A system of 100% school-based assessment has operated in Queensland for more than 40 years.

In the new system, subject results will be based on a student’s achievement in three school-based assessments and one external assessment that is set and marked by the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA).

This is fewer assessments than students currently complete — emphasising quality over quantity.

In the new system, the external assessment results will generally contribute 25% towards a student’s result in most subjects. In mathematics and science subjects, it will generally contribute 50%. The school-based assessments will not be scaled by the results of the external assessment when calculating a student’s subject result.

The new system will keep all the qualities inherent in school-based assessment while introducing greater consistency and the transparency of common assessments that are sat by students at all schools.

School-based assessment

In the new QCE system, moderation processes known as Endorsement and Confirmation will help to ensure the quality and comparability of school-based assessment.

New syllabuses will also provide teachers with more specific parameters for developing school-based assessments in each subject. This will include the type of assessment, the conditions under which it should be administered and a common marking scheme.

School-based assessments will contribute 75% towards a student’s final result in most subjects. In maths and science subjects, it will generally contribute 50%.

Endorsement

Assessors trained by the QCAA will endorse school-based assessment instruments before they are used with students.

Endorsement will ensure that these instruments provide sufficient opportunities for students to demonstrate syllabus requirements.

QCAA has conducted Endorsement trials in 11 subjects across 350 schools with more than 900 teachers participating.

Confirmation

Confirmation is the process or reviewing and confirming teachers' judgments about the qualities of student work.

QCAA assessors will participate in Confirmation training and Calibration activities to fine-tune their capacity to make judgments about how well students have achieved against the standards prescribed in the syllabuses.

More than 800 teachers have participated in Calibration trials.

For more information on Endorsement and Confirmation please see the Resources and support for school communities page.

External assessment

QCAA will conduct external assessment for Digital Solutions.

The external assessment will be:

• developed in close consultation with subject experts drawn from schools, subject associations and universities;

• aligned to the syllabus; and

• administered under secure conditions, and graded externally.

Results and reporting

Schools will be provided with details of individual student achievement and cohort analysis at the end of each assessment.

Annotated sample responses

External Assessment