Policy and guidance
Directing you to policy and guidance related to assessment including the national assessment program, Stages 5 and 6 Record of School Achievement (RoSA) and Stage 6 monitoring advice.
There are a number of policies, regulations and guidance that relate to expectations around assessment provided by the NSW Department of Education, the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) and Commonwealth Government Regulations.
Departmental advice
The department provides advice in relation to the use of assessment within a NSW public school.
Resources and professional learning is available to assist with Planning, programming and assessing from K–12. This includes support with assessment practices for consistent teacher judgement.
Policy advice can be found within the Curriculum planning and programming, assessing and reporting to parents K–12 policy and implementation documents.
Requirements for Stages 5 and 6 can be found at:
- Record of School Achievement (RoSA) – Requirements and eligibility for the RoSA credential in Stage 5 and 6.
- Stage 6 – monitoring and support – Stage 6 assessment and reporting support for schools.
- ATAR changes – School leader and teacher information – From 2025, changes are being made to how the ATAR is calculated. As school leaders and teachers, find out what you need to know.
The School Excellence Framework (SEF) is evidence-informed and identifies explicit school practices that directly relate to continuous school-wide improvement and improved student outcomes. Each domain within the SEF has relevant elements that support improved assessment practice.
These include:
- Learning – Curriculum, Assessment, Reporting, and Student growth and performance.
- Teaching – Effective classroom practice, Data skills and use.
- Leading – Educational leadership, School planning, implementation and reporting.
Policy advice can be found within the Curriculum planning and programming, assessing and reporting to parents K–12 policy and implementation documents.
There are also several other policies that reference to assessment:
- High Potential and Gifted Education – assessment to inform teaching across all domains of potential (1.2)
- Literacy K-12 and Numeracy K-12 – Use of school-based and statewide assessments to inform teaching and reporting to parents, care givers and school communities (1.3 Literacy assessing and reporting, 1.3 Numeracy assessment and reporting)
- Multicultural Education Advice for Schools – advice to schools on Curriculum, assessment and reporting (p37-45).
NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA) provides implementation requirements for all NSW schools under the Education Standards Authority Act 2013, and the Education Act 1990 (NSW).
NESA’s Assessment and reporting webpage provides guidance on assessment principles; formative and summative assessment; evidence and feedback; and reporting and using grades.
NESA policies in relation to Years 7–12 assessment, certification and examination programs can be found on the Assessment Certification Examination (ACE) website.
Australian Education Regulations 2023 set by the Commonwealth Government with regulation 43 providing requirements about participation in the National Assessment Program (NAP).