Assessment workshop for 2024 ATAR Year 11 Modern History syllabus – Unit 2

Contact
Crystal Wieringa (08) 9273 6778
crystal.wieringa@scsa.wa.edu.au

Teachers of ATAR Modern History are advised that the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (the Authority) will be conducting an assessment workshop on marking source analysis and explanation responses to reflect the assessment requirements for the ATAR Year 11 Modern History syllabus.

The workshop is intended for schools offering the ATAR Year 11 Modern History course in 2024.

The focus of the workshop is to assist teachers to develop an understanding of marking source analysis and explanation responses using marking keys that align to the assessment table in the new ATAR Year 11 Modern History syllabus.

The workshop will include:

• guidance on marking source analysis responses for Unit 2 assessments
• guidance on marking explanation responses for Unit 2 assessments.

The date for this workshop is Thursday, 30 May 2024, 4.00 pm to 5.30 pm.

The venue for this workshop is Conference Rooms 1 and 2 (Ground floor) at the Authority’s office, 303 Sevenoaks Street, Cannington, WA, 6107.

The workshop is not compulsory and is free to attend.

Register for this workshop at:
https://scsa.wa.edu.au/events/assessment-workshop-for-atar-year-11-modern-history-syllabus-unit-2

Examination reports for the 2023 ATAR course examinations

Contact
Jorja Di Lello (08) 9273 6780
jorja.dilello@scsa.wa.edu.au

Teachers are advised that the 2023 ATAR course examination reports are now available on the course page of the School Curriculum and Standards Authority website once logged into the extranet.

The Extranet is the Authority’s secure area for teachers to access materials and resources to support them in their work. Please use the link below to log into the Extranet or to register: https://scsa.wa.edu.au/extranet/login.

The 2023 Summary examination reports for candidates are also available on the course page.

An examination report is not available for some courses where there were insufficient candidates to enable any valid statistical analysis.

Policy for setting the written ATAR course examination dates

Contact
Barclay Jones (08) 9273 6309
barclay.jones@scsa.wa.edu.au

In August 2019, the Board of the School Curriculum and Standards Authority amended the principles for setting the dates of the Year 12 ATAR course written examinations:

• Written examinations will commence on Monday of the week in which November 1 falls on a weekday; and Monday of the following week, when November 1 falls on a weekend.
• The written examination period will be for a period of approximately 15 weekdays.
• Large candidature examinations will be scheduled, where possible, in the first ten days of the examination period.
• No practical examinations will be scheduled on the weekend immediately prior to the commencement of the written examinations.

It should be noted that the scheduled date range of Year 12 ATAR course written and practical examinations from year to year will not always fall in the same cycle of weeks of school terms.

The 2024 Year 12 ATAR course written examinations are scheduled from Monday, 28 October to Friday,
15 November 2024. The 2024 Year 12 ATAR course written examination timetable will be published on Wednesday, 5 June 2024 on the Examination Timetables webpage of the School Curriculum and Standards Authority website at:
https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/assessment/examinations/examination-timetables.

No information regarding the date of specific examinations is available prior to this date. The scheduled date range for the Year 12 ATAR course written examinations for the next three years is also available on this webpage.

The 2024 Year 12 ATAR course practical examinations are scheduled from Saturday, 21 September to Sunday, 20 October 2024. See the schedule on the Examination Timetables webpage.

From Tuesday, 3 September 2024 students will be able to download their Personalised written examination timetable and Personalised practical examination timetable from the student portal at https://studentportal.scsa.wa.edu.au.

The written examination timetable will contain the date, time and examination centre for the student’s written examination. The practical examination timetable will contain the date, time, venue and location of the student’s practical examination.

Marker applications for 2024 ATAR course examinations

Contact for practical marker applications
Dianne Rogers (08) 9273 6772
dianne.rogers@scsa.wa.edu.au

Tim Chiew (08) 9273 6377
tim.chiew@scsa.wa.edu.au

Contact for written marker applications
Laura Dunnett (08) 9273 6730
examswr@scsa.wa.edu.au

Bronwyn O’Reilly (08) 9273 6703
examswr@scsa.wa.edu.au

The School Curriculum and Standards Authority is seeking applications from qualified people interested in marking the 2024 ATAR course written and/or practical examinations.

For information regarding marker applications or to apply, please refer to
https://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/about-us/employment.

Applications open on Thursday, 2 May 2024 and close on Tuesday, 18 June 2024.

