Drafts - Student Assessment

Related Merici Policies

Nil

Rationale/Purpose

The purpose of the Drafts Policy is to clarify the expectations for/on staff regarding the reading of drafts of student work, while aiming to improve Year 10-12 student outcomes by allowing students to submit a draft of assessment.

Definitions

Draft

A preliminary version of any piece of writing, subject to revision.

Policy

Merici College encourages teachers to provide constructive feedback to students to assist them to achieve their potential when completing assessment tasks. General discussions regarding assessment work and how it is proceeding are a natural part of the relationship between the teacher and the student in any course.  Students should draft and redraft their work, and teachers may give general advice if students request it (e.g. during “assignment lessons”).  Moreover, teachers can be better assured of the authenticity of the work if first drafts (e.g. plans following discussions) are completed in class and seen and noted by them.

However, marking, correcting or editing of draft material by the teacher prior to submission of the final assignment moves into the realm of improper practice.  Students should not expect this level of assistance, nor should the teacher provide this.

Procedures

he following guidelines should be closely adhered to when reading the drafts of student work.

• Teachers should provide opportunities for feedback during assessment development, particularly during class time, that clarifies student understanding of a task and their general direction in creating a response.
• Any contact with students about drafts is at the discretion of the teacher, but it is expected that any timely request would be considered.
• Reading drafts is only applicable for students in Years 10-12.Ongoing feedback is expected in Years 7-9.
• The teacher should only provide feedback to students who are in their current class.
• Requests for teachers to read drafts are expected to be made as early as possible to allow feedback to be delivered and for it to be acted on, but no later than 7 days before the due date/time.
• The teacher may respond to only one draft of the student response.
• The teacher may not write comments through the text of the draft. The teacher is not to edit the work for the student
• Teachers may provide verbal feedback.This contact should not be seen as a tutoring session.5-10 minutes is an appropriate amount of time to spend on this activity.Students should be encouraged to take written (only) notes from this discussion.
• Teachers may, if time does not permit discussion, write up to 5 dot points giving feedback in relation to the rubric expectations. Students may seek clarification of this feedback.
• In either case, the feedback should be of a general nature, while still clearly directing students to areas of concern (an example of an incorrect tense could be identified); the response should indicate to the student that the response does or does not address the question and could include structure, fluency, use of evidence or the quality of research.
• The teacher may not give an indication of a mark or grade for the work.

Forms

Nil

References

Merici College Senior Assessment Handbook

Senior Handbook and Course Outlines