Procedures for Assessment for National Qualifications

RATIONALE

Systems for assessment for National Qualifications will be valid, consistent, fair and accurate.  They will result in assessment outcomes for Kelston Boys’ High School students that will be highly regarded by the community.

PURPOSE

 To ensure fairness of assessment for all students. 

  • To ensure school-wide consistency of internal assessment procedures. 
  • To define roles and responsibilities of staff and students. 
  •  To meet NZQA requirements for internal assessment. 

PROCEDURES

Course Information

Within two weeks of the start of the year teachers provide students with a course outline and assessment plan either on paper or digitally.  These include  

  • topics to be covered 
  • titles and credit values of standards to be assessed against (all standards – both internal and external). Include registered number, full title, version and credit value 
  • timing and nature of assessment activities and further assessment opportunity guidelines 
  • record sheets for students to track their progress  
  • reference to the student assessment guidelines. 

Storage of Assessed Work

 Completed assessments should be stored by faculties to refer to in the case of an appeal (note appeal time limit) or for external moderation purposes.  If faculties store completed assessments, it should be done in a secure and readily retrievable way.  Where storage of student work is impractical or unnecessary, student signatures on feedback sheets or coversheets showing acceptance of the final assessment grade is adequate.   

Breaches of the Rules 

Breaches of the rules include cheating, collusion, plagiarism and hindering others. If there is a question about whether breaches of the rules have occurred then the class teacher will notify the Head of Faculty/ Principal’s Nominee.  The student will be interviewed and may be asked to offer proof of authenticity (drafts etc).  Students suspected of having offered inappropriate help to their peers are also interviewed.   

 If the Head of Faculty judges that a breach of the rules has occurred the student will gain no credit for that item of work.   The parents/caregivers will be contacted.   

 Further penalties may be imposed by Senior Management.   The seriousness of the penalty will be dependent on the seriousness of the breach of the rule that has occurred. 

Procedures for Missed Assessments

Accumulated evidence for the particular standard being assessed can be used to determine a grade.  No grade can be given if sufficient evidence is not available.    

If a student cannot hand in an assignment on time, or do an in-class test or practical activity on the day, then they must apply to their teacher as soon as they know they will be late with an assignment or will be absent, or as soon as they return to school.  Valid reasons for requesting an extension of time or a new assessment date include: 

  • Sickness:  a medical certificate or other supporting evidence must be supplied 
  • Family trauma:  a note from the Guidance Counsellor or House Leader must be supplied.   Parents should contact the Guidance Counsellor or House Leader.  
  • School sporting/cultural activity:  the teacher in charge of the activity signs the 'Missed Assessment' form.  (Note: this reason is only valid if the student informs the teacher in advance of the assessment or due date.) 

In all cases, a ‘Missed Assessment’ application form must be filled in and given to the teacher concerned.  Requests for extension of time must be made before the due date. 

Based on the information presented in the ‘Missed Assessment’ application, the Head of Faculty and/or Principal’s Nominee may decide to: 

  • Grant an extension 
  • Set a new assessment date 
  • Deny the application and award no grade for the standard(s) concerned. 

APPEALS

Students may appeal decisions regarding the outcomes of internal assessment, where no grade is awarded because of a missed assessment and where the student has allegedly breached the rules. 

Students have five school days after they are notified of the result to appeal a decision. 

The appeals pathway is from students to their class teacher, to the Head of Department, and then to the Principal’s Nominee.   

If an appeal results in any change to the judgment criteria for the standard, the change needs to be applied to all student work.   

Appeal application forms are in the Student Guidelines and are available from the Principal’s Nominee 

Appeals Procedure

  1. Teacher allows students to check that they agree with the results given.  If a student thinks that work has been incorrectly assessed they can ask the teacher to reconsider. 
  2. The teacher should explain the result and make any necessary alterations.  
  3. If a student is unhappy with the teacher's explanation, they may ask the Head of Faculty for a decision, using an appeals form.  This must be done within one week of the work being handed back. 
  4. If the student disagrees with the Head of Faculty’s decision, they may ask the Principal’s Nominee to consider the case.  The Principal’s Nominee may consult with the Head of Faculty/Department, Year Level Dean, Guidance Counsellor and/or family.  

RESUBMISSIONS AND REASSESSMENTS

Resubmission

  • can only be offered to individual students to identify or correct a minor error preventing the award of a higher grade
  • must take place as soon as possible after the assessment has been completed
  • can only be offered where the teacher judges the student should be capable of discovering and correcting the minor errors themselves in a short period of time
  • can be offered after either the first or the one further assessment opportunity.
  • If there are a lot of changes to be made, or they are significant, it is not a resubmission.
  • Teachers must only give general feedback and must take care not to over-direct the students. They must ensure that students’ work is authentic.
  • Only one resubmission can be provided per assessment event.
  • Further teaching and specific feedback cannot occur between the final submission date and the resubmission.
  • A student must have access to any grade after a resubmission (Not achieved, Achieved, Merit and Excellence).
  • The amount of time provided for a resubmission depends on the nature of the assessment and how authenticity can be assured.
  • Resubmission rules for Industry Training Organisation owned unit standards may differ. You must follow the rules of the standard setting body.

Reassessment Opportunity

A reassessment opportunity is where the student is given a new assessment to complete. Further teaching can take place and feedback can be given on the previous assessment.

A student must have access to any grade after a resubmission (Not achieved, Achieved, Merit and Excellence).