Formation of Small Group Partnerships for Coursework
Partnerships
Any school with fewer than five enrolments in any Unit 3 and 4 study is required to form a small group partnership with another school for the purposes of statistical moderation of Coursework. Schools with small groups must initiate the formation of the partnership and ensure that it operates effectively. If problems are encountered, the Student Records and Results unit may be contacted for advice.
An important aspect of the successful implementation of the Small Group partnership process is the level and consistency of interaction between schools. Schools may use any method of interaction which is appropriate. These include telephone, fax, post, e-mail and face to face meetings.
Schools must keep copies of the following documents at the school.
- Single list of cross marked scores for all the students in the partnership (from all schools involved)
- A copy of the partner school's VASS printout of the assessments for all School-assessed Coursework tasks
- VCAA partnership agreement form signed by the school principal of each school involved in the partnership. Each school is required to keep their own copy of the completed form
Best Practice
The VCAA expects that participating teachers will follow best practice when conducting partnerships. Best practice would include:
- School principals being informed of the initial formation of the partnership, the ongoing maintenance of the partnership and the resultant cross-marked coursework scores
- School principals being informed of any conflict that may arise and the measures taken to resolve any issues
- Teachers in the partnership making contact as early in the school year as possible and keeping written records of meetings, telephone calls, e-mail and any other appropriate interaction
- The initial meeting covering the requirements of the study design, chosen assessment tasks and the assessment criteria for each task or outcome. teachers are also required to agree on the procedures for ensuring comparability of assessment tasks and the schedule and marking schemes of any tasks to be done in common
- Each school marking their own students work and selecting student work for cross marking
- Each school entering the scores for its own students on VASS
- Each school sending a copy of the VASS printout of the assessments for all School-assessed Coursework tasks to their other school/s to verify that scores have been entered correctly
How to register a partnership
Schools wishing to form partnerships must enter their partnership details directly onto VASS. Memorandum to Schools 24/2006 and 72/2006 contain detailed explanations for VASS Administrators on how to locate potential partner schools for any Unit 3 and 4 study and how to enter the partnership onto VASS. The closing date to enter partnership details on VASS for those studies with Unit 3 coursework and Unit 3 and 4 coursework is Monday 30 April 2007. For those studies with Unit 4 coursework the closing date to enter the details onto VASS is Friday 17 August 2007.
Small Group partnership Agreement form
A Small Group partnership agreement form is to be completed for each study for which a partnership has been formed. The agreement form is to be endorsed by the school Principal of each school in the partnership and retained by the school until January 2008. It may be requested by the VCAA for audit purposes.
- Small Group Partnership Agreement form (PDF - 103KB)
Exemption From Small Group Partnership
Where a school is able to demonstrate that it is unable to form a partnership, the VCAA will grant an exemption. Requests for exemption must be submitted in writing to the Manager, Student Records and Results. The letter must state the reason/s for the requested exemption and must be endorsed by the school Principal. Exemption requests can be accepted up until October 31 2007.
Dissolving a Partnership
If a teacher in a partnership is not satisfied that there is enough collegiality between the partner schools, or feels that the partnership is not working satisfactorily, then it is best for the students concerned that the partnership is dissolved.
If a partnership is not working satisfactorily and both teachers have tried to reach a resolution then the partnership can be dissolved. Requests for dissolution of a partnership must be submitted in writing and endorsed by the Principal of each school involved. These requests are to be addressed to the Manager, Student Records and Results and must list the reason/s for the request. The VCAA will then remove the partnership from the database and award an exemption where necessary i.e. for the schools with fewer than 5 enrolments. Alternatively, the 'small school' can form a new partnership with another school
Some examples of an unsatisfactory partnership are:
- regular and sufficient communication is not maintained
- standard of tasks to be set cannot be agreed upon or a compromise met
- standard of assessment cannot be agreed upon or a compromise met
- level and spread of student coursework scores cannot be agreed to
- a teacher may feel pressured to agree to assessments they don't believe best reflect the students ability
Financial Assistance for Schools Participating in Small Group Moderation
Funding is allocated to all schools within a partnership where at least one school has fewer than five enrolments. If all schools within the partnership have more than five enrolments the funding will not be allocated. Similarly, if both schools in the partnership have a total number of less than five students, funding will not be allocated.
The allowance is the same for all studies and comprises two components. The base component of $255 is applicable to all schools involved in small group moderation for a particular study. In any partnership, every school with fewer than 5 enrolments in the study receives the full base component. An additional base allowance of $255 will be shared equally by the school/s in the partnership that have more than 5 enrolments.
For each study; a distance component will be paid according to the distance between the partnership schools and the size of the group. Partnership schools that are further than 25 km from each other will be paid $70 if the school group size is fewer than five or $30 if the school group size is five or more. Schools that are within 25 km of each other will receive $20 regardless of the size of the group.
The partnership allowance will be paid directly into school bank accounts and will be allocated to schools in February of the following year. For schools that formed partnerships in 2007, the allowance will be allocated in February 2008.
Combining Groups for School-assessed Tasks
Schools wishing to combine for School-assessed Tasks should also enter their details directly onto VASS.
Please note that only the following studies have School-assessed Tasks
- Art
- Design and Technology
- Food and Technology
- Media
- Studio Arts
- Systems and Technology
- Visual Communication and Design
Financial Assistance for Combining Groups for School-assessed Tasks
Funding is available for travel if schools have combined for the purpose of the assessment review for a School-assessed Task. There is no allowance as described above (small group moderation for coursework). The application form for funding of travel for combining schools is located in the 2007 VCE and VCAL Administrative Handbook on page 209.
References
- VCE and VCAL Administrative Handbook 2007 pages 45, 46, 47, and pages 139 and 140
- VCAA Bulletin No 46, March 2007, pages 6 and 14
- Memorandum to schools no 24/2006
Contact
For clarification of any information regarding small group partnerships please contact,
Student Records and Results Unit
Telephone: (03) 9651 4402 or 1800 653 045
Email:
student.records@edumail.vic.gov.au
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Last Updated: September 2, 2008
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Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, State Government of Victoria, 2008.
