Music Performance: Solo - School-assessed

Advice regarding the formation of small group partnerships
Partnerships: combined moderation groups from more than one school
Music Performance: Solo - Guidelines for assessing school-assessed coursework performances in small group partnerships
School-assessed coursework in Music Performance: Solo
Communication between partnership members
Assessing performances in school-assessed coursework
Contacts for enquiries

Advice regarding the formation of small group partnerships

The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority uses statistical moderation to ensure the coursework assessments given by different schools are comparable throughout the state and are fair to all students.

The setting of assessment tasks and marking of coursework assessments by teachers in one school may be stricter or more generous than in another school. Students would therefore get lower or higher marks for the same standard of work depending on the teachers assessing them. To counter these effects the VCAA uses statistical moderation to ensure that schools’ assessments are comparable, and thus fair for all students throughout the State, whichever school they attend.

Statistical moderation is a process of adjusting schools' assessments to the same standard while maintaining the students' rank order as given by the school. The level and spread of each school's assessments of its students in a particular study, is adjusted to match the level and spread of the same students' scores on all common external examinations including the GAT. Because examinations are done by all students across the State, they provide a common standard against which schools' assessments can be compared.

For each study the moderation group for each school is identified. Generally the moderation group is all the students doing a study at a school.

If a school has only a very small number of students doing a study, then it will need to combine (in a partnership) with one or more schools for moderation purposes. When this happens, students from the schools in the partnership doing that study, form the moderation group.

Many moderation groups consist of two or more teaching classes, either as a result of multiple classes within one school, or as a result of groups from different schools combining for moderation purposes. In both situations, teachers need to work together to achieve comparability of assessment (for example cross-marking selected samples of student work) and to produce a combined distribution of coursework assessments. When planning the approach to be used, the primary consideration should be that the approach is manageable and does not result in an unmanageable workload for teachers.

Partnerships: combined moderation groups from more than one school

The policy of VCAA is to ensure that there are sufficient numbers of students in each moderation group by combining groups that are fewer than five students in a particular study in one school with a group (preferably a larger group) in that same study in another school. The schools are asked to work together to achieve comparability of assessments and to produce a combined set of coursework assessments, which will then be statistically moderated as a single group.

Moderation groups of ten or more students are preferred because as the size of the moderation group increases, moderation outcomes are less influenced by the scores of individual students in the group.

Further information on statistical moderation and partnerships can be found in the following publications and memorandum:

VCE and VCAL Administrative Handbook 2007, Section 4.6.1, pp 45-47 and Section 12.2 and 12.2.1, pp 139-140.
Small Group moderation partnerships
VCAA Bulletin 46, March 2007, pages 6&14
Small Group partnerships: Administrative Procedures for 2007
Memorandum to Schools, 23/2007

Music Performance: Solo - Guidelines for assessing school-assessed coursework performances in small group partnerships

Following are guidelines for achieving a combined set of comparable coursework assessment scores for school-assessed performances in Music Performance: Solo. These guidelines have been developed in the context of the process outlined in the VCE and VCAL Administrative Handbook. It is provided by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority to enable teachers from different schools to achieve comparability of assessment for Music Performance: Solo.

School-assessed coursework in Music Performance: Solo

The school-assessed coursework for Music Performance: Solo: Unit 3 as listed on page 85 of the Study Design is:

Outcome 2
- performance of a study or unaccompanied work with a technical focus; (25 marks) and
- performance of solo technical work and exercises unaccompanied; (20 marks) and
- unprepared performance of previously unseen material (10 marks)
Outcome 3 - an ensemble performance of a program of selected works (20 marks)

The school-assessed coursework for Music Performance: Solo: Unit 4 as listed on page 96 of the Study Design is:

Outcome 2
- performance of solo technical work and exercises unaccompanied; (20 marks) and
- unprepared performance of previously unseen material (10 marks)
Outcome 3 - an ensemble performance of a program of selected works (20 marks)

Communication between partnership members

Initial communication between partnership members should occur as early as possible and normally not later than the expected date of the completion of the first coursework assessment task for the unit. Partnership members are encouraged to conduct most of their communication by electronic means or by post. During initial discussion it is recommended that teachers discuss