Design ATAR course practical (portfolio) examination submission requirements

Contact
Paul Cranley (08) 9273 6795
paul.cranley@scsa.wa.edu.au

Teachers are advised that with the implementation of the revised syllabus for Year 12 ATAR Design, there are changes to the submission requirements for the practical examination as outlined in the 2024 Practical (portfolio) examination requirements.

The submission requirements state that:

Candidates must submit their practical (portfolio) examination through the school. Files must be saved in Portable Document Format (PDF) and submitted on a USB drive. A candidate’s practical (portfolio) examination submission must include:

• an A5 clear plastic document wallet (provided by the Authority)
• an identification label with the candidate’s WA student number (WASN) affixed to the top right-hand corner of the flap of the wallet
• a digital copy of the Design practical (portfolio) saved with the file name [WASN]_portfolio.pdf
  (e.g. 12345678_portfolio.pdf)
• a digital copy of the completed References/acknowledgements form saved as
  [WASN]_references.pdf (e.g. 12345678_references.pdf).

Teachers and students should refer to the 2024 Practical (portfolio) examination requirements for further information.

Music ATAR course practical (performance and/or composition portfolio) examination – Information summary sheet/s and Information collection form/s

Contact
Dianne Rogers (08) 9273 6772
dianne.rogers@scsa.wa.edu.au

The Information summary sheet/s and Information collection form/s have been sent to schools to arrive by Thursday, 2 May 2024.

The pack has been sent to the Music teacher through the principal and includes instructions and the date for returning completed materials to the School Curriculum and Standards Authority.

Physical Education Studies ATAR course practical (performance) examination: sport elective data collection

Contact
Tanya Andrew (08) 9273 6394
tanya.andrew@scsa.wa.edu.au

A pack containing documentation to gather sport elective data (sport and skill level) for the 2024 Physical Education Studies ATAR course practical (performance) examination has been sent to schools to arrive by Thursday, 2 May 2024.

This pack has been sent to the Physical Education Studies teacher through the principal and includes instructions and the date for returning completed materials to the School Curriculum and Standards Authority.

Calculators in the Year 12 ATAR course examinations 2024

Contact
Barclay Jones (08) 9273 6309
barclay.jones@scsa.wa.edu.au

Information relating to approved use of calculators in designated Year 12 ATAR course written examinations for 2024 is provided in the:

• syllabus design brief
• Appendix C: Materials required/recommended for written examinations 2024 of the Year 12 Information Handbook 2024 - Part I: Information for all students, located on the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (the Authority) website at https://scsa.wa.edu.au/publications/year-12-information
• the front cover of the ATAR course examinations that are scheduled for release in August 2024.

Calculators may be used in designated 2024 course written examinations, as stated in Appendix C: Materials Required/Recommended for Written Examinations 2024. It is crucial to adhere to the specified guidelines regarding the type of calculators permitted, as indicated by a key corresponding to each ATAR course examination. Failure to comply with these guidelines may be considered a breach of examination rules, potentially resulting in penalties.

ATAR course written examinations late arrival

Contact
Barclay Jones (08) 9273 6309
barclay.jones@scsa.wa.edu.au

It is mandatory candidates arrive at the examination centre at least 30 minutes before the prescribed start time for an examination (8.50 am for morning sessions and 1.30 pm for afternoon sessions). Supervisors will instruct candidates to enter the examination room approximately 20 minutes before the prescribed start time to facilitate administrative procedures and provide essential examination instructions.

Candidates will not be permitted to enter the examination room after the initial 30 minutes of the allocated working time. For all Mathematics course examinations, candidates will not be permitted to enter the examination room after the initial 30 minutes of Section One: calculator free working time.

If arriving after the instructions have commenced for any examination, candidates must read and sign a declaration confirming their understanding of crucial information pertinent to sitting the written examination.

Students’ marks for Externally Set Tasks 2024

Contact
Kerry Tarrant (08) 9273 6770
kerry.tarrant@scsa.wa.edu.au

Schools are reminded that all students enrolled in a Year 12 General course and/or a Year 12 Foundation course are required to complete the externally set task (EST) developed by the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (the Authority) for that course.

The EST is compulsory and forms part of the school-based assessment. The EST is included in the assessment table in the Year 12 General and Foundation syllabuses for all courses as a separate assessment type with a weighting of 15 per cent for the pair of units.

