The school determines tasks for units 1 and 2 assessment. Marks are not reported to the VCAA. Students will receive a Satisfactory or Unsatisfactory grade for all units and this is reported to VCAA. 

All studies have both school assessment and examination(s). School-assessed coursework (SAC) is made up of a number of assessment tasks that are specified in the study design. School-assessed coursework is part of the regular teaching and learning program and must be completed in class time within a limited time frame.

A small number of studies have school-assessed tasks (SAT). These are used in studies where products and models are assessed (e.g. Art Creative Practice, Visual Communication, etc.).

Students gain a Study Score out of 50 for each subject at Unit 3/4 level.

SACs and SATs form part of the Study Score for the unit, along with examination results. SATs and SACs are marked by the class teacher. SAT and SAC marks are reported to the VCAA and the results form part of the ATAR (Australian Tertiary Admission Rank - with rankings up to 99.95). The remaining part of your ATAR is comprised of your exam results.

School-assessed coursework (SAC) has to take place in class time. Therefore, students must attend school for their SAC sessions. Students are required to read and follow the Rules for the Conduct of VCE SAC's at PHSC. 

At the beginning of each sac, students must sign a declaration that they abide by the rules and instructions relating to the assessment. In order to minimise authentication problems, school-assessed coursework tasks will be undertaken mainly during class-time.  

The following rules will apply if a student is absent from a SAC session:

  • If they were away and have a medical certificate they will be given an opportunity to undertake the task at another time to be negotiated between the student, teacher and VCE Coordinator.
  • If they do not have a medical certificate, they will get a zero for that SAC.
  • If a student misses part of a SAC, and has a medical certificate, consideration will be given for the time lost.
  • If a student misses part of a SAC, but does not have a medical certificate, consideration will not be given for time lost, and the work will be marked as presented.
  • If a situation of extreme illness or hardship develops, Special Provision may be applied and other arrangements made in liaison with the Sub School Leader. 

SAC dates are indicated on the Individual student compass schedules. Please note these dates are indicative only and may change due to unforeseen circumstances.

School-assessed Tasks (SAT)

The following rules will apply for submission of SAT's:

  • If they were away and have a medical certificate they will be considered for Special Provision. The student will be given an opportunity to submit at another date to be negotiated between the student, teacher and VCE Coordinator.

  • If they do not have a medical certificate, they will get a zero for that SAT.

  • If  a student is concerned about submission of SATs by due dates they should see the YLC asap.
     

    SAT dates are indicated on Individual student compass schedules.

A teacher will not accept your work if they believe that it has been copied from somewhere else. To show the teacher that your work is your own, you must:

  1. Regularly complete work in class.
  2. Hand in work regularly throughout the semester. Show the teacher drafts of work when required.
  3. Keep ALL drafts, notes etc. until the end of assessment.
  4. Student must sign the appropriate VASS Authentication Record form for work completed outside of the regular class.

If a teacher believes a student has not followed the VCAA rules and the work is not the students own, they will report it as a breach of rules. See VCAA Rules for authentication of school-based assessment.

Breaches of the rules for the conduct of assessments are considered an infringement of VCAA assessment rules and guidelines and will be investigated as per VCAA requirements. The investigations will be conducted by the Senior Sub School Leader, Assistant Principal and/or Principal and subsequent penalties will occur as determined by the Principal.

Submission of work 

School-assessed coursework tasks (SACS) will mainly be undertaken with the class teacher and should be submitted at the end of the lesson and/or by the due date. If after class, the deadline for submission of work is no later than the set time on compass.  

For School-assessed tasks (SAT) authentication forms must be completed throughout the course with the class teacher. The SAT should be submitted to the class teacher by the due date. The deadline for submission of work is no later than the set time on compass.  

Note: A medical certificate on the submission date of a SAT will not suffice. It is the responsibility of the student to organise delivery of the work by the set date. In the case of an emergency, students should contact the Senior sub school leader for assistance. 

