level
• Below expected level
• Well below expected level

An age-expected scale may not be appropriate for students with disability and additional needs. In these cases, either the 5-point progress scale, or the 5-point learning objectives met scale is recommended. For more information refer to: Reporting for students with disability and/or additional needs.

Any of the three 5-point scales may be used within the same class. For example, in a Mathematics class in a mainstream school, most students’ achievement will be rated against the age-expected scale. For students with disability or additional needs in the same class, the progress or learning objectives met scales may be more appropriate.

Reporting teacher judgements of achievement

The achievement standard describes the knowledge and skills students must consistently demonstrate by the end of a curriculum level.

Teachers make on-balance, evidence-based and defensible judgements against the achievement standards for all curriculum areas taught during the reporting period. Teachers assign scores that accurately reflect where the student is located on a learning continuum through an ongoing process of:

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

The teacher judgement scoring range for the Victorian Curriculum is A–11.0.

The Victorian Curriculum F–10 EAL scoring range is from:

• AL1.1 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 or capability) to a student during the reporting period, all teachers will make individual judgements and then use the school’s moderation process to determine the score to be reported.

Awarding 0.5 Teacher Judgement Scores

Teachers use 0.5 scores (such as 7.5) when student achievement falls between 2 levels, demonstrating consistent progress beyond one level but not yet meeting the next.

For example, a 0.5 score can be awarded when learning evidence suggests that a student is likely to reach their target achievement level in the subsequent reporting cycle.

An example of when to assign 0.5: a student has achieved Level 2.0 in Geography and started demonstrating knowledge, skills and understanding from Level 3.0. However, they have not yet achieved Level 3.0. Level 2.5 is awarded to indicate that the student is beyond Level 2.0 and on their way to achieving Level 3.0.

Students may remain at a 0.5 score in the next reporting cycle if they are unable to maintain their progress and reach consistent demonstration of the knowledge and skills outlined in the achievement standard.

Using 10.5 and 11.0 scores

Level 10 (or 10A in Mathematics) represents the highest level of achievement for each curriculum area. If a student has already achieved Level 10 and is working on an advanced program, a teacher would assign either a 10.5 or 11.0 score depending on the extent of the student’s achievement. An advanced program would require the demonstration of knowledge, skills and understanding beyond those described in the Victorian Curriculum Level 10 Achievement standard. As no achievement standards exist beyond Level 10, schools must determine which advanced knowledge and skills will be assessed and reported.

Special circumstances

Progressing Towards score

A ‘Progressing Towards’ or ‘PT’ score must be reported for students who have not yet reached the lowest level provided for the relevant curriculum area. When relevant, this may be applied for curriculum areas that do not have Foundation Levels A to D or commence at higher year levels with a scoring range that starts from a higher level. For example:

1. Ethical Capability can be taught from Prep and commences from Level 0.5
2. Civics and Citizenship is introduced from Year 3 and commences from Level 2.5
3. Visual Communication Design is introduced from Year 7 and commences from Level 6.5.

DNP scores

A ‘did not participate’ (‘DNP’) entry must be only used in 5 rare circumstances where teachers do not have sufficient evidence to make a defensible and on-balance judgement of a student’s level of achievement in a curriculum area. The 5 circumstances in which a ‘DNP’ entry may be selected are:

• DNP-Low participation (DNP-LP) – the student has low levels of school attendance and is not participating in an approved re-engagement program
• DNP-Exemption from a Curriculum Area (DNP-EX) – during the reporting period the student participated in a targeted intervention program instead of a curriculum area, or was granted an accepted absence and has a Student Absence Learning Plan in place
• DNP-Absent without reasonable excuse (DLP-UN) – during the reporting period the student was absent without a reasonable excuse and a Student Absence Learning Plan was not in place or completed
• DNP-Late enrolment (DLP-LE) – the student was enrolled in the school towards or at the end of the reporting period
• DNP-Serious illness (DLP-SI) – the student was seriously ill during the reporting period.

For information on managing student attendance and absence, refer to the Attendance policy.

Age-expected 5-point scale matrix

The age-expected ratings for each semester align with a student's year level, with a range of possible scores for each rating (of A to E, or well-above to well-below). For example, by the end of Semester 1 in Year 3, scores of 2 and 2.5 are both 'at expected level', while by the end of Semester 2 in Year 3, score of 2.5 and 3 are 'at expected level'.

An age-expected rating is automatically determined in commercial reporting software with reference to this lookup matrix:

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

5. Reporting 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 department's Victorian Curriculum F–10 EAL Reporting Resource allows teachers and schools to report on EAL students' English language proficiency before they reach the achievement standards. This resource is designed to complement and support the Victorian Curriculum F–10 EAL and provide teachers with advice to assess and report against the proficiency descriptors for each EAL level.

5-point progress scale

An age-expected 5-point scale cannot be used for reporting against the EAL curriculum area as the language proficiency of EAL students does not necessarily correlate with students’ age.

Instead, the 5-point progress scale is recommended, also considering:

• refugee or migrant background and related life experiences
• previous educational experiences in their home language and English
• additional learning needs.

