[Year 12 IT Apps] VELS and progression points

[Timmer-Arends]

Hello Paula

As you say 'The VELS clearly encourages schools to determine the most appropriate ways of delivering the standards', however its intent is being distorted, at least at secondary (esp I suspect upper secondary) by the reporting process. I know VCAA doesn't have anthing to do with this but judging by the tone of the docs from the people that do, they don't seem to want to know (in fact they appear to argue that it is our programs that are distorting the reports!). It seems to me that if VCAA wants to see certain educational principles upheld then it ought to get involved in the debate.

Regards
Robert T-A
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Christophersen, Paula P 
  To: Year 12 IT Applications Teachers' Mailing List ; Year 7 - 10 Information Technology Teachers' Mailing List 
  Sent: Monday, June 18, 2007 3:51 PM
  Subject: [Year 12 IT Apps] VELS and progression points


  Dear colleagues



  Apologies for crossing into the IT apps territory, but this has been the venue for some VELS discussion. I'm a little late in joining in on this discussion, but I would like to clarify some points that have been made.



  Progression points represent markers of student progress at several points towards the standards. VCAA has published examples that accompany each progression point and the purpose of these examples is to:

  ·         Support teachers to determine if a student is achieving as expected at a particular time of schooling

  ·         Assist teachers to make on-balance judgments about progress towards the standards for the purpose of reporting to parents.



  The examples at each progression point are illustrative of student progress rather than prescriptive, and they have not been written for every element of a standard. This is deliberate because it means they cannot be used as a syllabus. The VELS clearly encourages schools to determine the most appropriate ways of delivering the standards. The VCAA examples for each progression point should not determine how schools design their curriculum. As from the discussion, some schools run intense semester-based programs; others run totally integrated programs over a 2-year period to coincide with a VELS level; and the options between are plenty.



  Schools are encouraged to develop their own examples of student progress for each progression point, to match their courses of study. The standards are the benchmarks, however, schools have the flexibility to determine how students will progress from one level to another. It is therefore important that schools determine the specific evidence or characteristics that must be demonstrated in student work at each progression point and at each level.



  I would strongly urge schools to use the VCAA progression point examples as a starting point for discussion - on what basis is student progress being measured? Breadth/depth of coverage? Level of precision? Level of cognition? Etc It is important that your school identifies the evidence or characteristics expected to be seen in student work during a reporting period so that you can make an on-balance judgment as to whether the student is progressing as expected. Documenting this evidence in examples of progress is an effective way of establishing the stepping stones between each standard.



  For further reading visit http://vels.vcaa.vic.edu.au/whatsnew.html#1 and download the PowerPoint file.



  VCAA is not responsible for the reporting side of things, so if you have any queries, I suggest you contact Denise Jacobsson (jacobsson.denise.k at edumail.vic.gov.au) or Maurie Sheehan (sheehan.maurice.j at edumail.vic.gov.au) for expert answers.



  Regards

  Paula



  Paula Christophersen

  ICT Curriculum Manager

  Victorian Curriculum and Assessment

  Authority

  41 St Andrews Place

  EAST MELBOURNE 3002

  Phone: 03 9651 4378

  Fax: 03 9651 4324




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