Assessment
Sample assessment tasks and rubrics for teaching science 7–10.
Assessment for, as, and of learning should underpin all assessment practices in Stages 4 and 5 science.
Science teaching and learning programs should incorporate a range of assessment strategies such as:
- diagnostic, formative and summative assessments
- first-hand investigations
- gathering secondary information from sources
- written, oral, and design-based presentations
- closed and open-ended tasks
- individual and group tasks.
In Stages 4 and 5, the Validation of Assessment 4 Learning and Individual Development (VALID) tests in Year 8 (mandatory) and Year 10 (optional) provide external assessment of student learning in science.
The Stage 5 scientific report marking rubric (DOCX 93.5 KB) has been designed for teachers to use in tasks that require a scientific report. It contains a marking rubric that can be used to give explicit and detailed feedback to students.
Oral presentation rubric (DOCX 47 KB) can be used for oral presentations in assessment tasks.
Science skills rubric (DOCX 45 KB) provides a rubric for science skills of planning, methodology, processing data, concluding and communication that can be used in assessment tasks.
Stage 4
Examples of innovative assessment tasks
Stage 5
Examples of innovative assessment tasks
Assessment task critiquing tool
When creating an assessment task for Stages 4 or 5 science, consider the following reflection questions:
- Are there a manageable number of outcomes being assessed?
- Are outcomes the focus for the activities in the assessment task?
- Does the task assess what the students have had the opportunity to learn in class?
- Will the task produce what you want the students to demonstrate?
- Is the task the most appropriate way of assessing the outcomes?
- Do the demands of the task reflect the task weighting?
- Is the task efficient and manageable, for the teacher and the student?
- Will the task allow differentiation between students?
- Does the task clearly communicate what is expected?
- Is there a clear description of what students are expected to do?
- Does the task provide explicit marking criteria? Is this supported with a holistic or analytical marking rubric?
- Will the task produce enough evidence to make a sound judgement of students’ achievement?
- Will the task challenge all students?
Marking guidelines: a support document for science teachers (DOCX 47 KB) provides examples of marking guidelines which can be used for assessment tasks in Science 7-10 and Stage 6 Science courses.