Aisha Elachrafi- 18028586

Society and Culture- 102091

Society and Culture 2B

Assessment two:
Stage six Assessment task
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Society and Culture- 102091

Assessment schedule- Society and Culture Stage 6 HSC

Components Task 1 Task 2 Task 3 Weighting %

Research Task Half-Yearly Take Home Essay

Examination
Social and Cultural Social Inclusion and
Continuity and Written Paper Exclusion
Change

Term 4, Week 8 Term 1, Week 7 Term 2, Week 8

Outcomes Outcomes Outcomes assessed

assessed assessed HI, H2, H3, H4, H5
H1, H2, H3, H5, H1, H2, H4, H5, H7, H9
H7 H9

Knowledge and
understanding of course 15 15 20 50
content

Application and
evaluation of social and 15 15 30
cultural research
methods

Communication of
information, ideas and
10 10 20
issues in appropriate
forms

Total % 30 40 30 100

* Accessed from the NESA website then modified to suit the assessment task.

Rationale:

This assessment task was designed to provide an understanding on the implications and
maintenance of social inclusion through the assistance of the government and social groupings. It
was also designed to demonstrate extensive knowledge and understanding on the employment
system in relation to a social grouping in a chosen country. This assessment task has been
designed as a Take Home Essay in order for students who struggle under the pressure of an
examination to feel calm and relaxed when writing their essay in the duration of two weeks.
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Society and Culture- 102091

Assessment task- Take Home Essay

COMPONENT WEIGHTING TOPIC DUE DATE

Take Home Essay 30% Social Inclusion and Exclusion Term 2, Week 8
June 11th 2018
OUTCOMES TO BE ASSESSED
H1 evaluates and effectively applies social and cultural concepts
H2 explains the development of personal, social and cultural identity
H3 analyses relationships and interactions within and between social and cultural groups
H5 analyses continuity and change and their influence on personal and social futures
H7 selects, organises, synthesises and analyses information from a variety of sources for usefulness,
validity and bias
H9 applies complex course language and concepts appropriate for a range of audiences and contexts

YOUR TASK
Complete the following essay questions:
1. With the help of the government and other community groups, how is the social inclusion of
ONE group in Australia assisted?
(10 marks)
2. In relation to the significance of the employment system, assess and demonstrate the importance
of inclusion for ONE group in ONE country that you have studied.
(20 marks)

You will be given two weeks to thoroughly research important and relevant information that relate to the
essay question. You will also be required to use content that was taught in class as evidence that you
have been paying attention.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
 DURATION: Response 1 must be 450 words long. Response 2 must be 750 words long.
Both accumulating to a final response of 1200 words.
 Focus on the groups that you have studied in class only.
 Focus on the countries that you have studied in class only
(HINT: Australia, America OR China).
 Statistics and data may also be used to compare how social inclusion and exclusion have
changed.
 Submit through Turnitin by the due date.
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RUBRIC:
 Understand theories and ideas.
 Use correct terminology and concepts in your understanding and learning.
 Explains the development of social, personal and cultural identity.
 Demonstrate that you understand how individuals or groups social inclusion or exclusion differs.
 Uses statistics and relevant information in order to answer the question.

Marking Criteria 1:

Criteria for Question One Grade /10

• Demonstrates extensive knowledge on how one grouping in Australia is assisted

through the help of the government or a community group. 8-10
• Clearly identifies examples.
• Applies relevant and correct terminology and concepts.
• Shows an understanding of how one grouping in Australia is assisted through the help
of the government or a community group. 5-7
• Mentions some examples.
• Uses some relevant terminology and concepts.
• Limited reference to the government or a community group. 3-4
• Limited use of terminology and concepts.

• Makes partial reference to the question. 1-2

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Marking Criteria 2:

Criteria for Question Two Grade /20

• Demonstrates extensive information of the employment system in relation to the

implications and maintenance of the social inclusion of ONE group in ONE country. 17-20
• Clearly supports response through explicit evidence and examples.
• Applies relevant and correct terminology and concepts.

• Explains a good understanding of the employment system with some relation to the
implications and maintenance of the social inclusion of ONE group in ONE country. 14-16
• Uses reasonable evidence and examples to support response.
• Uses relevant terminology and concepts.

• Satisfactory investigation of the employment system and slight mention of the

implications and maintenance of the social inclusion of ONE group in ONE country. 9-13
• Satisfactory use of relevant terminology and concepts.
• Mentions some examples.
• Limited understanding on the employment system and the social inclusion of ONE
group in ONE country. 5-8
• Limited use of correct terminology and concepts.
• May use examples.
• Makes partial reference to the employment system and social inclusion of ONE group in 1-4
ONE country.

* Accessed from the NESA website then modified to suit the essay questions.
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Society and Culture- 102091

Scaffold for the assessment task:

TIPS ON HOW TO WRITE AN EFFECTIVE ESSAY

In order for your essay to be effective and have a consistent flow, you must organise your ideas

and thoughts by firstly writing them down on a piece of paper. You must then ensure that your

ideas and thoughts have a significant link with the question.

Your essay should focus on the following:

- An introduction, which consists of a thesis statement and mentions the main points of

your essay. This should appeal to the reader’s attention.

- Three body paragraphs.

Your body paragraphs must explain and describe your topic through your main ideas.

This is to be conveyed through a topic sentence. Each paragraph will have a main idea,

following a detailed example in order to provide evidence. Correct terminology and

language must be used.

- A conclusion to sum up all your main ideas that is usually four to five strong sentences.

After writing your essay, it is important to edit your work and ensure that your strongest points

are presented first.