Missed deadlines will result in a ‘zero’ score unless an extension has been approved. [see Procedure for Extension application

Absence from assessments 

 If the absence was not approved, then the student scores zero for the task, but will be granted a further opportunity to demonstrate the Learning Outcome via alternative unscored tasks.  

If a student does not meet a due date for an Assessment Task and has not been granted an extension, they may be required to attend a meeting with the Senior School Team to decide the consequences. This applies to both SAC and SAT components.  

If a student has a School Approved absence for the above, then the task or a replacement task can be completed through the SAC reschedule process. 

Reschedule of school-assessed coursework (SAC) 

If a student misses a SAC due to an absence, they must contact their teacher and the Year level Coordinator and supply a medical certificate to both in order for the SAC to be rescheduled. The student must see the teacher on the day of their return to organise the reschedule time. The teacher will record the reschedule information on the compass chronicle visible to parents and students.

Reschedules conducted by the senior school team occur on Wednesday’s p3 -p6. VET students can request an alternative day/time if their VET class is scheduled at that time. In this case students should see a member of the senior school team.  If a student misses a SAC, they must provide a medical certificate. Students must be prepared to complete an alternative task at the first opportunity upon their return to school. 

Teachers should monitor and report to the senior school team any student with repeat reschedules in their subject.

Procedures for SAC reschedule 

  • The student should inform the class teacher and Year level Coordinator of their illness and obtain a medical certificate -submitted this to the teacher and the senior school team on the day.  
  • The subject teacher will complete and lodge a SAC reschedule on compass chronicle.   
  • For sac reschedules administered by the Senior school team they will approve the compass chronicle for a sac rescheduling on receipt of the medical certificate (which informs teachers that the assessment can be scored.)  
  • Students who miss an assessment task without providing a medical certificate will automatically receive a zero score. The student can only receive an S or N result for the assessment. 

Extensions to due dates 

 A student may apply for an extension of time at the school level to complete assessment tasks, SACs or SATs by using the VCE Application for Assessment Task Extension Request.docx(found in the Senior School Student Handbook).  

An extension will only be granted in very special circumstances and only if evidence is provided-a medical certificate or other evidence of a significant reason, such as a death in the family, other family crisis, or having to represent the school or alternative body at an event. 

 The extension request should be made at least 48 hours prior to the due date, unless under exceptional circumstances. 

Please refer to this Link about Special exam arrangements for further information.

Procedures for extension applications 

  • For all work related to outcomes, the application for an extension of time in the first instance must be made to the class teacher at least 48 hours before the due date. Teachers are entitled to grant extensions of up to 2 days. The teacher must maintain records of extensions granted or refused recorded on compass chronicle. A teacher should grant only one extension per student in a particular subject.  
  • Variations to this rule require the student to apply for an extension to the Year Level Coordinator or Senior sub school leader at least 48 hours before the due date using the Application for Assessment Task Extension form. For extension in SAT submission applications must be made in writing at least 48 hours before the SAT due date.  The application will be processed, and the student will be informed of the result. In very exceptional circumstances a student may be granted an extension of time to complete the assessment. A maximum of seven days extension will be granted. 

Late work Notifications

Princes Hill Secondary College has a policy regarding the submission of subject related work for VCE. Subject related work includes assignments, projects, essays, reports and/or work completed over a period of time in the class or for homework. Completion of this work forms part of each student’s subject assessment. Teachers will issue a Late work notice on compass that details/ informs students and parents of non submission of work by the due date. This notice will specify that the student will have the opportunity to submit the work provided it is handed in to the teacher by the date specified. Students issued with a Late work Notice will be added to the Senior school catch up session which occur after school on a Monday. Students must attend even if work has been submitted. The session will appear on the students compass schedule.

