Assessment and reporting in German Continuers

Schools are required to submit to NESA a grade for each student based on their achievement at the end of the course.

Teachers use professional, on-balance judgement to allocate grades based on the Common Grade Scale for Preliminary courses.

Teachers consider all available assessment information, including formal and informal assessment, to determine the grade that best matches each student’s achievement at the end of the course.

See ACE (Assessment, Certification and Examination rules and requirements) for further information.

Assessment programs must reflect course components and weightings

The course components and component weightings for Year 11 are mandatory.

Schools may determine specific elements of their assessment program

Schools have authority to determine the number, type of task and the weighting allocated to an assessment task. Schools may also follow the sample assessment programs provided by NESA.

Sample assessment program

NESA’s sample Year 11 formal school-based assessment program for German Continuers includes:

• 3 assessment tasks, including:
  • a formal written exam.

The recommended weighting for any individual task is 20% to 40%.

NESA requires schools to submit a school-based assessment mark for each Year 12 candidate in a course. Formal school-based assessment tasks should reflect the syllabus outcomes and content. The mark submitted by the school provides a summation of each student’s achievement measured at several points throughout the course.

A school’s program of school-based assessment includes both mandatory and non-mandatory elements.

See ACE (Assessment, Certification and Examination rules and requirements) for further information.

Assessment programs must reflect course components and weightings

The course components and component weightings for Year 12 are mandatory.

Schools may determine specific elements of their assessment program

Schools have authority to determine the number, type of task and the weighting allocated to an assessment task. Schools may also follow the sample assessment programs provided by NESA.

Sample assessment program

NESA’s sample Year 12 formal school-based assessment program for German Continuers includes:

• 4 assessment tasks, including:
  • a minimum weighting for an individual task of 10%
  • a maximum weighting for an individual task of 40%
  • one task that is a formal written exam with a maximum weighting of 30%.

Formal written exam

This task may assess a broad range of course content and outcomes. Schools may choose to replicate the timing and structure of the HSC exam.

If a school includes the externally assessed oral exam in conjunction with the written paper, the combined weighting of the tasks should not exceed 30%.

• Candidates will be required to demonstrate their understanding of spoken text.
• There will be approximately 8 questions phrased in English relating to Objective 3.
• Each question will be based on an aural text in German.
• The texts will be read twice. There will be a pause between the readings and a longer pause after the second reading to allow candidates to answer the question.
• The texts will vary in length ranging from approximately 35 seconds to approximately 80 seconds.
• The total time for one reading of all the texts will be approximately 8 minutes.
• The texts will include a range of text types.
• There will be a range of question types such as short-answer questions that require a response in English or the completion of a table, list or form in German or English, and objective response questions with distractors in German or English.
• Questions may contain parts.
• There will be approximately 9 items.
• There will be at least one item worth from 5 to 6 marks.

This section will consist of 2 parts.

Part A (25 marks)

• Candidates will be required to demonstrate their understanding of written text.
• There will be 2 questions phrased in English relating to Objective 3 requiring a response in English.
• Each question will be based on a written text in German.
• The total length of the 2 texts will be approximately:
  • 600 words in Arabic, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Modern Greek and Spanish
  • 750 characters in Chinese
  • 1200 ji in Japanese
  • 1250 ja in Korean.
• Questions will contain short-answer parts and may contain objective response parts.
• There will be approximately 8 parts.
• There will be at least one part worth from 5 to 7 marks.

Part B (15 marks)

• Candidates will be required to demonstrate their understanding of written text by writing an extended response in German.
• There will be one extended response question phrased in English relating to Objective 1 and 2.
• The question will be based on a written text of approximately:
  • 150 words in Arabic, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Modern Greek and Spanish
  • 200 characters in Chinese
  • 300 ji in Japanese
  • 375 ja in Korean.
• The question will specify the audience, purpose and context of the response.
• Candidates will be required to respond to questions, statements, comments and/or specific information in the text.
• The expected length of response will be approximately:
  • 200 words in Arabic, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Modern Greek and Spanish
  • 250 characters in Chinese
  • 400 ji in Japanese
  • 500 ja in Korean.

• There will be 2 questions relating to Objective 2 phrased in English requiring a response in German.
• Each question will specify the audience, purpose and context of the response.
• The first question will be worth 5 marks and candidates will be required to write an informative or descriptive response of approximately:
  • 75 words in Arabic, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Modern Greek and Spanish
  • 90 characters in Chinese
  • 150 ji in Japanese
  • 180 ja in Korean.
• The second question will be worth 10 marks and will have 2 extended response alternatives, each requiring the same text type.
• Candidates will be required to answer one alternative and write an evaluative, persuasive or reflective response of approximately:
  • 200 words in Arabic, French, German, Indonesian, Italian, Modern Greek and Spanish
  • 250 characters in Chinese
  • 400 ji in Japanese
  • 500 ja in Korean.