Determining grades

A Loading  is used to report student achievement in NSW. Achievement standards are based on what students are expected to learn and how well they have achieved.

The NSW syllabuses state the intended learning for students by the end of each stage. A to E grade scales describe how well students have achieved. Teachers make professional on-balance judgements to decide which grade description best matches the standards their students have achieved at a particular point in time. These decisions are based on evidence of achievement and information teachers have collected during the teaching and learning.

The A to E grade allocated to a student and reported on NESA credentials reflects the level of achievement demonstrated by the student at the end of the course.

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Teachers follow a process of ‘moderation’ to ensure that grades allocated are consistent with published standards. This means that the grade a student receives in one school can be compared to the same grade anywhere in NSW.

Teachers moderate their judgements by comparing work samples for their students with samples aligned to grades A to E.

Reporting with grades requires that teachers use on-balance judgement in relation to standards. This is a key professional skill.

An on-balance judgement does not just focus on a single piece of work or solely on test results.

Teachers should weigh up the evidence of achievement and other information collected for a student up to that point in time. This information is derived from learning activities, observations and other methods of assessment that are collected over time and in different situations. For further information read our Loading .

Making on-balance professional judgments involves considering all available evidence of student achievement, with an emphasis on identifying the descriptors that best reflect each student’s performance by the end of the course. Relying solely on marks and predetermined cut scores to allocate grades can lead to inaccuracies, especially for students who demonstrate significant progress over time and are performing at a higher level at the course’s conclusion than they were earlier in the course.

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Students with disability may require Loading  to assessment activities to enable access to the activities and equitable opportunity to demonstrate what they know and can do. Students with disability who receive adjustments to assessment activities should have access to the full range of grades.

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Schools can use student work samples to strengthen their understanding of standards. NESA provides limited work samples aligned to A to E grades for a selection of learning areas to assist teachers in understanding state-wide standards. Available work samples can be found with the syllabuses.

Schools can use these published work samples to moderate the grades they allocate to students by comparing the standards of work published with those produced by their students in the same or similar learning areas.

Schools can also use samples of work from their own students for professional development with their staff and/or teachers from other schools. These work samples can provide the basis for professional discussions about standards and ensure there are consistent expectations about student achievement in relation to syllabus outcomes.

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Referring to student work from previous years may assist teachers to clarify what is expected prior to the grading or marking of student work. Reviewing student work samples may also provide useful information about assessment activities that could lead to improvements in task design. For example, if an assessment activity is found to provide limited opportunities for students to demonstrate achievement at grade A, this could inform future assessment activities so that they are designed with increased scope for students to demonstrate higher levels of knowledge, understanding and skills in relation to the relevant grade scale or achievement level descriptions.

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Assessing student achievement is the process of collecting information on student performance in relation to the objectives and outcomes of a course.

In setting activities or tasks, teachers should give careful consideration to the syllabus objectives and outcomes being assessed. By measuring student achievement in relation to these objectives and outcomes, teachers can build up a profile of the achievement of each student in relation to the course performance descriptors.

Grading student achievement is the process of assigning a letter (A, B, C, D, E) to summarise the level of a student's achievement in a course. For students undertaking courses without subject-specific course performance descriptors, that is, Board Endorsed or Content Endorsed Courses, a grade from A to E should be assigned using the Loading .

In establishing an assessment program, teachers should ensure that the types of assessment activities or tasks used are appropriate to the objectives and outcomes being assessed. Generally, it will be necessary to use a number of different assessment activities or tasks in order to ensure that student achievement in relation to all the knowledge and skills objectives is assessed. Principals have the authority to decide on and to implement disability provisions for school-based assessments and tests.

The assessment program should also reflect the relative emphasis placed on the assessable objectives of school programs and the syllabus. For example, where a school has placed considerable emphasis on the development of research skills, that emphasis should be reflected in the assessment program. Objectives from the affective domain (i.e. values and attitudes) should not be used in determining a student's grade.

Where activities or tasks are scheduled throughout a course, greater weight would generally be given to those activities or tasks undertaken towards the end of the course. For example, in a 200-hour course extending over Years 9 and 10, the assessment information collected in Year 10 provides the more complete picture of student achievement. There are, however, a number of different ways of organising the teaching/learning program for a course. The scheduling of activities or tasks and the weights applied should reflect the course organisation. Students should be given the opportunity to demonstrate their maximum level of achievement relative to the course performance descriptors.

Course performance descriptors have been developed for each course. They describe the main features of a typical student's performance at each grade measured against the syllabus objectives and outcomes for the course.

Teachers will make the final judgement of the most appropriate grade on the basis of all available assessment information and with reference to the course performance descriptors. In applying these descriptors, teachers should interpret them in terms of standards that can be achieved by Stage 5 students within the bounds of the course. The same course performance descriptors apply to 100-hour and 200-hour courses. This relates to courses studied across Years 9 and 10, and to courses studied exclusively in either Year 9 or Year 10.

The grades allocated should reflect the relative emphasis placed on the assessable objectives of school programs and the syllabus. For example, where a school has placed considerable emphasis on the development of research skills, that emphasis should be reflected in the assessment program. Objectives from the affective domain (i.e. values and attitudes) should not be used in determining a student's grade.

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Schools must allocate to students who complete Year 12 English Studies or Mathematics Standard 1, or Numeracy CEC the grade that reflects their achievement at the end of the course. This grade is reported on the student’s HSC Record of Achievement.

To ensure grades have consistent meaning across the state, NESA monitors the grades allocated and reviews student work samples provided by schools.

This checklist relates to Year 12 grades that are reported on students' NESA credentials.

Familiarise yourself with the Achievement Level Descriptions, on the syllabus page for the relevant course.

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Samples of student work aligned to grades are provided on the syllabus page. Use the samples and their annotations to get a clear understanding of the standard at each grade.

• Decide on the appropriate grade for each student based on the achievement they have demonstrated at the end of the course.
• Enter student grades in Loading .
• Upload student work samples and the associated assessment activities in Schools Online.

Loading  has guides on how to enter grades and upload student work samples. Learn more about Loading .

Check the grades entered in Loading  are correct before they are confirmed by the principal.

Schools may be contacted by NESA and asked to revise grades. If your school is contacted, you will have a short period of time to make changes.

Do not reveal grades to students until they have been monitored by NESA and finalised. School assessment grades will be available to students when they receive their HSC results for the course.

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