December 2018
Report on ICT literacy shows stable results
We have published the 2017 ICT literacy report, which shows that national student performance in ICT literacy has remained stable compared to the previous sample assessments held in 2014.
Read more
My School updated with 2018 student attendance data
The My School website has been updated with school student attendance rates for Term 3, 2018.
Attendance data are reported on all students, Indigenous students and non-Indigenous students. Data are suppressed where student numbers are less than, or equal to, five students.
This update follows on from the release of Semester 1 student attendance data in November 2018. Attendance data reporting is a COAG (Council of Australian Governments) initiative to help improve learning outcomes by monitoring attendance. Data are reported twice a year, for Semester 1 (Terms 1 and 2) and Term 3.
Also updated is 2017 data for senior secondary outcomes and VET in schools.
New work samples available
ACARA has published work samples for Foundation – Year 10: Languages and Years 7–10: Economics and Business on the Australian Curriculum website.
The work sample portfolios have been selected, annotated and reviewed by classroom teachers and curriculum experts. The portfolio for Languages allows teachers to compare work samples that are at satisfactory level, and Economics and Business work samples at or above satisfactory level.
The portfolios support teachers and schools to make balanced judgements of student performance over time, in relation to the relevant achievement standards in the Australian Curriculum.
Languages
The languages included in the new work samples portfolios are:
- Indonesian
- Chinese
- Japanese
- Italian
- French.
The collection and annotation of more languages work samples, including Arabic, German, Korean, Modern Greek, Spanish and Vietnamese, are currently underway and are expected to be published on the Australian Curriculum website in 2019.
Economic and business
The Economics and Business work samples show Years 7–10 students’ knowledge of entrepreneurship, consumer literacy, contemporary business practices and economic analysis. The work samples also contain examples of students’ works demonstrating their skills in local and global contexts.
Work samples can be viewed on the Australian Curriculum website.
New parent newsletter
We recently launched Parent Update, a monthly e-newsletter to help parents keep up to date with education matters and answer some of the questions we often get, such as ‘What’s in the Australian Curriculum?' and 'How can I choose the right school for my child?'
We would love you to share this with your parent networks. We also welcome any feedback and suggestions for content and articles to ensure the information is interesting and useful for parents.
Subscribe to the Parent Update.
ACARA’s offices close at noon on Friday 21 December 2018 and reopen on Monday 7 January 2019.
We would like to wish everyone a safe and happy festive period!