Key Assessments at WPS
Kindergarten - Best Start, Phonological Awareness Diagnostic testing, phonemic awareness and phonic knowledge assessments throughout the year. Number assessments throughout the year.
Year 1 and Year 2 - Phonics Check (Year 1), Phonological Awareness Diagnostic testing, InitiaLit assessments, Number assessments.
Year 3 and Year 4 - NAPLAN (Year 3), Check-Ins (Year 4), Phonics Screener (Year 3), PLD Spelling Assessments each term, Number assessments, PAT testing in Reading, Spelling and Mathematics.
Year 5 and Year 6 - NAPLAN (Year 5), Check-Ins (Year 6), PLD Assessments each term, Number assessments, PAT testing in Reading, Spelling and Mathematics.
While these are our major whole-school class-based assessments, each class also undertakes additional ongoing assessment in all key learning areas to track student growth.
Students are referred to our Learning Support Team and considered for additional support through an intervention program. Any student offered a placement in an intervention program will be given a note to seek parent/caregiver permission to participate.
Our teachers use a variety of strategies to assess student learning. These include observing work in class and looking closely at tasks throughout the year.
Twice a year, teachers formally assess a student’s achievement based on the outcomes described in the syllabus of each subject. A written report using the common grade scale is sent home in the first half of the year, usually near the end of Term 2, and again in Term 4. This gives a clear picture of your child’s learning.
Assessments
We provide detailed information to students about what we expect from them throughout the year and how their work will be assessed. Students have a number of formal assessments throughout their schooling.
- Best Start – a mandatory, one-to-one assessment that identifies a student’s literacy and numeracy skills at the beginning of Kindergarten.
- National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) – reading, writing, language conventions (spelling, punctuation and grammar) and numeracy tests for students in Years 3 and 5. The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) holds the tests in May each year. Results and student reports are released in August.
- Validation of Assessment for Learning and Individual Development (VALID) – online diagnostic science assessment for students in Year 6.
- Some students may elect to sit the opportunity class or selective high school placement tests. For more information, visit selective high schools and opportunity classes.