Procedures for breaches of assessment rules 

 Process for conducting investigations into breaches of School based assessment. PHSC is responsible for ensuring students abide by the VCAA rules for School- based Assessments. The Senior sub school leader will investigate any breaches of these rules, applying appropriate penalties and consequences if necessary.

  • The subject teachers will report to the Sub school leader, as soon as possible of any breach of authentication rules, detected during the completion of coursework and assessment tasks.  

  • The Sub school leader will investigate the breach, within 2 days and if there is substance to the allegation a formal letter will be provided to the student to attend to the meeting with the Assistant Principal, with at least 24 hours notice. The investigation will be conducted in a fair and impartial manner, free from bias. This will include meeting with all individuals involved.

  • The Assistant Principal (10-12) will conduct a meeting, within 2 days of recieving the collated evidence, the student is provided time to respond to the incident at this meeting and the AP will determine the action that will be taken. Following the meeting a formal letter will be provided of the outcome.
  • Some possible penalties could include and is not limited to- the student required to sit a new task, a % or marks taken off the assessment results, an S or N results-no score.
  • The procedures that will be followed and the actions taken will be in accordance with the rules set out by VCAA in the “VCE Administrative Handbook.”  
  • Students will be entitled to lodge appeals against decisions related to authentication issues. In all Breaches of assessment rules, the College will retain all the documentation, including the originals or copies of the student work in question.  
  • Parents/Guardians will be informed of the outcome.  

Student appeals- procedural issues in the delivery of school-based assessments 

Where a student believes the procedures for school-based assessment were not carried out as per Senior School procedures, a student may lodge an application to the Senior sub school leader. The student, or parent or guardian of a student, must lodge a written appeal within 10 working days of the alleged breach or the completion of the School Based Assessment. The school may contact the VCAA to discuss any aspect of the allegation or investigation.  

Student appeals  

If a student disagrees with decisions reached in areas of not satisfactory completion, internal Special Provision, authentication or lost work the College will review the decisions, on application from the student.  

The following procedures must be followed:  

  • The appeal must in the first instance be made to the Senior sub school leader.  
  •  The YLC will assist the student to prepare a written appeal to the AP (Learning)  
  •  In cases which do not concern VCAA, the AP (Learning) and the Senior sub school leader will hear the appeal. The AP (Learning) will inform the student about the result of the appeal, and this decision will be final.  
  • In cases which fall under the jurisdiction of VCAA, the student will be instructed about the procedures that must be followed.  
  • The YLC will maintain records of all appeals lodged, and the actions taken. In some instances, VCAA will also be notified.


After assessment tasks are submitted and marked, teachers should provide feedback to students. Appropriate feedback includes: 

  • advising on problem areas 
  • advising on where and how improvements can be made for further learning 
  • reporting S or N decisions and providing written comments on students’ performance against each outcome. 
  • Feedback is provided to students at observation points throughout a SAT. These comments are noted on the Authentication Record form. 
  • Feedback MUST be provided in a timely manner- as close to the assessment as possible eg. within two weeks of the assessment.

Exam feedback may be limited to numeric/percentage scores. Students can speak with teachers for informal feedback.

If providing marks, teachers must advise students that their scores may change following statistical moderation. 

It is the student’s responsibility to submit the completed work to the class teacher.  

The College will not accept responsibility for work that is lost or damaged due to computer misuse or malfunction.  

  •  If the work has been lost, stolen or damaged during its completion, the student must first make a written statement of the circumstances and submit it to the Senior school team and subject teacher. The statement must be signed and dated. The student may be required to redo the work. 
  •  If necessary, the student may apply for an extension of time to complete the work. 
  • In cases where the work has been lost or damaged after it has been properly submitted, the matter must be reported to the Sub school leader.  The Sub school leader, in consultation with the student and teacher, will decide the action that will be taken.  
  •  In all cases of lost, stolen or damaged work, the College will maintain records. These records will include written statements by the student and teacher. If necessary, the matter will be reported to VCAA. 



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