News
Minister announces membership of new Board
1 February 2012
Education Minister Liz Constable has announced the membership of the inaugural board of the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA).
The new authority will replace the Curriculum Council when the Curriculum Council Amendment Act is proclaimed.
The seven-member board is chaired by Emeritus Professor Patrick Garnett. Other members include:
- world renowned education expert UWA Professor David Andrich
- former public school principal and Aboriginal education specialist Lucina Cross
- former Catholic school principal and Curtin University director Margaret Herley
- vocational education and training expert Dr Ruth Shean
- early childhood and primary education specialist Professor Christine Ure
- Dr Bruce Matthews, a former independent school principal with extensive experience working in education in rural areas.
Professor Garnett has been appointed for five years and each of the other board members for four years.
Dr Constable said a key task for the board would be to oversee development of an outline for curriculum and assessment in schools that would replace the Curriculum Framework covering schooling from Kindergarten to Year 10. This would include accepting responsibility, at State level, for the management of national testing such as NAPLAN.
The Board
Emeritus Professor Patrick Garnett
A former deputy vice-chancellor of Edith Cowan University (ECU), Prof Garnett has extensive teaching experience in chemistry and science with involvement in the application of new technologies, including online learning.
Professor Garnett holds a PhD in Chemistry and a Bachelor of Education from The University of Western Australia, a Master of Arts in Science Education from the University of Maryland (USA) and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Education by ECU upon his retirement in 2007.
He has extensive experience in educational leadership and management. In his role of deputy vice-chancellor at ECU, he had responsibility for the university’s academic profile, research and research training, quality assurance, human resources, risk management and audit assurance. Prior appointments at ECU included six years as executive dean and five years as head of school.
During his career, Professor Garnett was also involved with the board of Secondary Education and the Secondary Education Authority as a long-standing member of the Chemistry Joint Syllabus Committee. He also chaired two Chemistry Syllabus Review Committees and was examiner and chair of the TAE Chemistry Examining Panel.
Professor David Andrich
Prof Andrich has been Chapple Professor of Education at The University of Western Australia since 2007. He has conducted research at national and State levels on certification and selection into tertiary education.
Professor Andrich has expertise in measurement and standards that will be a valuable asset for the Board and began his outstanding career in education as a teacher at WA public schools.
Lucina Cross
Ms Cross is a Martu and Yamatji woman with more than 20 years in education, particularly in the mid-west and north-west of WA.
She is a former school principal in north-west WA, has extensive experience in Aboriginal education and has taught at primary and secondary public schools and at tertiary level.
Margaret Herley
Ms Herley has completed a two-year contract with Curtin University as Director of Partnerships in the School of Education. Previously, she was principal of Iona Presentation College for 15 years.
Dr Ruth Shean
Dr Shean is the Director General of the Department of Training and Workforce Development. She has a long history of involvement in education in WA. Dr Shean brings to the board a great depth of knowledge of the vocational and training sector, as well as previous experience as a public school teacher.
Professor Christine Ure
Professor Ure is head of the School of Education at ECU. She has contributed to research and development in early childhood education, schools and higher education.
She is a highly experienced educator who has co-ordinated projects in many parts of Australia and overseas.
Dr Bruce Matthews
Dr Matthews was the headmaster at Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School from 1998 to 2011. Before that, he was deputy headmaster and head of senior school at Guildford Grammar School.
He has a great deal of relevant, recent experience in school education in a regional setting, as well as experience in both the public and private sectors.
Australian Curriculum implementation starts July 2012
1 February 2012
Schools in Western Australian will start formal implementation of the new Australian Curriculum for Pre-primary to Year 10 in July this year. Schools will have three years to fully implement the Phase 1 subjects of English, mathematics, science and history.
ACARA recently finalised the full package of materials required for teaching and learning, including achievement standards, exemplified at the C grade through annotated work samples.
During 2012 as teachers are implementing the Australian Curriculum, including achievement standards, ACARA will work with states and territories to investigate consistency in teacher judgement and to add to and refine the portfolio of work samples.
In the interim teachers can use the current portfolios of annotated student work to help them understand the expectations described in the standards.
Schools will have a range of implementation support, including professional learning, online learning resources, the websites of the three sector/systems (Government, Catholic and independent) and school-based support.
In Western Australia, a selection of assessment tasks specifically linked to aspects of the Australian Curriculum will be produced by teachers working collaboratively across the sectors. These will be available to all teachers during 2012.
The Curriculum Council will soon be replaced by the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA). One of the priorities of the new Board will be to oversee development of an outline for curriculum and assessment in schools that will replace the Curriculum Framework covering all years of schooling.
TISC can help with your ATAR questions
2 December 2011
For information regarding tertiary entrance and the calculation of the ATAR, contact the Tertiary Institutions Service Centre (TISC). TISC can be contacted on (08) 9318 8000 or by email at info@tisc.edu.au. You may also like to visit the TISC website at http://www.tisc.edu.au/.
WACE results available online
29 November 2011
Students can access their Year 12 results online from 29 December. To log on, you will need your Curriculum Council student number and other personal identification information.
Hard copies of results will be mailed to students on the same day.
For details about your ATAR you will need to visit the TISC website.
Social media
Students can keep up to date with news during the exam period through Council’s social media. The Council has launched an exam blog, a facebook page and you can follow us on twitter.
The addresses are:
Talk to you soon!
Check your details online
Year 12 students can now check their personal details, enrolments and WACE written examination timetables online at https://www.wace.wa.edu.au. This is the first time that students have been able to access this information online and print these details. Students must report errors to the school.
To log on, you will need your Curriculum Council student number and other personal identification information.
(966 Kb) Download Flier
Year 12 students will also be able to use this address to access their results online from Thursday, 29 December 2011.
If you have technical difficulties in accessing the information, then they need to contact the Council at sirshelp@scsa.wa.edu.au or on 9273 6719 (during office hours).
