Assessment
Course standards
Course standards are comprised of syllabus standards and performance standards. Syllabus outcomes and content form the syllabus standards that describe what students are expected to know, understand and do. Performance standards, including the Common Grade Scale for Preliminary courses, HSC Performance Band Descriptions and Achievement Level Descriptions (for HSC courses with grades only) describe how well students have achieved in relation to syllabus standards. Performance standards are used to report student achievement on NESA credentials.
Common Grade Scale for Preliminary courses
The Loading provides generic, holistic descriptions for performance at each of the 5 grade levels. It is used to report student achievement in Year 11 courses in all NSW schools.
Performance Band Descriptions for English Advanced
HSC performance band descriptions summarise the knowledge, understanding and skills typically demonstrated by students at each band level in a particular course. NESA uses these holistic descriptions to report a student's overall level of achievement in an HSC course.
Band 6
A student who performs at this level typically:
demonstrates extensive knowledge, insightful understanding and sophisticated evaluation of the ways meaning is shaped and changed by context, values, form and language in a variety of texts
demonstrates highly developed skills in critically analysing a broad range of language forms, features and structures of texts and the ways these shape meaning and influence responses
composes refined critical responses that demonstrate highly developed skills in interpretation, analysis, evaluation and synthesis of textual detail in and between texts
composes sophisticated critical and creative texts that present complex ideas and arguments for a variety of purposes, audiences and contexts
skilfully communicates insightful judgements about how compositional choices shape meaning.
Band 5
A student who performs at this level typically:
demonstrates thorough knowledge, informed understanding and effective evaluation of the ways meaning is shaped and changed by context, values, form and language in a variety of texts
demonstrates well-developed skills in critically analysing a broad range of language forms, features and structures of texts and the ways these shape meaning and influence responses
composes critical responses that demonstrate well-developed skills in interpretation, analysis and synthesis of textual detail in and between texts
composes well-developed critical and creative texts that present complex ideas and arguments for a variety of purposes, audiences and contexts
effectively communicates informed judgements about how compositional choices shape meaning.
Band 4
A student who performs at this level typically:
demonstrates sound knowledge and understanding of the ways meaning is shaped and changed by context, values, form and language in a variety of texts
demonstrates sound skills in analysing a range of language forms, features and structures of texts and explaining the ways these shape meaning and influence responses
composes sound responses that demonstrate developed skills in interpretation and analysis of textual detail in and between texts
composes critical and creative texts that present sound ideas and arguments for a variety of purposes, audiences and contexts
clearly communicates how compositional choices shape meaning.
Band 3
A student who performs at this level typically:
demonstrates generalised knowledge and understanding of the ways meaning is shaped and/or changed by context, values, form and language in texts
describes a limited range of language forms, features and structures of texts and the ways these shape meaning and influence responses
composes responses showing some evidence of interpretation and analysis of texts
composes critical and creative texts to express basic ideas and arguments for some purposes, audiences and/or contexts
communicates how some compositional choices shape meaning, with variable control of language.
Band 2
A student who performs at this level typically:
demonstrates elementary knowledge and understanding of the ways meaning is shaped in texts
recognises and comments on basic language forms, features and structures of texts
composes undeveloped responses showing recognition of the main ideas in texts with some awareness of purposes, audiences and/or contexts
communicates ideas and shows some awareness of compositional choices in texts.
Band 1
Performance reported as Band 1 indicates that the minimum standard expected was not demonstrated.