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Memorandum to Schools 22/2008

13 March 2008

VCAL Quality Assurance Stage 1 Meeting Dates

This memorandum contains information relating to the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) quality assurance (QA) Stage 1 arrangements for each Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) region (Attachment 1).

The VCAL QA process ensures that there is a common understanding and consistency among teachers regarding assessment judgements and the design of assessment tasks for the VCAL levels.

The QA process provides an opportunity for teachers to clarify their ideas about the appropriate VCAL level and tasks for students. The process is also an excellent professional development opportunity for teachers.

The QA process is an important part of the VCAL and all Principals/Directors should allow appropriate staff to attend quality assurance meetings. Providers who do not participate in the regional VCAL quality assurance process, including QA meetings, may be required to submit all their VCAL units to an audit by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA).

The 2008 VCAL Quality Assurance Kit contains detailed information on the 2008 QA process. All providers will need to complete the Sample Assessment Task Template/s contained within the kit. The template/s must be completed and forwarded to the QA panel leader (VCAL Liaison Teacher) in your DEECD region by Friday, 18 April 2008. Contact details for VCAL Liaison Teachers are provided in Attachment 2.

For quality assurance purposes, community VCAL providers are considered to be a separate provider and are therefore required to submit their own Sample Assessment Task Templates for VCAL units as indicated in VCAA Memorandum 2/2008 30 January 2008.

The 2008 VCAL QA Kit is available on the VCAA website at the following address http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vcal/index.html.

Providers must only use the Sample Assessment Task Templates in the 2008 VCAL Quality Assurance Kit. This year there are changes to the Work Related Skills, the Literacy Skills and Numeracy Skills units templates.

In the Sample Assessment Task Templates, providers must clearly indicate how they are meeting the assessment criteria/elements related to the learning outcome. Examples of exemplar Sample Assessment Task Templates can be found on the VCAA website: http://www.vcaa.vic.edu.au/vcal/providers/quality/index.html

In addition to completing the relevant Sample Assessment Task Template/s all providers who will be involved in the VCAL QA process in 2008 are asked to send an email to their VCAL Liaison Teacher giving the following details:

  • provider name
  • VCAL Coordinator name
  • contact details – telephone number and email address
  • VCAL level (Foundation, Intermediate, Senior) and the unit (Unit 1 or 2) to be submitted for quality assurance
  • whether you are a new VCAL provider in 2008.
  • The above information should be forwarded to the VCAL Liaison Teachers as soon as possible. Contact details are included in Attachment 2.
  • Schools that are involved in a community VCAL program must ensure that the above information for each of their community provider/s is forwarded to the VCAL Liaison Teacher.

For further information on the 2008 QA process please contact Mr David Gallagher, VCAL Manager on telephone: (03) 9651 4532 or email gallagher.david.j@edumail.vic.gov.au or your local VCAL Liaison Teacher.

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