The teacher considers assessment evidence as well as these factors to make an ‘on balance’ judgement of each individual student’s expected progress in the EAL curriculum area.

The rating for this scale has the following descriptors:

• limited progress
• some progress
• satisfactory progress
• good progress
• excellent progress.

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:

• Listening and Speaking
• Reading and Viewing
• Writing.

It is not appropriate for an EAL student to be assessed against the English achievement standards in one mode, such as Listening and Speaking, and the EAL achievement standards in other 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.

For more detailed advice about when to transfer students, and information about the typical pathways EAL students might follow along the Victorian Curriculum F–10, refer to: Pathways and transitions.

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).

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.

6. Reporting for students with disability and/or additional needs

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

Schools are required to report on achievement and progress each semester for all students with disability and/or additional needs.

Teacher judgements

Parents and carers are entitled to accurate information about their child’s achievement against the achievement standards.

Specialist schools are not required to provide previous achievement levels on students’ semester reports. Specialist schools may also not include current achievement levels in a specific student’s semester report if:

• the parents/carers have asked for achievement levels to not be included in semester reports, and
• the student has not progressed against the Victorian Curriculum F–10 scoring range, including the Foundation levels, for 24 months.

When these conditions are met, parents and carers must be informed that:

• the school has formally recorded their request
• teacher judgements will continue to be recorded in the school’s internal systems and to the department via CASES21 each semester
• parents and carers are entitled to this information at any time.

5-point scale

Schools, in consultation with their community, may decide an age-expected 5-point scale is not appropriate for students with disability and/or additional needs. In these circumstances, the department recommends using the 5-point learning objectives met scale.

Rating

Occasionally: Your child has met a few learning objectives this semester. They require consistent support.

Sometimes: Your child has met some learning objectives this semester. They require some support.

Often: This semester, your child has met most learning objectives in familiar tasks. They need some support in new situations.

Usually: Your child has met most learning objectives this semester. They have shown this in familiar and new tasks. They have done this mostly by themselves.

Consistently: Your child has met almost all learning objectives this semester. They did this on their own without support.

Progress

The department acknowledges that students can make progress in their learning when working within or towards a particular achievement level for a prolonged period.

Specialist schools are not required to provide a previous achievement level. When a previous level is not provided, the progress requirement must be met by including a progress comment.

The progress comment must include detail about the student’s progress over the reporting period, relative to the start of the reporting period, including what the student has achieved that they hadn’t previously.

This requirement is shown in the Option 3 (recommended for specialist) model report (PDF).

Schools can also choose to include ‘learning goals achieved,’ shown as a recommended feature in the model report. To support this, the department recommends setting curriculum-based learning goals that can be realistically achieved in 6 months.

Schools can engage parents and carers in a more detailed discussion of achievement and progress through Student Support Groups.

Individual Education Plans and student reports

Information from curriculum-based Individual Education Plan (IEP) goals from across the semester may be used, along with a range of learning evidence, to inform reports. Please note an IEP is a separate document which cannot replace semester student reports.

7. Continuous reporting

Reporting achievement and progress outside of reports

The following examples reflect common practices in schools that support the ongoing communication of achievement and progress, without significant additional burden:

• routines for sending home completed work
  • these might include sharing work reflective of important projects or which illustrate learning progress
• classroom and corridor displays
  • these can have a dual purpose: celebrating student achievement and also providing parents/carers with a window into current learning focuses and the standards being achieved
• incidental conversations at school (particularly in primary/specialist contexts)
  • this is an opportunity to share brief updates about student progress, particularly when celebrating achievements or flagging early concerns
• school websites or newsletters to share curriculum area overviews (what is being taught) and learning highlights (in a specific curriculum area).

Continuous online reporting

Continuous online reporting is an approach to communicating student learning progress where students, parents and carers are provided with access to assessment information throughout the semester. This is typically delivered via online portals to the school’s learning management system. It is predominantly used in secondary schools but can be implemented in other settings.

Continuous online reporting can complement but does not replace semester reports. It communicates achievement on specific tasks, not an overall picture of achievement and progress against the curriculum achievement standard. An overall teacher judgement against the curriculum standard must only be made once per semester.

Schools implementing continuous online reporting should configure their assessment and reporting platforms so that formative feedback and summative grades already provided directly to students are simultaneously visible to parents and carers. Importantly, continuous online reporting offers a window into existing assessment practices. It must not involve creating additional reporting obligations or processes.

Where a school implements continuous online reporting they are recommended to:

• use digital versions of developmental rubrics that communicate achievement and next steps without individual written feedback
• ensure that where existing processes capture student self-reflection, this is also visible to parents/carers
• limit written formative feedback by considering both a maximum number of tasks that require written feedback each term and a maximum word length (for example, limiting written feedback to 75 words on one formative task in each curriculum area each term)
• provide structured time for students to read, reflect upon, and respond to that feedback, noting that this dialogic element increases the effectiveness of feedback in supporting learning.

