Updated: Mar 2000 | Curriculum Provision Review Student Achievement

Curriculum Provision - Review Student Achievement

	Student Achievement
	Individual Focus of Planning Classroom Planning School Planning The Planning Cycle

Student Achievement

Individually, and as part of a whole-school approach, teachers have always undertaken classroom and school curriculum planning. This has normally been based, however, on what is to be taught to their students and has typically included the list of objectives to be covered, at a particular year level, in the time available.

The Curriculum Framework and the Outcomes and Standards Framework focus on what it is that students achieve (what they show they can do or can understand) and what they need to do next in order to make progress in relation to the outcomes.

Curriculum planning based on an outcomes-focused approach more directly caters for the developmental needs of students.

The focus on outcomes and students' achievement of them provides a common basis for each teacher in a school, when planning, to have a clear focus on:

	what is expected of each student.
	how best to design curriculum that ensures students achieve outcomes appropriate to their stage of development.
	what opportunities should be provided for students to continually experience success in their learning.
	having realistic yet challenging expectations about each student's performance.

By doing this, students, parents and teachers:

	develop a shared understanding of the common outcomes as stated in the Curriculum Framework.
	come to a shared view of progress and achievement as described in the Student Outcome Statements.

Individual Focus of Planning - Classroom Planning

In planning their classroom curriculum, teachers may:

	Identify a relevant theme or issue around which learning outcomes can be developed or use student interest or motivation to focus on particular outcomes. This may involve modifying existing themes or issues and emphasising particular outcomes.
	Emphasise certain outcomes based on prior diagnosis and analysis of student achievement. This may involve implementing alternative strategies.
	Focus on the development of certain outcomes where students have had limited opportunities to demonstrate achievement. This may involve modifying existing strategies to provide students with sufficient opportunities to demonstrate their level of achievement.

Individual Focus of Planning - School Planning

In developing a school curriculum plan, teachers collaboratively:

	Examine existing curriculum provision in the school in relation to the outcomes described in the Curriculum Framework. This may result in curriculum modifications to ensure students have adequate opportunities to make progress in relation to these outcomes.
	Monitor student progress and identify gaps in the information available in relation to the outcomes of the Curriculum Framework. This may result in modifying existing learning tasks or developing additional ones.
	Make judgements in relation to the levels of achievement described in the Student Outcome Statements. These judgements can be used to determine adequacy of curriculum provision, whether student performance meets school expectations, and the extent of school improvement.

Individual Focus of Planning - The Planning Cycle

In an outcomes-focused environment planning individual, classroom and school programs, teachers are aware that:

	monitoring and assessment is integral to the teaching and learning cycle.
	the focus of planning is each student's levels of development and facilitating progress of each student to subsequent levels.

In implementing the curriculum, teachers provide a learning environment where students can learn, achieve and progress by, among other things:

	interacting with their peers.
	engaging in meaningful and relevant tasks.
	questioning their view of the world.
	negotiating the curriculum.

In monitoring and assessing student performance, teachers develop assessment practices that are appropriate for making judgements about outcomes in one or more learning areas. The connections that students make in their learning and the skills needed to demonstrate knowledge should be the focus for instruction and for assessment and reporting.

When planning assessment procedures, teachers are aware of the need for:

	including a variety of assessment strategies to provide multiple sources of information.
	ensuring assessment strategies are purposeful.
	providing opportunities for students to demonstrate outcomes over a range of levels.
	taking account of the contexts, frequency, consistency and degree of independence shown by students.

Teachers are able to demonstrate accountability in their curriculum planning by:

	the extent to which they provide all students with the opportunity to demonstrate learning in relation to the outcomes described in the Curriculum Framework and the Student Outcome Statements.
	the extent to which their assessment practices are valid and reliable.

This will inform some of the strategies teachers use to support student achievement of outcomes. They may, for example:

	use the outcomes to develop a program or curriculum materials, or as a focus for assessment.
	monitor the performance of individuals or small groups of students on a rotational basis to become familiar with formative and observational monitoring and recording against the outcomes framework.
	identify a range of monitoring techniques that are needed to get relevant information
	plan for appropriate assessment points and design appropriate assessment tasks.
	consider the increasing use and relevance of students engaging in their own assessment and reporting practices.
	increasingly engage in collaborative work with other teachers within and across schools in making consistent judgements about student performance.