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
o rates how many learning objectives have been met in each curriculum area
o 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.
| Learning area | Previous level | Achieved level | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Science | 2.0 | 2.5 | At expected level |
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:
- Ethical Capability can be taught from Prep and commences from Level 0.5
- Civics and Citizenship is introduced from Year 3 and commences from Level 2.5
- 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:
Reviewed 04 August 2026