Schools are required to administer the ESTs during a period designated by the Authority (Weeks 4, 5 and 6 in Term 2 – Monday, 6 May to Friday, 24 May 2024). Detailed information about the administration of ESTs is outlined in the Externally Set Task Handbook 2024 and can be accessed on the Authority website:
https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/assessment/externally-set-tasks.

Schools are required to upload into SIRS the raw total mark for each student in the EST for each course by the beginning of Week 7 (Monday, 27 May).This mark will be out of the total indicated on the appropriate EST marking key for the course, which is provided by the Authority.

A mark of zero (0) should only be used if the student has attempted the assessment but received no marks. Only use ‘ABS’ for absent students.

Information relating to the recording, saving and uploading of EST marks are contained in Section 6: Externally set tasks in the Data Procedures Manual 2024 which is available on the Authority website: https://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/publications/data-procedures-manual.

A complete list of EST codes can be found on the Authority website:
https://www.scsa.wa.edu.au/sirs-and-srms-info/sirs-information/est-codes.

For issues relating to the information contained in the Data Procedures Manual 2024, contact the Data Services team at dataservices@scsa.wa.edu.au. For other queries, please refer to page 11 of the Externally Set Task Handbook 2024 for the relevant contact details within the Authority.

Final dates for Year 12 students to withdraw from courses 2024 – timeline

Contact
Perpetua Joseph (08) 9273 6771
Perpetua.Joseph@scsa.wa.edu.au

Schools are informed of the final dates to withdraw Year 12 students from courses:

• Thursday, 18 July 2024 – final date for withdrawing students from ATAR courses with practical examination components. No changes can be made to student enrolments in these courses after this date.
• Monday, 5 August 2024 – final date for withdrawing students from ATAR courses without practical examination components. No changes can be made to student enrolments in these courses after this date.
• Monday, 5 August 2024 – final date for withdrawing students from General, Foundation, Preliminary and Vocational Education and Training (VET) industry specific courses. No changes can be made to student enrolments in these courses after this date.

As withdrawing from a course is a significant decision, the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (the Authority) strongly encourages students and their schools to use the Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) checker to understand the possible impact of their decision on WACE achievement. The WACE checker is available on the Authority website: https://wacechecker.scsa.wa.edu.au/.

Schools are reminded that students who are enrolled in a Year 12 ATAR course must sit the external examination in that course to meet course completion requirements. For ATAR courses with practical components, students must sit both the written and practical examinations.

If students do not sit an ATAR course examination and do not have an approved sickness/misadventure application for that course, the grades for the pair of units completed in that year will not contribute to the calculation of the WACE.

As a consequence, a student may not meet the requirements to receive a WACE.

Online Student Declaration and Permission

Contact
Kerry Tarrant (08) 9273 6770
kerry.tarrant@scsa.wa.edu.au

This is an early reminder that the completion date for the online Student Declaration and Permission is Thursday, 22 August 2024 as per the 2024 Activities Schedule.

Information about the online Student Declaration and Permission procedure was sent to schools on Thursday, 15 February 2024.

Please advise students about the purpose of the Student Declaration and Permission and encourage them to discuss this with their parents/guardians/carers prior to completion.

The purpose of this is to enable students to give their permission for:

• release of their name should they win an award

The Authority award winners are published in the media and on the Authority’s website if permission to do so.

• use of schoolwork for creating support materials

The Authority is seeking permission for the use of schoolwork produced during 2024 e.g. assignments, projects, portfolios, tests, school-based examination responses.

• use of examination responses (written and practical)

The Authority is seeking permission for the use of:

• ATAR course written and practical examination responses (copyright owned by the student); and
• images and sound recordings of the student in photographs, audio recordings and audiovisual recordings that are made during the ATAR course practical examinations (copyright owned by the State of Western Australia).

Further information about the online Student Declaration and Permission is available on the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (the Authority) website at:
https://senior-secondary.scsa.wa.edu.au/the-wace/student-declaration.

The student portal login link is: https://studentportal.scsa.wa.edu.au/.

For further information to help students log in to the student portal and complete the online Student Declaration and Permission, please refer to the Student login and navigation guide, which is available on the Authority website at: https://student.scsa.wa.edu.au/student-portal.

Schools can monitor in SIRS which students have completed the online Student Declaration and Permission by generating the Report CSE058 – Student Release Choices by Provider.

The pathway to the report CSE058 is: Reports > Other reports > Report type: Students, Report: CSE058.

The Authority appreciates your assistance in obtaining this important information.