Secondary Curriculum 2A English – Assessment 2 Portfolio

Part A: Assessment Task

English Standard – Year 12

Common module: Texts and Human Experiences

Task Rationale: In the Common Module: Texts and Human Experiences, students have
explored a variety of texts including the prescribed text Waste Land and a range of short
text. Through appreciation and evaluation, students explore how particular aspects of
human experiences, including transformation, the pursuit of hope, and the power of human
interaction are represented in these texts. The aim of the task is to assess students’
understanding of the ways that specific aspect of human experience is illustrated through
text, and their skills of using a variety of modes and media to compose a considered
response to texts.

Task number: 1 Weighting: 25% Timing: Week 9, Term 4

Outcome assessed
EN12-1 independently responds to and composes complex texts for understanding,
interpretation, critical analysis, imaginative expression and pleasure
EN12-2 uses, evaluates and justifies processes, skills and knowledge required to
effectively respond to and compose texts in different modes, media and technologies
EN12-7 explains and evaluates the diverse ways texts can represent personal and public
worlds
EN12-9 reflects on, assesses and monitors own learning and refines individual and
collaborative processes as an independent learner

Task Instructions

PART A – Multimodal Project (15%)

Students select and conduct a close study of an appropriate text that explores one of the
three aspects of human experiences studied in the unit, including transformation, the
pursuit of hope, and the power of human interaction. They then produce a multimodal
project that provides a critical analysis of their selected text, explains how the selected
text represents the aspect of human experiences that they have chosen, discuss how the
selected text relates to students’ own experience. Students are encouraged to use a
range of visual, aural, and digital elements in their multimodal project to convey ideas and
engage audience.

PART B – Personal Reflection (10%)

Students are to compose a written reflection in which they justify their creative choices,
reflect on the challenges in the creative process, and discuss the strengths and
weaknesses of their project.
Marking criteria
Students will be marked on their ability to:
 demonstrate an understanding of the ways that specific aspect of human
experiences is represented in their selected text
 analyse how aspects of their selected text are used to shape meaning
 use various visual, aural, and digital elements to communicate ideas
 reflect on their learning and the strengths and weaknesses of their projects

Feedback provided
Students will receive annotations on the marking guidelines and comments suggesting
how students can improve

Marking guidelines

A student: Mark range

 demonstrates a comprehensive understanding of a specific 21-25
aspect of human experiences in the student’s selected text
 provides a highly-effective analysis of the ways that various
aspects of the text are used to shaped meaning
 organises, develops and expresses ideas effectively using a
variety of visual, aural and digital elements
 reflects personally, analytically, and in a detailed way on the
learning process, and the strengths and weaknesses of the
project

 demonstrates a developed understanding of a specific aspect of 16-20

human experiences in the student’s selected text
 provides an effective analysis of the ways that various aspects of
the text are used to shaped meaning
 organises, develops and expresses ideas competently using a
variety of visual, aural and digital elements
 reflects personally and clearly on the learning process, and the
strengths and weaknesses of the project

 demonstrates a sound understanding of a specific aspect of 11-15

human experiences in the student’s selected text
 provides sound analysis of the ways that various aspects of the
text are used to shaped meaning
 organises and expresses ideas adequately, using some visual,
aural and digital elements
  reflects personally on the learning process, and the strengths
and weaknesses of the project

 demonstrates some understanding of a specific aspect of 6-10

human experiences in the student’s selected text
 describes the ways that some aspects of the text are used to
shaped meaning
 organises and expresses ideas with basic use of visual, aural and
digital elements
 describe the learning process, and lists the strengths and
weaknesses of the project

 demonstrates limited understanding of a specific aspect of 1-5

human experiences in the student’s selected text
 attempts to describe the ways that an aspect of the text is used
to shaped meaning
 attempts to organize and express ideas with limited use of
visual, aural or digital elements
 does not reflect on the learning process nor the strengths and
weaknesses of the project

Assessment Scaffolds

PART A – Multimodal Project

For this part of the assessment, you are to select an appropriate text that explores one of
the three aspects of human experiences that studied in this unit, including
 Transformation,
  The pursuit of hope
 The power of human interaction
The text that you choose could be in any forms except for documentary. For example, you
can select a poem, a novel, a short story, a film, a podcast, a picture book etc.

In your multimodal project, you should:

 Step One: Describe the aspect of human experiences that you have chosen
Introduce your selected text by proving a brief synopsis

 Step Two: Provide a critical discussion on your selected text. You should consider
how aspects of the text, for example the context, purpose, structure, stylistic and
language features shape meaning.

