Quality Assurance
processes
What was the focus?
Assessment
Component
Specifications
Assessment
Design
Criteria
Task
Specifications
Reliable
Assessment
Decisions
Context

Chief Assessors’ Report 2015

'best practice task design also features careful selection of assessment
design criteria' (p.3)

‘…the task set must reflect the definition of a folio task‘(p. 3).

‘…well-designed tasks supported student achievement and were
associated with more-reliable assessment decisions' ( p. 5).
Concerns – Assessment Practice

Assessment tasks not fully reflecting subject specifications,

Incorporation of a significant number of non-specified assessment
design criteria


Dilutes emphasis of assessment decisions specific to the assessment
component, and
Task specifications that require students to complete complex tasks
within very ‘tight’ specifications.
Timeline
2014
2015
2016
• Stage 2 Moderation process
• Moderators identify task design as a factor influencing reliability
of teachers’ assessment decisions.
• Clarifying Forum – focus on task design for Practical Activities
• Moderation team reiterate concerns
• Clarifying Forum – focus on task design for Folio Activities
• Moderation team identify best practice examples of task
design.
Concepts

Validity -‘the extent to which the outcome of the assessment
measures what it has been designed to measure’. (Institute of
Educational Assessors, 2015)

Reliability -‘the degree in which an assessment tool produces stable
and consistent results’ (Institute of Educational Assessors, 2015).

Cognitive Demand- ‘the knowledge and development of
intellectual skills’ required by a task (Institute of Educational
Assessors, 2015).
A closer look …

Assessment Type 2: Practical Activity (25%)
In this assessment type, students develop and demonstrate practical tourism skills.
A practical activity is an assessment that in most cases is undertaken beyond the classroom and involves
the collection of information from primary sources. This could be undertaken as a class or group. A
practical activity may be a field trip where students gather information from primary sources through
observation and recording during a visit to a site or activities of tourism interest or relevance. Primary
sources could include surveys, interviews, observations, counts, photographs, and field sketches.
Students use primary sources of information to explain and make connections between their findings
and their knowledge of tourism concepts and/or models, and secondary sources of information about
tourism.
Students present each practical activity in a form that is a maximum of 1000 words for a written text or a
maximum of 6 minutes for an oral presentation, or the equivalent in multimodal form.
Knowledge and Understanding
The specific features are as follows:
KU1 Understanding of tourism knowledge.
KU2 Knowledge and understanding of tourism concepts
and models in different contexts — familiar and less familiar.
Analysis and Evaluation
The specific features are as follows:
 .
AE1 Interpretation
and critical analysis of different
perspectives on tourism trends, developments, and/or
contemporary issues.
AE2 Evaluation of the validity, bias, and accuracy of
sources of information.
AE3 Analysis and evaluation of tourism concepts and
models.
AE4 Development of informed opinions, conclusions, and
recommendations
Investigation and Application
The specific features are as follows:
IA1 Investigation and critical analysis of connections
between primary and secondary sources of information.
IA2 Application of practical tourism skills in different
contexts.
IA3 Investigation of tourism trends, developments, and/or
contemporary issues.
IA4 Application of tourism knowledge, and tourism
concepts and models in different contexts — local,
national, and global.
Communication
The specific features are as follows:
C1 Communication of informed ideas about tourism, using
appropriate forms to suit the purpose and audience.
C2 Appropriate use of tourism terminology.
C3 Incorporation of a variety of visual and graphical
evidence (e.g. maps, photographs, data tables, statistical
data, charts, drawings, graphs).
C4 Appropriate acknowledgment of sources of
information.
Assessment Component
A practical activity is an assessment that in most cases is
undertaken beyond the classroom and involves the
collection of information from primary sources.
This could be undertaken as a class or group. A practical
activity may be a field trip where students gather
information from primary sources through observation and
recording during a visit to a site or activities of tourism
interest or relevance.
IA2 Application of practical tourism skills in different
contexts.
Primary sources could include surveys, interviews,
observations, counts, photographs, and field sketches.
Students use primary sources of information to explain and
make connections between their findings and their
knowledge of tourism concepts and/or models, and
secondary sources of information about tourism.
KU2 Knowledge and understanding of tourism concepts
and models in different contexts — familiar and less familiar.
IA1 Investigation and critical analysis of connections
between primary and secondary sources of information.
IA4 Application of tourism knowledge, and tourism
concepts and models in different contexts — local,
national, and global.
Students present each practical activity in a form that is a
C1 Communication of informed ideas about tourism, using
maximum of 1000 words for a written text or a maximum of 6 appropriate forms to suit the purpose and audience.
minutes for an oral presentation, or the equivalent in
multimodal form.
What did this achieve?

Professional discussion

Building confidence in Clarifying Forum participants


2017 - Reflective discussion regarding application of assessment
concepts,

Developing professional network
Emphasis of benefit of assessment based, hands-on PD
Where to from here …

Clarifying forums moving from live to online formats in 2018

Importance of selection of assessment task samples for SACE minisites

Role for Teachers’ Associations in supporting assessment literacy