Sample Assessment Notification

Year 12 Society and Culture

Context

Students have been learning about social conformity and non-conformity in different groups in both
contemporary time and in the past. In this assessment task, students focus on course concepts and how
these concepts relate to individuals’ sense of social conformity or social deviance.

Assessment Task: 1 Weighting: 30% Due Date: Week 8, Term 2

Outcomes assessed
H1 evaluates and effectively applies social and cultural concepts
H3 analyses relationships and interactions within and between social and cultural groups
H9 applies complex course language and concepts appropriate for a range of audiences and contexts
H10 communicates complex information, ideas and issues using appropriate written, oral and graphic
forms
Nature of the task
For this assessment task, you are to interview 5 people in your life of different ages, genders and
backgrounds. You will be provided with a consent form for the interviewee to sign.

The questions you will ask your interviewees will be provided in the scaffold.
These interviews are to be completed by Week 7, Term 2. Your podcast is to be 2-3 minutes.
NB: Your interviewees are to be stated anonymously in your podcast. Remember, you can refer back to
them as “Anonymous 1” or “Person 2”. You may mention their age, background, gender to provide some
context.
In this podcast, you are to synthesis your findings using key course concepts: power, persons, gender,
authority, identity.
In Week 8, Term 2, you will be recording your research in class as a podcast.
Send your podcast to your teacher through Google Classroom. Your podcast will be listened to and
marked by your teacher in class at the end of Week 8, Term 2.

Marking criteria
You will be assessed on how well you:
 conduct research ethically and use the information about the interviewees as context for their
responses
 analyse the different responses from interviewees and how you synthesis these findings
 reflect on and assess how individuals from different cultural backgrounds, ages and genders
experience social conformity and non-conformity and the impacts

Feedback provided
Your teacher will provide written feedback outlining strengths and areas for improvement in your podcast,
such as what findings you elaborate on, how you relate it to course concepts, how you are able to
synthesis these findings. Feedback will also be provided for students to reflect on their learning,
understanding and skills.

NB: Three students are lower ability – can create a Venn diagram in class of their findings to assist with synthesising.
Furthermore, students will be given a sample scaffold to assist with synthesising findings.
Marking guidelines

Students: Mark range

 composes an effective synthesis of findings from research 13–15

 explains how difference course concepts relate to the research
 purposefully reflects on how different ages, genders, cultures understand social
conformity/non-conformity.

 summarises findings from research 9–12

 outlines course concepts and how they relate to the findings
 demonstratess good effort in describing social conformity/non-conformity amongst people
from different groups

 composes a podcast with basic understanding of responses 5–8

 uses course concepts
 demonstrates sound ability in synthesising interviewees responses

 attempts to talk about the findings from interviews 1–4

 limited use of course concepts
 minimal ability to synthesis research
Year 12 Society and Culture – Social Conformity and non-Conformity

Sample Scaffold
Notes to take down for interview process

o Age, Gender, Cultural Background

o What is social conformity/non-conformity to you?

o Does your age, gender or cultural background impact your decision to oblige/deviate?
Why/why not?

o Can you think of a time when you did not conform? What were the consequences?

Using your responses from your interviewees, note down your findings by looking at connected
or contrasted responses. Also note down the key course concepts to assist in synthesising your
research to course content.
 “NSW schools are taking more
responsibility for their own

Venn Diagram

How different genders, age, cultural

backgrounds understand social
conformity/non-conformity.

Synthesise!
performance, are subject to closer public scrutiny and are finding new ways of improving
student outcomes in a world of ever-more demanding standards” (Smith, 2005, p. 42).

Students in NSW are feeling the pressure of high stakes testing now more than ever. High stakes
testing impacts on their emotional and mental wellbeing, self-confidence and overall success in
school. However, teachers also take immense pressure from high stake testing in NSW, such as
the NAPLAN for years 3,5,7 and 9, and the Higher School Certificate (HSC) for year 12. To assist
with the pressure of such high-stake tests, teachers and students must consider different methods
to enhance student’s sense of capability during these examinations. Teachers and schools can
take approaches that enable students to feel better prepared for these assessments through
various methods of feedback and designing assessment which can enhance student’s knowledge
and skills. When teachers support their student’s through proactive feedback and engaging
assessment, students are more likely to feel confident and prepared for these compulsory high-
stake testings.

It is evident that the closer students reach Year 12 and the HSC, there is an increase in pressure
to do well. Student stress in Year 12 is indicated in a number of ways: minimalizing in tasks,
truanting, mental anguish, and more (O’Brien and Wright, 2007). The HSC is emphasised as being
the most important test a student will make in their life, as it is the gateway to university.
Furthermore, although NAPLAN is deigned for students in younger years, it is also an annual
Literacy and Numeracy exam for years 3, 5, 7 and 9 which may cause anxiety for our younger
students. The Queensland Studies Authority (QSA), concerned that testing encourages “methods
of teaching that promote shallow and superficial learning rather than deep conceptual
understanding and the kinds of complex knowledge and skills needed in modern, information-
based societies” (Rice, Polesel & Dulfer, 2014, pg. 642). Furthermore, many other countries with
high-stake testing impact students in negative ways; in the USA, research shows that Student
Achievement Tests (SATs) pushes levels of anxiety in many students beyond what is
manageable. “In Korea the daily experiences of intense academic competition in school were
associated with high rates of academic stress and depressive symptoms, and in England the
General Certificate of Secondary Education exams represent worry and anxiety for students in
their final two years of compulsory education” (Banks & Smyth, 2015, pg. 599). With an
overwhelming pressure to do well in these examinations due to global scrutiny, it is imperative that
teachers and schools in NSW work together to support student’s mental and emotional wellbeing,
while developing student academic outcomes.

