Grammar Gazette- Issue 1, 2016

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THE CHANGING FACE OF SENIOR STUDIES — PLANNING FOR AND INFLUENCING THE FUTURE

AUTHOR Mr James Keogh Dean of Studies and Learning Analytics

• External Assessment Trials — trialling and reporting on future assessment processes • Assessors Trials — staff trained to assess and endorse assessment items for use within the State • Endorsement Trials — trialling processes by which assessment items are assessed and endorsed for use. In 2014, the Queensland Government initiated a revitalisation of the Senior Studies system in response to a Queensland Government-commissioned review, conducted by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). The key features of the revised system for parents and students to note are: • The earliest date for the full commencement of the new system is for students commencing Year 11 in 2018, this being our current Year 9 students. • The nature of the review was to ensure a senior education assessment and tertiary entrance system that would meet future demands while remaining fair and reliable in its outcomes. • The features of the new system will include: • continuation of school-based assessments • the addition of common external assessments within subjects • amended comparability processes for school-based assessments • for tertiary entrance, a move from an Overall Position (OP) to an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank (ATAR), the ATAR being a more fine-grained scale than the current OP. For further information please visit the QCAA’s Guide for Parents https://www.qcaa.qld.edu.au/downloads/senior/ snr_assessment_trials_parent_update.pdf

BRISBANE GIRLS GRAMMAR SCHOOL’S LEADERSHIP IN ACADEMIC RIGOUR HAS BEEN RECOGNISED WITH A NUMBER OF STAFF ACROSS DISCIPLINES BEING SELECTED AS REPRESENTATIVES FOR QUEENSLAND CURRICULUM AND ASSESSMENT AUTHORITY (QCAA) PANELS WORKING ON A REVISED SENIOR STUDIES SYSTEM. The appointment of Girls Grammar staff to various working groups that will review syllabuses and assessment processes reflects the strength of the academic staff’s subject and pedagogical knowledge. Staff have volunteered their time and expertise to ensure Brisbane Girls Grammar School has the opportunity to be actively involved in, and help shape, the development of the new senior system. This also allows direct feedback into our teaching and learning community to ensure we have a planned and progressive change programme that will ensure we continue to provide outstanding educational opportunities to our girls, both now and into the future. Staff are involved in the following QCAA programmes: • Learning Area Reference Group committees — committees that oversee syllabus development in subject areas and provide advice to the QCAA’s Senior Review Steering Committee • Syllabus Expert Writing Teams — teams charged with writing subject-specific syllabus documents for the new system

AUTUMN ISSUE / 2016