The department recommends against expecting teachers to:

• document the spontaneous, responsive feedback that naturally occurs during classroom instruction
• rewrite existing feedback for different audiences, or provide additional feedback for parents/carers
• upload paper-based feedback (for example, handwritten comments or physical rubrics) to digital platforms.

The department acknowledges that assessment task data shared with parents and carers throughout a semester can also be automatically collated in semester reports without any additional action required of teachers.

8. Records management

All reports and records created or kept because of this policy must be handled in accordance with the schools' records management policy and recordkeeping guidelines.

Student reports must be safeguarded, stored and made readily accessible 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.

All personal information, including personally identifiable information, collected as part of this policy by staff, contractors, volunteers and service providers at Victorian schools, must be handled in accordance with the Schools' privacy policy and Protecting personally identifiable information guideline.

Where public records are stored with an online service, a school must be able to access those records during the retention period.

For further information on records management in schools, refer to Records Management or contact archives.records@education.vic.gov.au. Advice on privacy is available from privacy@education.vic.gov.au.

9. Uploading teacher judgements to CASES21

Schools are required to upload teacher judgements via CASES21 twice a year. This includes a teacher judgement for each curriculum area taught for every student enrolled at the school.

The first upload occurs at the end of semester 1 and must be completed by June 30. The second upload occurs at the end of semester 2, prior to December 31 and prior to the school running the CASES21 Admin end of year rollover task.

To enable the department to process the data, schools must manage their student achievement data in 2 mandatory steps:

1. upload the data to CASES21
2. aggregate the data.

Video guidance is available demonstrating how to upload and aggregate student achievement data to the CASES21 platform:

• watch Achievement Data Part 1 – Importing Student Achievement Data into CASES21 on Vimeo
• watch Achievement Data Part 2 – Aggregate Student Achievement Data in CASES21 on Vimeo.

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

Some commercial reporting software allows student achievement to be reported against the Victorian Curriculum F–10 achievement standards. Using software from a commercial supplier is not mandatory. Schools may elect to develop their own software for importing teacher judgements into CASES21. Reporting software must meet department specifications to ensure compatibility with CASES21.

Schools with very small student enrolments, including special developmental schools, can manually enter data into CASES21. This process cannot generate student reports for parents and carers. Information on the direct entry method is found in the annual CASES21 administrative guide, chapter 23, student achievement (PDF) (staff login required).

Schools can 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

Supporting documents

• Reporting software specifications – provides software suppliers with information to meet the minimum mandatory requirements for the production of student reports in Victorian government schools:
  • Reporting software specifications (DOCX) – 2026 reporting requirements version
  • 2027 Reporting software specifications (DOCX) – 2027 reporting requirements version (including features of the model reports)
• CASES21 importing and exporting interface specifications (DOCX) – defines the specific business systems requirements to enable the import and export of Victorian Curriculum F-10 report data to CASES21
  • CASES21 is currently being updated to support 2027 reporting requirements, and these specifications will be updated when this is completed
• Victorian Curriculum F–10 reporting codes and scoring range – includes 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 reporting codes and scoring range (DOCX) – 2026 version
  • 2027 Victorian Curriculum F–10 curriculum areas reporting codes and scoring range (DOCX) – 2027 version

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 requirements

For tables summarising curriculum and reporting requirements, refer to:

• Curriculum and reporting requirements (primary school: Prep–Year 6) (DOCX)
• Curriculum and reporting requirements (secondary school: Years 7–10) (DOCX)

Efficient reporting practices

The following model reports include the department’s requirements and recommendations:

• Option 1 (recommended for primary):
  • primary model report (PDF) and primary explainer (PDF)
• Option 2 (recommended for secondary) model reports:
  • Year 8 report (PDF) and Year 8 explainer (PDF)
  • Year 8 EAL report (PDF) and Year 8 EAL explainer (PDF)
  • Year 10 report (PDF) (including early entry to senior secondary pathways) and Year 10 explainer (PDF)
• Option 3 (recommended for specialist):
  • specialist model report (PDF) and specialist explainer (PDF).

The following resources supports reviewing reporting practices and communicating changes to reporting with school staff and parents/carers:

• Slide deck to support reviewing reporting practices, and summarising updates (PPTX)
• Template letter for parents/carers (DOCX)

Reporting teacher judgements, progress and using a 5-point scale

An age-expected rating is automatically determined with reference to this lookup matrix:

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

Uploading teacher judgements to 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 reporting codes and scoring range (DOCX) – 2026 version
• 2027 Victorian Curriculum F–10 curriculum areas reporting codes and scoring range (DOCX) – 2027 version

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

• Reporting software specifications (DOCX) – 2026 reporting requirements version
• 2027 Reporting software specifications (DOCX) – 2027 reporting requirements version (including features of the model reports)

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

• CASES21 importing and exporting interface specifications (DOCX)

CASES21 is currently being updated to support 2027 reporting requirements, and these specifications will be updated when this is completed.

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

Self service: Services Portal (staff login required)
Phone: 1800 641 943 (select Option 2 for School Administration Systems, and then Option 1 for CASES21 Administration)
Email: servicedesk@education.vic.gov.au