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