STUDENT REPORT CARDS   -----    SOME FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Information relating to Student Report cards can be found at:    http://www.education.vic.gov.au/studentlearning/studentreports/schools/default.htm                    

Coverage of domains and dimensions within semesters

As advised on the student reporting website, the minimum expectation of schools in 2007 is that they will design curriculum and assess and report against the following domains of the Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS):

• ·         English
• ·         Mathematics
• ·         Health and Physical Education
• ·         Personal Learning
• ·         Civics and Citizenship
• ·         The Humanities
• ·         Economics
• ·         Geography
• ·         History
• ·         Communication
• ·         ICT.

This doesn’t mean that all schools are required to offer all of these domains every semester nor are they required to teach each dimension within the domain every semester. They may for example wish to offer ‘Compact’ programs (that redistribute time so that a two semester course can be offered in one semester) to allow for flexibility in curriculum provision. It is however important that schools are aware of the impact of designing curriculum in this way. Advice in relation to this is available on the student reporting website at: http://www.eduweb.vic.gov.au/edulibrary/public/teachlearn/student/achieve1semesterdomains.doc

Students with disabilities

A number of queries have related to reporting options for students with disabilities, and in particular whether the option of using a different format from the new report card only applies to funded PSD students. On the website we refer to ‘students with disabilities (PSD students) following an Individual Learning Plan’. Please note that this can also include students who are not actually funded, but who the school has determined should be on an Individual Learning Plan. It is assumed that each of these students is having regular Student Support Group meetings which determine agreed educational goals and monitor the student’s progress according to those goals. All students in this situation must receive reports and have progress reported against their educational goals however the format of that report can be determined at the school level.

It is also worth noting that many students funded under the PSD program will be working at expected levels. These students should not require an alternative report format.

Learning Goals and Educational Planning

A number of schools have asked whether it is necessary to include information about what the school will do to support the student’s future learning, advice about the what the parents can do and identification by secondary students of their personal learning goals. They should be reminded about the following mandatory requirements detailed on the student reporting website at: http://www.education.vic.gov.au/studentlearning/studentreports/schools/mandatedcomponents.htm:

Some areas may be deleted (this does NOT include the graphics for achievement and work habits, ‘what the students has achieved’, ‘areas for improvement/future learning’ and attendance) but only if they are provided in a different format, for example in a student portfolio, at the same time as the report to ensure that parents have a full picture of their child’s progress and what is required for their future learning.

Students Studying a VCE Unit in Year 10

Students studying a VCE unit in Year 10 should be receiving a VCE Report for that Unit instead of the Student Report format for P-10 VELs.

Email contact addresses are available for you on the website.

Susan Kelly

Manager: Curriculum Support

Barwon-South Western Region