How We Do Assessment and Reporting

The focus for Westernport Secondary College is on supporting and challenging every student to achieve their very best and to continually improve their learning

Part of the ongoing communication between the College and the parent community is the reporting and assessment process. At Westernport we report to our parents four times throughout the school year. Term 1 and 3 provide parents with a mid semester report and the opportunity to attend parent/ teacher/ student interviews to discuss your child’s progress. At the end of Term 2 and 4 parents receive a full written report which provides a description of your child’s overall result for the end of the semester.

VELS – The Victorian Essential Learning Standards

  • At Years 7 to 10 your child’s achievement and progress is recorded in line with the Victorian Essential Learning Standards.
  • The Victorian Essential Learning Standards outline what is important for all Victorian students to learn and develop during their time at school from Prep to Year 10. They provide a set of common state-wide standards which schools use to plan student learning, assess student progress and report to parents.
  • The VELS aim to prepare young people for a world in which knowledge is highly valued and constantly changing and where work, society, community and personal relationships are subject to increasingly complex pressures.
  • To be successful, young people need a broad range of knowledge and social, personal and thinking skills. The VELS provide a framework to help them acquire these knowledge and skills during the compulsory years of education and prepare them for further education or training such as the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE), Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) and Vocational Education and Training (VET) programs.
  • Assessment is the ongoing process of gathering, analysing and reflecting on evidence to make informed and consistent judgements to improve future student learning.

VCE, VCAL & VET

At Years 11 and 12 students work towards achieving their VCE or VCAL including VET. Year 11 and 12 student’s reports are written to indicate the satisfactory achievement of outcomes in either the VCE or VCAL including the VET subjects. A pass or fail is indicated on the report to provide the overall achievement in the subject for each semester. The VCE students must achieve a pass in a minimum of 16 units of study over the two years. Students studying VCAL must achieve an S in all subjects including completing a work placement to achieve their VCAL certificate.

  • The VCE is the certificate that the majority of students in Victoria receive on satisfactory completion of their secondary education. The VCE provides diverse pathways to further study or training at university or TAFE and to employment.
  • VET in the VCE or VCAL allows students to include vocational studies within their senior secondary certificate. Students undertake nationally recognised training from either accredited state curriculum or national training packages which may contribute to their VCE and/or VCAL.
  • VCAL is a hands-on option for students in Years 11 and 12. The VCAL gives you practical work-related experience, as well as literacy and numeracy skills and the opportunity to build personal skills that are important for life and work. Like the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE), VCAL is an accredited secondary certificate.