Requirements of the Study Design. Teachers could:
- list the range of ensembles students will be participating in
- list the proposed programs of ensemble work to be interpreted and performed by students
- discuss the nature of technical work and exercises for each instrument
- discuss how each student has selected technical work and exercises appropriate to the works they are preparing for performance, for example by viewing or listening to recordings of the music selected for performance
- list the mode of unprepared performance selected by each student, that is performance of previously unseen music or spontaneous performance within a set style, making adjustments to various dimensions of music while performing or imitation of music played within a set style.
The assessment for each outcome. Teachers could:
- discuss the appropriate duration(s) of each assessment task with reference to the durations outlined under ‘scope of task’ on pages 29 and 30 of the Assessment Guide
- list ways the series of assessment tasks could be undertaken in each school, for example, each performance could be assessed on a different day or several performances could be assessed in a single session
- discuss how the marking schemes provided in the Assessment Guide could be interpreted by schools within the partnership, for example, when assessing technical work whether each dot point will be weighted equally.
The assessment task for each performance. Teachers should:
- develop a shared understanding of how the criteria will be interpreted across the schools in the partnership by discussing the criteria to be used in assessing each performance with reference to Assessment Guide.
- develop a series of common marking guides (one per performance) to be used at all schools in the partnership.
The assessment program of each of the partnership schools. Teachers could:
- list the ways in which each assessment task will be presented to students at schools across the partnership, for example, for Unit 3, Outcome 2 in the performance of unprepared material, students may be given 1 minute silent reading and/or non-playing time to prepare a performance of 30 seconds to 1 minute
- discuss how each performance in the school-assessed coursework will be assessed at each school, for example the ensemble performance could be assessed by a panel of teachers during a public performance by the ensemble or by the classroom teacher during a dress-rehearsal for a performance by the ensemble.

Assessing performances in school-assessed coursework

Each school should assess the performances of its own students within the timeframe agreed to by the school(s) in the partnership.

Each school should also identify student performances that will be cross-marked by a teacher from the other school(s) in the partnership. The schools in the partnership should agree on the performances that will be cross-marked. This cross-marking should be completed without any knowledge of the assessment given by the student’s own teacher.

In Unit 3 at least two of the performances and in Unit 4 at least one of the performances for each student should be cross-marked. Teachers may complete this marking by, for example,

attending performance/s. All schools in the partnership should be invited to attend the performances and informed of the relevant time/s and location/s. Where one or more teachers in the partnership cannot attend, school/s should make arrangements so that these teachers will have the opportunity to assess the performance
listening to recording/s of performances.

For small group partnerships, the number of students from each school whose performances are to be cross-marked should be equal to the number of students in the school with the smallest enrolment in the partnership.

After the cross-marking has been completed, teachers should discuss their assessments for each piece of work and agree on a final mark. If consensus cannot be reached then the scores should be averaged. As a result of the cross-marking it may be necessary to adjust the assessments of other work not included in the cross-marking.

Contacts for enquiries

For any enquiries relating to the administration of partnerships contact:
Ms Rebekah Taylor
Email: taylor.rebekah.e@edumail.vic.gov.au
Telephone: (03) 9651 4423

Ms Helen Champion
Email: champion.helen.h@edumail.vic.gov.au
Telephone: (03) 9651 4668

