Assessment Policy

​Why have assessment policies?

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All programs of study include student assessment items that must be completed. Teachers use these assessment items to make accurate judgements about each student’s demonstrated skills and knowledge in a course of study.

The conditions under which assessment items are completed (e.g. the due date) allow all students to demonstrate their skills and knowledge under fair and equitable conditions.

What is assessment?

Assessment includes all components of a course, which a teacher uses to formally evaluate a student’s demonstrated performance in that course.

Assessment can include, but is not limited to:

Completion of course work

All students must complete all of the course work prescribed for a course of study. If all work is not completed one or more of the following consequences may apply:

1. Credit for the semester of study concerned may be withdrawn. This would mean that no result for the subject would be recorded on the student’s Q.C.E. In these circumstances, O.P. eligibility may be affected.
2. Students may not be permitted to progress to the next semester of study in the subject.
3. Cancellation of enrolment procedures may begin.
4. The subject will still appear on the student’s school report with appropriate rating and comment. 

Submission of assignments

Assignments​ must be submitted during the lesson of the applicable subject on the due date. If the applicable subject is not scheduled on the due date, the assignment must be submitted to the appropriate Head of Department or to the office by 3pm of that same day.

Late assessment

If an assignment is submitted late (without prior special consideration being granted) the assignment will be assessed and graded for feedback purposes only. The only result recorded for that assignment would be based on draft work completed by the student, in class, and evidenced by the teacher. Computer or other technology failure is not a valid reason for late submission of assessment.

Occasionally, as a consequence of unforeseen circumstances, special consideration for late submission of assessment may be applied after the event, for illness, accident or bereavement occurring on or before the day of submission. Documentation (e.g. a medical certificate) must be provided.

What if I am absent from school on the due date?

Absence from school on the due date is not a valid reason for not submitting an assignment on time. If a student is unable to attend school on the day an assignment is due he/she must do one of the following:

1. Have a parent or guardian contact the school office and arrange delivery of the assignment to school before 10.30am.
   
2. Send the assignment with a friend, to be delivered to the school office by 10.30am.
3. Email digital copy of assessment to class teacher using a confirmation receipt, providing a hard copy upon return.

If illness or injury prevents any of the above options a parent or guardian must contact the school office so that the information can be passed to the subject teacher and Head of Department. A medical certificate must be provided on the student’s return to school – see unforeseen circumstances above.

Plagiarism

Unacknowledged copying from other sources and/ or other students, in whole or in part, is strictly forbidden. If plagiarism is found in an assignment, the lowest possible grade will be awarded.

Application for special consideration

A request for special consideration must be made through the appropriate Head of Department and a Student Application – Special Consideration form completed. Requests for special consideration must be made a reasonable time (i.e. when the circumstances for special consideration arise) prior to the due date of an assessment item.

“Special consideration is the granting of exemption to, or the provision of special arrangements for, students with special needs.”

Exemption - fairness to all students and the integrity of the results reported on the Q.C.E. requires that no student be exempted from meeting any of the substantive requirements of the syllabus, for any reason. However, in cases of special consideration schools may decide to exempt students from non-substantive subject requirements.

Special arrangements - ‘special arrangements’ refer to practical arrangements to vary the conditions under which assessment occurs ….” (Queensland Studies Authority Policy Statement on Special Consideration).

Students with special needs may include, but are not limited to, students:

A request for special consideration will usually be made under the following circumstances:

1. Special Arrangements - Application for ‘special arrangements’ to learning and assessment procedures for students with ‘special needs’ must be made at the commencement of the course of study.
2. Extension to Assessment Due Date - Circumstances under which an extension of time for an assessment item can be granted include only:
• extenuating personal/ family situations e.g. a family bereavement
• illness or injury

Documentation (e.g. a medical certificate) must be provided to substantiate reasons for the extension.