To support teachers implementing the Victorian Curriculum F–10 Languages curriculum, the VCAA is offering access to a new suite of online languages assessments. Developed with and hosted by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), the VCAA Languages Assessments consist of a series of multiple-choice listening and reading tests. The assessments provide a snapshot of each individual student's receptive reading and listening skills, which can then be used to better target the student's learning needs.
All VCAA Languages Assessments are available 'on demand' with teachers deciding when and how often they wish to use them.
Initially, the assessments will offer teachers raw test scores only. This means that teachers will see which questions students answered correctly, which were incorrect and which questions were not attempted.
What languages are being offered?
The VCAA Languages Assessments are available as listening and reading tests in eight languages, including Chinese.
How can teachers use these language assessments?
The VCAA Languages Assessments are available for teachers to use at any time. It is important that teachers preview the tests to determine the suitability for use with their students.
The VCAA will provide an indication of where the languages assessments align with the curriculum, but teachers have the flexibility to decide which test they wish to use to assess their students' listening and/or reading skills.
What is the relationship between the VCAA Languages Assessments and reporting?
The languages assessments are a resource schools may choose to use to support the teaching of Languages. They provide assessments of the receptive skills of listening and reading. They are not intended to be the sole means of assessing student progress against the Victorian Curriculum Languages achievement standards.
Who can use the VCAA Language Assessments and what will they cost?
These resources are available at no cost to all Victorian schools, including community language schools.
How can teachers access the VCAA Languages Assessments?
These languages resources are hosted by ACER on behalf of the VCAA. ACER has dedicated support resources, including helpdesk support, to assist teachers to both register and use them. To access the languages assessments, simply go to the ACER website.
Once registered, schools will receive a confirmation email and further instructions from ACER on how to proceed.
I have not registered at all. How do I register?
Visit the ACER website and complete the online registration form.
Schools will receive login details via an email from ACER once the registration is approved. This may take up to 5 business days.
I have assigned the assessments but my students have not completed them yet. How can students complete them at home?
Log in and go to the Students page to download a list of students' login details.
Detailed step-by-step instructions and video demonstrations are available on the Help page.
Send login detail to each student and advise students of the assigned assessment they will need to complete.
Once I have added students and assigned them assessment/s, do I send login details (link and password) to each student individually so they can complete the assessment/s?
Yes.
Teachers can download or print student login details from the Student tab of the school account.
Detailed step-by-step instructions and video demonstrations are available on the Help page.
Do I assign the same password to all students or a different password to each student?
We advise that students are assigned unique passwords.
How will I know if a student has completed the assessment at home?
As soon as a student has completed the assessment, their results are instantly available online.
Log in to your online account to access results and generate reports.
Detailed step-by-step instructions and video demonstrations of how to generate reports are available on the Help page.
Do all students have to complete the assessment at the same time or can I give them a day and/or time by which the assessment is to be completed?
It is up to you.
You can set a day and/or time (for example, next Monday) for individual completion, or the whole class can complete the assessment at the same time in an online classroom situation.
Either way, you need to send login details to your students prior to completing the assessments.
I have used the assessments before and have a password. Do I use the same password?
Yes.
If you cannot log in, click 'Forgot your password?' to reset your password.
Do I still receive the reports after the assessments have been completed?
The reports are available instantly. As soon as the students have completed the assessments, you are able to access their results and the reports.
Detailed step-by-step instructions and video demonstrations of how to generate reports are available on the Help page.
Who should assist parents, carers or guardians with questions or technical issues?
Teachers will need to assist parents, carers or guardians directly with any queries or technical issues.
Results and reports will be made available only to schools, using OARS instant reporting.
Can the OARS Helpdesk details be provided to parents, carers or guardians?
Due to privacy laws, the OARS Helpdesk will refer any enquiries from parents, carers or guardians back to their child's school. ACER will not provide results or reports to parents, carers or guardians.