 Step Three: Explains how your selected text represents the aspect of human
experiences that you have chosen.
Discuss how you draw connection between yourself, the world of your
selected text, and the wider world.

 Step Four: Be creative. Select interesting visual, aural or digital materials and arrange
them in creative ways to engage your audience

 Step Five: Review and edit your project before submitting it

For your multimodal project, you should choose a format that you are familiar with, for
example a blog, a website, a video (max 5 minutes), presentation slides (max 20 slides).

PART B - Personal Reflection

In your written reflection, you need to

 Demonstrate your understanding of human experiences by discussing whether the
learning in their unit has reinforce or challenge your view on specific aspects of
human experiences
 Explain your choices of the visual, aural, and digital elements, and the way that you
have arranged them
 Reflect on your creative process. What were some challenges that you encountered
and how did you overcome them?
 Discuss the strengthens and weaknesses of your project and what you may do to
improve.
Part B: Critical Discussion and Professional Reflection

Assessment is an integral part of teaching and learning. The purpose of this professional
reflection is to evaluate the importance of assessment and to discuss some effective
feedback strategies and assessment designs that will inform future teaching practices. The
first part of the reflection will examine the role of assessment in the instruction process and
how it affects both teachers and students. Then it will provide a discussion on effective
feedback and differentiated assessment, and explain how they can be applied to the Stage 6
English syllabus.

Assessment is important for teachers as it is not only a professional requirement that

teachers have an understanding of assessment, but it is also a valuable tool for teachers to
gather evidence and assist student learning. Teachers are required to have a solid
understanding of how assessment works and how to use it to help students. The Australian
Professional Standards for Teachers requires teachers to ‘Assess, provide feedback and
report on student learning’, and graduate teachers need to demonstrate an understanding
of different assessment strategies and the purpose of providing timely and appropriate
feedback (Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership [AITSL], 2011, p. 18). The
Australian Curriculum also suggests that teachers use assessment data as evidence to make
judgements about student learning (Australian Curriculum, n.d.). The documentation from
professional organizations gives insights into the role of assessment in teaching practice;
however, this reflection will look at scholarly literature to investigate the positive and
negative impacts of assessment on teaching. Many studies suggest that different uses of
assessment have different benefits and limitations. Firstly, assessment for learning, which
occurs continually within the classroom allows teachers to monitor learning and provide
timely feedback to students. According to Stassen, Doherty, and Poe (2001), assessment for
learning facilitates teaching by creating opportunities for communication and feedback
between teachers and students and allowing teachers to adjust instruction method as the
unit progresses. For example, Black and William (2011) suggest that ‘classroom questioning’
which is a form of assessment for learning, allows teachers to learn more about the
background knowledge and misconceptions of students, so that they can plan materials and
activities that address students’ ‘real’ needs (p. 17). Secondly, assessment of learning, which
occurs at the end of a unit or learning stage, gives teachers opportunities to report the
achievement of students. According to Harlen (2005), the benefits of assessment of learning
include record-keeping, evaluating whether the student has met the course outcomes, and
reporting to parents and students themselves. However, Harlen (2005) also suggests that
assessment of learning, especially high-stake testing could damage the quality of teaching,
as many teachers choose to focus on teaching the content of the test and training students
in answering specific questions. As a result of such ‘teaching to the test’ approach, there is
less time allocated to covering substantial content of the unit, or developing students’
critical and creative thinking skills.

Assessment is also essential to student learning as it helps students understand the

outcomes that they need to achieve and how they can improve to meet those outcomes. A
range of scholarly literature and professional association documents have identified the
benefits of assessments for students. Firstly, assessment clarifies the expectation of learning
for students. James, Griffith, and Dodds's (2009) study found that many students consider
that assessment tasks enable them to know what the teachers want them to learn. Such
benefit is evident in the 'standard-reference' assessment approach, promoted by the Board
of Studies NSW in the Stage 6 syllabus. The 'standard-reference' assessment approach
enables teachers to link the achievement of students to specific standards, and through the
standards, students gain insights into what they are expected to understand and do at the
end of each learning stage (Board of Studies NSW, 2012). Secondly, through assessment,
students are able to reflect on their learning and identify their strengths and weaknesses.
Literature found that assessment help students become more self-reflective learners
(Stassen, Doherty, & Poe, 2001) and encourage students to work harder to improve their
performance (James, Griffith, & Dodds, 2009). Active reflection is essential to the success of
stage 6 learners as it provides students with opportunities to identify the content areas and
skills that they need to work on, which prepares them for not only the HSC exam but also
higher education and future employment.

