You may have heard this long ago before, but I can't seem to find any threads on this topic... Also, I've noticed a lot of my peers did not know this.
The Board of Studies had announced that there will be a Computing Skills Assessment as part of the School Certificate syllabus, which was recently introduced as trials on pen and paper or online, will become a mandatory assessment by 2006. (A change from the inital proposal that it will be mandatory in 2004). It will form part of the credentials reported on the School Certificate. There will be no separate school based component, thus it is an external examination. (likely to be a 90 minute written or online electronic program examination consisting of 100 multiple choice questions like the trials)
Here's some bulletin reports from the Board of Studies about this introduction.
New Year 10 Computing Skills Assessment for 2006:
Schools across NSW are to be given more time to prepare for the introduction of the new Year 10 Computing Skills Assessment. The Computing Skills Assessment was initially planned for introduction in 2004 but will now be compulsory for all Year 10 students from 2006.
The decision recognises that schools are still busy consolidating their implementation of the new HSC courses and are also preparing for the introduction of the revised Years 7–10 curriculum. It was also recognised that the revised Years 7–10 syllabuses, to be introduced from 2004, contain a significant emphasis on students using information and communication technologies and that the introduction of the Computing Skills Assessment for Year 10 students for 2006 would be well timed.
“We have been consulting closely with school principals and teachers about the best way to introduce the new Computing Skills Assessment and they have told us that schools would benefit from further trialling before it becomes compulsory,” said Professor Gordon Stanley, President of the Board of Studies.
All secondary schools were given the opportunity to participate in this year’s trialling of the Computing Skills Assessment and nearly 600 government and non-government schools across the state have taken part. All secondary schools will now have the opportunity to trial the Computing Skills Assessment for a further two years before it becomes compulsory.
Further trialling will give schools more time and opportunities to develop strategies to deal with the issues raised at consultation meetings that have been held across the state about this year’s trial. These include the need for more time for teachers to further develop their own computing skills, ways of increasing the access to computers for both teachers and students and strategies for recording student achievement of computing skills.
What is the Computing Skills Assessment?:
The Computing Skills Assessment will assess and report each Year 10 student’s knowledge, skills and understanding of information and communications technologies (ICT) relevant to the mandatory Years 7–10 curriculum.
Students will be expected to demonstrate knowledge, under-standing and skills in word processing, the use of spreadsheet packages and computer databases, creating multimedia presentations, searching the internet and using email.
When the Computing Skills Assessment becomes compulsory, Year 10 students will receive School Certificate credentials that report on the computing skills they have demonstrated. The aim of the new Computing Skills Assessment is to ensure that all Year 10 students develop the skills in ICT needed for further studies or for entering the workforce.
Trialling the Computing Skills Assessment:
To prepare for the new Computing Skills Assessment, the Board of Studies has been conducting trials in government and non-government schools in metropolitan and rural regions across NSW for the past three years.
This year, the trial was open to all schools and some 60 000 students from almost 600 schools participated. Schools were able to participate by trialling a 90-minute external test or by undertaking school-based assessment or by trialling both components. The aim of the trials is to ensure that the new Computing Skills Assessment is manageable, equitable and sufficiently flexible to cater for the wide variety of school needs. The Board of Studies will continue to trial and further develop the Computing Skills Assessment in 2004 and 2005.
For more information visit: http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_sc/computingskills_bbarticles.html#Computing
The Board of Studies had announced that there will be a Computing Skills Assessment as part of the School Certificate syllabus, which was recently introduced as trials on pen and paper or online, will become a mandatory assessment by 2006. (A change from the inital proposal that it will be mandatory in 2004). It will form part of the credentials reported on the School Certificate. There will be no separate school based component, thus it is an external examination. (likely to be a 90 minute written or online electronic program examination consisting of 100 multiple choice questions like the trials)
Here's some bulletin reports from the Board of Studies about this introduction.
New Year 10 Computing Skills Assessment for 2006:
Schools across NSW are to be given more time to prepare for the introduction of the new Year 10 Computing Skills Assessment. The Computing Skills Assessment was initially planned for introduction in 2004 but will now be compulsory for all Year 10 students from 2006.
The decision recognises that schools are still busy consolidating their implementation of the new HSC courses and are also preparing for the introduction of the revised Years 7–10 curriculum. It was also recognised that the revised Years 7–10 syllabuses, to be introduced from 2004, contain a significant emphasis on students using information and communication technologies and that the introduction of the Computing Skills Assessment for Year 10 students for 2006 would be well timed.
“We have been consulting closely with school principals and teachers about the best way to introduce the new Computing Skills Assessment and they have told us that schools would benefit from further trialling before it becomes compulsory,” said Professor Gordon Stanley, President of the Board of Studies.
All secondary schools were given the opportunity to participate in this year’s trialling of the Computing Skills Assessment and nearly 600 government and non-government schools across the state have taken part. All secondary schools will now have the opportunity to trial the Computing Skills Assessment for a further two years before it becomes compulsory.
Further trialling will give schools more time and opportunities to develop strategies to deal with the issues raised at consultation meetings that have been held across the state about this year’s trial. These include the need for more time for teachers to further develop their own computing skills, ways of increasing the access to computers for both teachers and students and strategies for recording student achievement of computing skills.
What is the Computing Skills Assessment?:
The Computing Skills Assessment will assess and report each Year 10 student’s knowledge, skills and understanding of information and communications technologies (ICT) relevant to the mandatory Years 7–10 curriculum.
Students will be expected to demonstrate knowledge, under-standing and skills in word processing, the use of spreadsheet packages and computer databases, creating multimedia presentations, searching the internet and using email.
When the Computing Skills Assessment becomes compulsory, Year 10 students will receive School Certificate credentials that report on the computing skills they have demonstrated. The aim of the new Computing Skills Assessment is to ensure that all Year 10 students develop the skills in ICT needed for further studies or for entering the workforce.
Trialling the Computing Skills Assessment:
To prepare for the new Computing Skills Assessment, the Board of Studies has been conducting trials in government and non-government schools in metropolitan and rural regions across NSW for the past three years.
This year, the trial was open to all schools and some 60 000 students from almost 600 schools participated. Schools were able to participate by trialling a 90-minute external test or by undertaking school-based assessment or by trialling both components. The aim of the trials is to ensure that the new Computing Skills Assessment is manageable, equitable and sufficiently flexible to cater for the wide variety of school needs. The Board of Studies will continue to trial and further develop the Computing Skills Assessment in 2004 and 2005.
For more information visit: http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_sc/computingskills_bbarticles.html#Computing