As written in the Assessment and Reporting in Society and Culture Stage 6 document, both school
based and external examinations assist in measuring student achievement throughout the Year 12
course (NSW Education Standards Authority, 2017). That is, teacher provide students an
opportunity to engage in school-based assessments that can be practical and engaging, which
allows for more positive preparedness for the HSC. The two types of in-class assessment are
informal assessment and formal assessment. Informal assessment enables teachers to grasp the
level of knowledge students have; this includes classroom discussion, questioning and
observation (NESA, 2017). Informal assessment is imperative in classrooms because it
encourages open dialogue about content and what students know, as well as what they do not
know. Through informal assessment, teacher can begin to design lessons that support student
knowledge and skills. Formal assessment consists of students undertaking school-based
assessments which reflects on specific course requirements, components and weightings (NESA,
2017). Furthermore, both types of assessment should be utilised to observe what level of skills
and knowledge students have, and how they can improve their understanding of the content.
Some of the imperative points that are described in NESA’S ‘Assessment in practice’ are that
schools are expected to develop quality assessment tasks and explicit marking guidelines, provide
effective feedback to students in relation to their strengths and how to improve and conduct
school-based assessment programs that give students an opportunity to demonstrate their
knowledge and skills in different ways (2018). In the sample assessment provided, students are to
create a podcast from research they have gathered. In NSW, “the provision of high-quality tests
and ICT systems to align internal and external assessments are seen as crucial to effective
assessment practice (Smith, 2005, pg. 40). This sample assessment provides students with the
opportunity to showcase their ICT strengths rather than completing an in-class essay or exam. So,
by following the expectations of NESA in ‘Assessment in Practice’, teachers will be able to assist
with students in a way where they are able to showcase their various strengths and creative
capabilities.

Teacher feedback is an essential part of student academic success as it provides students with an
insight about their strengths and why, what they can improve on and how. How and when
feedback is delivered has large influence on student learning, with verbal feedback being seen as
most practical, as teachers notice and respond to student’s thinking in a spontaneous matter
(Brown, Harnett and Harris, 2012). Feedback is best understood when it is constructive and
provides meaningful information to students, reinforces students’ strengths and provides
information on how students can improve (NESA, 2018). Although some researchers argue that
written feedback is preferable to verbal communication because students can revisit it (Brown,
Harnett & Harris, 2012), creating a verbal dialogue about students strengths and room for
improvement is practical and creates a better sense of understanding of what students need to
work towards, without the ambiguity of written feedback which may often be unclear.

Assessment in school is an effective approach to understand student’s level of content knowledge

and how they apply it. Informal assessment provides an idea of what students know and are
working towards, in contrast to formal assessment where student’s knowledge and skills are being
observed and assessed. Nonetheless, assessment can be high pressure, and students may begin
to become anxious about doing well, causing mental and emotional issues. It is the teacher’s role
and responsibility to ensure that in-class assessment is manageable, engaging and reflects on the
diversity of the classroom. When teachers are able to practice positive assessment, which
consists of differentiation that caters to the diversity of students, students achieve better academic
outcomes and feel more supported. Furthermore, after completing the task, teachers need to
engage in constructive feedback that is positive, concise and contains recommendations for how
students can improve. By creating assessment and feedback that is worthwhile and supportive,
student’s academic outcomes are not only achieved, but sense of emotional and mental wellbeing.

Banks, J & Smyth, E (2015) ‘Your whole life depends on it’: academic stress and high-stakes testing in

Ireland, Journal of Youth Studies, 18:5, 598-616.

Brown, G., Harnett, J & Harris, L (2012). Teacher beliefs about feedback within an assessment for learning

environment: Endorsement of improved learning over student well-being. Teaching and Teacher

Education, 968-978.

Dulfer, N., Polesel J. & Rice, S (2014) The impact of high-stakes testing on curriculum and pedagogy: a

teacher perspective from Australia, Journal of Education Policy, 29:5, 640-657.

NSW Education Standards Authority (2018). Assessment in Practice.

NSW Education Standards Authority (2017). Assessment and Reporting in Society and Culture Stage 6.

O'Brien, T and Wright, K (2007). Helping students with HSC stress and distress. Australian Educational

Leader, Vol. 29, No. 2, 32-35.

Smith, M (2005). Data for schools in NSW: What is provided, and can it help? Australian Council for
Educational Research.