Although assessment is designed to support student learning, there is a growing body of

literature that examines the negative impacts of assessment on students. In particular, the
negative impacts of high-stakes standardised testing such as the HSC exam has been put
under the spotlight. Research has reported concerns over the effects of high-stakes testing
on students' physical and psychological wellbeing. For instance, Flores and Clark's (2003)
study in the United States found that students experienced confusion, exhaustion, inability
to sleep and vomiting due to the stress of high-stakes testing. Harlen (2005) also argues that
students could develop low self-esteem as a result of low-scores or negative feedback. Also,
high-stakes testing could damage students' learning outcomes and decrease the motivations
of lower-achieving students. As discussed in the first part of the reflection, some teachers
choose to 'teach to the test', and as a result, students are not being taught the complex
knowledge and skills needed in the fast-changing modern world (Queensland Studies
Authority, 2009). The new HSC reform requires students to meet the minimum standard for
literacy and numeracy to receive the HSC (NSW Education Standard Authority [NESA], n.d.a).
Such reform could potentially add to the stress of Stage 6 students and Stage 5 students
who are preparing for their NAPLAN test. Moreover, the raised standards could make it hard
to convince lower-achieving students that they are capable in other areas of learning.

As assessment is a double-edged sword, teachers need to plan carefully and make great use
of assessment to create positive impacts on teaching and learning. The following part of the
reflection will discuss how effective feedback and differentiated assessment can be used to
inform teaching practices.

Firstly, teachers should use feedback effectively to support learning. Hattie and Timperley
(2007) develop a model that maximises the effectiveness of feedback. They suggest that
effective feedback must include three aspects: feed up, feed back, and feed forward (Hattie
& Timperley, 2007). 'Feed up' refers to when teachers provide specific challenges and goals
for students at the appropriate level, and such goals should be clarified so that students
know how they can achieve them (Hattie & Timperley, 2007). This principle aligns with the
'Explicit Quality Criteria' element of the Quality Teaching Model, which requires teachers to
provide frequent and detailed statements about the quality of work expected of students
(NSW Department of Education and Training, 2006). This aspect of feedback is evident in the
assessment designed in Part A as a marking rubric is provided for students to know the
success criteria. 'Feed back' refers to when teachers give students information about the
success and failure of a specific assessment task and how students can improve (Hattie &
Timperley, 2007). Stobart (2011) suggests that when giving feedback, teachers should focus
on the task rather than the individual student, and be aware of the effect of praise and
rewards in feedback. 'Feed forward' refers to when teachers provide information that leads
to greater possibilities for learning' (Hattie & Timperley, 2007, 90). This approach can be
applied to the English KLA. For example, when students have completed a critical analysis of
a novel, teachers can use 'feed forward' to challenge students to compare and contrast the
novel with its film adaptation.

Secondly, differentiated assessment can be used to enable success for diverse students.
According to the NSW Education Standard Authority [NESA] (n.d.b), differentiated
assessment refers to when teachers make adjustments to assessment tasks or activities to
cater for different learning needs and a range of learning styles. Chapman and King (2005)
consider that one of the major goals of differentiated assessment is to select or design
assessment tasks to 'create positive attitudes towards assessment' (p.131). This approach is
suitable for the Stage 6 Standard English course as the course has students of different
levels with a diverse range of literacy skills. To plan differentiated assessment, NESA (n.d.b)
suggests that teachers can provide different choices and methods for students to
demonstrate their knowledge and skills. The assessment designed in Part A provides
students with a range of options: students can select a text that they are interested in, they
can pick a specific aspect of human experiences that they would like to investigate, and they
can choose a multimodal format that they like. These options offer students with great
autonomy and flexibility in their learning.

In conclusion, assessment is essential to effective teaching and active learning. This

professional reflection begins by evaluating the importance of assessment to teaching, with
a discussion on the benefits and limitations of two uses of assessment: assessment for
learning and assessment of learning. The reflection then examines the positive and negative
impacts of assessment on students. By referring to a range of literature from academia and
professional organisations, the reflection suggests that assessment can help students
understand the outcomes expected of them and how they can meet those outcomes.
However, some uses of assessment, particularly high-stakes standardised testing, can
negatively affect students’ wellbeing and decrease student motivation. The final part of the
reflection provides a range of effective feedback approaches and differentiated assessment
strategies to inform future teaching practices.

(Word count: 1567 words)

References
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Assessment and Learning (2nd ed., pp. 11- 32). London: SAGE Publications

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