		> Home > VCE > Studies > School-assessed coursework - Music Performance (Solo) Print version
		Music Performance: Solo - School-assessed Advice regarding the formation of small group partnerships Partnerships: combined moderation groups from more than one school Music Performance: Solo - Guidelines for assessing school-assessed coursework performances in small group partnerships School-assessed coursework in Music Performance: Solo Communication between partnership members Assessing performances in school-assessed coursework Contacts for enquiries Back to Top Advice regarding the formation of small group partnerships The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority uses statistical moderation to ensure the coursework assessments given by different schools are comparable throughout the state and are fair to all students. The setting of assessment tasks and marking of coursework assessments by teachers in one school may be stricter or more generous than in another school. Students would therefore get lower or higher marks for the same standard of work depending on the teachers assessing them. To counter these effects the VCAA uses statistical moderation to ensure that schools’ assessments are comparable, and thus fair for all students throughout the State, whichever school they attend. Statistical moderation is a process of adjusting schools' assessments to the same standard while maintaining the students' rank order as given by the school. The level and spread of each school's assessments of its students in a particular study, is adjusted to match the level and spread of the same students' scores on all common external examinations including the GAT. Because examinations are done by all students across the State, they provide a common standard against which schools' assessments can be compared. For each study the moderation group for each school is identified. Generally the moderation group is all the students doing a study at a school. If a school has only a very small number of students doing a study, then it will need to combine (in a partnership) with one or more schools for moderation purposes. When this happens, students from the schools in the partnership doing that study, form the moderation group. Many moderation groups consist of two or more teaching classes, either as a result of multiple classes within one school, or as a result of groups from different schools combining for moderation purposes. In both situations, teachers need to work together to achieve comparability of assessment (for example cross-marking selected samples of student work) and to produce a combined distribution of coursework assessments. When planning the approach to be used, the primary consideration should be that the approach is manageable and does not result in an unmanageable workload for teachers. Back to Top Partnerships: combined moderation groups from more than one school The policy of VCAA is to ensure that there are sufficient numbers of students in each moderation group by combining groups that are fewer than five students in a particular study in one school with a group (preferably a larger group) in that same study in another school. The schools are asked to work together to achieve comparability of assessments and to produce a combined set of coursework assessments, which will then be statistically moderated as a single group. Moderation groups of ten or more students are preferred because as the size of the moderation group increases, moderation outcomes are less influenced by the scores of individual students in the group. Further information on statistical moderation and partnerships can be found in the following publications and memorandum: VCE and VCAL Administrative Handbook 2007, Section 4.6.1, pp 45-47 and Section 12.2 and 12.2.1, pp 139-140. Small Group moderation partnerships VCAA Bulletin 46, March 2007, pages 6&14 Small Group partnerships: Administrative Procedures for 2007 Memorandum to Schools, 23/2007 Back to Top Music Performance: Solo - Guidelines for assessing school-assessed coursework performances in small group partnerships Following are guidelines for achieving a combined set of comparable coursework assessment scores for school-assessed performances in Music Performance: Solo. These guidelines have been developed in the context of the process outlined in the VCE and VCAL Administrative Handbook. It is provided by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority to enable teachers from different schools to achieve comparability of assessment for Music Performance: Solo. Back to Top School-assessed coursework in Music Performance: Solo The school-assessed coursework for Music Performance: Solo: Unit 3 as listed on page 85 of the Study Design is: Outcome 2 performance of a study or unaccompanied work with a technical focus; (25 marks) and performance of solo technical work and exercises unaccompanied; (20 marks) and unprepared performance of previously unseen material (10 marks) Outcome 3 - an ensemble performance of a program of selected works (20 marks) The school-assessed coursework for Music Performance: Solo: Unit 4 as listed on page 96 of the Study Design is: Outcome 2 performance of solo technical work and exercises unaccompanied; (20 marks) and unprepared performance of previously unseen material (10 marks) Outcome 3 - an ensemble performance of a program of selected works (20 marks) Back to Top Communication between partnership members Initial communication between partnership members should occur as early as possible and normally not later than the expected date of the completion of the first coursework assessment task for the unit. Partnership members are encouraged to conduct most of their communication by electronic means or by post. During initial discussion it is recommended that teachers discuss Requirements of the Study Design. Teachers could: list the range of ensembles students will be participating in list the proposed programs of ensemble work to be interpreted and performed by students discuss the nature of technical work and exercises for each instrument discuss how each student has selected technical work and exercises appropriate to the works they are preparing for performance, for example by viewing or listening to recordings of the music selected for performance list the mode of unprepared performance selected by each student, that is performance of previously unseen music or spontaneous performance within a set style, making adjustments to various dimensions of music while performing or imitation of music played within a set style. The assessment for each outcome. Teachers could: discuss the appropriate duration(s) of each assessment task with reference to the durations outlined under ‘scope of task’ on pages 29 and 30 of the Assessment Guide list ways the series of assessment tasks could be undertaken in each school, for example, each performance could be assessed on a different day or several performances could be assessed in a single session discuss how the marking schemes provided in the Assessment Guide could be interpreted by schools within the partnership, for example, when assessing technical work whether each dot point will be weighted equally. The assessment task for each performance. Teachers should: develop a shared understanding of how the criteria will be interpreted across the schools in the partnership by discussing the criteria to be used in assessing each performance with reference to Assessment Guide. develop a series of common marking guides (one per performance) to be used at all schools in the partnership. The assessment program of each of the partnership schools. Teachers could: list the ways in which each assessment task will be presented to students at schools across the partnership, for example, for Unit 3, Outcome 2 in the performance of unprepared material, students may be given 1 minute silent reading and/or non-playing time to prepare a performance of 30 seconds to 1 minute discuss how each performance in the school-assessed coursework will be assessed at each school, for example the ensemble performance could be assessed by a panel of teachers during a public performance by the ensemble or by the classroom teacher during a dress-rehearsal for a performance by the ensemble. Back to Top Assessing performances in school-assessed coursework Each school should assess the performances of its own students within the timeframe agreed to by the school(s) in the partnership. Each school should also identify student performances that will be cross-marked by a teacher from the other school(s) in the partnership. The schools in the partnership should agree on the performances that will be cross-marked. This cross-marking should be completed without any knowledge of the assessment given by the student’s own teacher. In Unit 3 at least two of the performances and in Unit 4 at least one of the performances for each student should be cross-marked. Teachers may complete this marking by, for example, attending performance/s. All schools in the partnership should be invited to attend the performances and informed of the relevant time/s and location/s. Where one or more teachers in the partnership cannot attend, school/s should make arrangements so that these teachers will have the opportunity to assess the performance listening to recording/s of performances. For small group partnerships, the number of students from each school whose performances are to be cross-marked should be equal to the number of students in the school with the smallest enrolment in the partnership. After the cross-marking has been completed, teachers should discuss their assessments for each piece of work and agree on a final mark. If consensus cannot be reached then the scores should be averaged. As a result of the cross-marking it may be necessary to adjust the assessments of other work not included in the cross-marking. Back to Top Contacts for enquiries For any enquiries relating to the administration of partnerships contact: Ms Rebekah Taylor Email: taylor.rebekah.e@edumail.vic.gov.au Telephone: (03) 9651 4423 Ms Helen Champion Email: champion.helen.h@edumail.vic.gov.au Telephone: (03) 9651 4668
		Back to Top Privacy Statement \| Copyright \| Disclaimer Last Updated: December 5, 2007 Copyright © Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, State Government of Victoria, 2007.