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Society and Culture- 102091

Justification:

It is important for teachers to understand the role and significance of providing a student

with an assessment. Assessments are an effective learning tool for teachers as they are given an

insight on how much information or knowledge the student knows. Following an assessment

task, it is then significant for teachers to provide students with efficient feedback in order to help

them develop and better their skills and knowledge. According to Standard five of the Australian

Professional Standards for teachers, teachers are required to “assess, provide feedback and report

on student learning” (AITSL, 2011). The following paper will discuss the importance of

assessment and approaches to providing students with appropriate feedback. This paper will also

discuss the approaches and designs of assessment that will be suitable for my teaching area

‘Society and Culture’ and the importance of differentiating assessment in order to cater for the

needs of all students.

There are different ways of assessing students. The two main forms of assessment are

known as formative and summative assessment. Formative assessment is used in order to provide

feedback to students as well as teachers to encourage and stimulate further learning. Formative

assessment is significant as it is a tool for teachers as well as students to monitor the progress and

growth of students (Harlen & James, 1997, p.370). An example of formative assessment is

assessing students through an assessment task. On the other hand, summative assessment is a

form of assessment that teachers are able to make judgements on students learning for reports

and parent teacher interviews (Harlen & James, 1997, p.372). Examples of summative

assessments are half yearly or yearly examinations. These results are often used to generate

feedback on a students report. Hence, both formative and summative assessments are significant

ways of assessing a student’s knowledge. Assessment does not only have to be formal where
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students are graded, however asking questions throughout a lesson and ensuring that the students

know what they are doing is a significant way of assessing knowledge.

According to the ACT education (2017), assessment is the process of gathering then

interpreting students’ results in order to assess and make judgements on their learning and

knowledge (p.6). Assessment is significant as it also allows teachers to evaluate what level their

students are at and then provide them with the further assistance in which they require to better

their weaknesses. This is a tool for continuous improvement as students will be able to fix their

mistakes prior to the next assessment task. This is also significant as teachers will then be able to

focus and provide further assistance on what students need to learn.

According to the Department of Education (2018) there are three main purposes for

assessment. These being: ‘assessment for learning’, ‘assessment as learning’, and ‘assessment of

learning’. Assessment for learning relates to the teacher utilising evidence about students in

order to provide them with feedback on their learning. It is also known as formative assessment.

This type of assessment is inclusive for all students. Assessment as learning allows students to

monitor their own learning and allows students to take responsibility of their learning.

Assessment of learning is a form of summative assessment that assists teachers in providing

feedback based on the students achievements of the syllabus outcomes and standards (NESA,

2018). Moreover, the three main aspects of assessments are significant as they all enable teachers

to gather results and be able to identify the achievements of all students, leading to making

judgements about the progression of the students.

Feedback is an effective tool for both teachers and students. Rather than just providing

students with feedback on their end of year report, it is important that feedback is provided
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immediately after the assessment is graded in order for students to improve their learning.

Providing feedback should always be centered on helping students to develop and improve their

knowledge, understanding and learning skills. Feedback enables students to identify their

weaknesses as well as their strengths. By thoroughly explaining to students why they received a

specific mark, students will be able to identify where they went wrong and improve their

mistakes as well as their weak learning area. Not only does feedback allow students to identify

where they went wrong, but is also allows students to identify and know their strengths and how

students have linked their knowledge with the syllabus outcomes and content (NESA, 2018).

As a future teacher, it is significant to be able to provide explicit and clear feedback. I

will also consider providing students with enough time in order for them to clearly understand

the criticism and results. According to Higgins and Hartley (2002), by providing explicit

feedback, students feel more motivated and will be more engaged within the classroom (p.55).

There are different approaches to providing feedback, oral and written feedback. Oral feedback

is provided to students and possibly the whole class from the teacher. This creates collaboration,

where all students are involved in the discussion (NESA, 2018). Written feedback such as reports

and final comments are also another form of feedback, however this specifically focuses on

individual feedback (NESA, 2018). Hence, effective feedback and different approaches of

feedback is significant as both teachers and students will be able to identify the achievement and

faults of students.

Through thorough research, it is evident that students who do not have self confidence or

self assurance tend to experience a high level of stress as well as anxiety which then affects their

exam performance, hence affecting their grades, more specifically in the Higher School

Certificate (HSC) examination (Rocik & Ringeisen, 2017). Whether assessments are conducted
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through an examination, take home essay or through a research task, they are an important aspect

of ones schooling period. According to O’Brein and Wright (2007), students tend to experience a

large quantity of stress during the HSC period. It is also evident that this experience occurs due

to the pressure of parents and other individuals. Hence, it is significant for a teacher to

understand the pedagogy strategies that students prefer in order to reduce this experience.

Standard one of the Australian Professional Standards for teachers, states “know your students

and how they learn”. In order for all students to be assessed equally, by adjusting the assessment

task for students who have anxiety and face an enormous amount of stress, students will be able

to nurture and develop, allowing them to achieve the best of their abilities.

When conducting an assessment task, as a pre service teacher, it is significant to

differentiate and cater for all students. Differentiating assessment relates to the teacher making

modifications and adjustments of assessment activities or questions in order to cater for students

with different learning needs and styles. When designing an assessment and considering the

different learning needs of students, my assessments will focus on a school-based assessment.

The Stage 6 Society and Culture assessment and reporting (2017) highlights that each year 12

student must have a school-based assessment mark for the course. School-based assessment tasks

are created in order to provide a fair assessment for students who have anxiety and face learning

distinctions. This is a form of allowing students to become less stress and to be able to perform

to the best of their ability. As the above assessment task was designed as a take home essay,

students who do face anxiety who high stress levels under exam conditions, will be able to

prepare themselves for essay writing in the HSC examination. Providing my future students with

a detailed scaffold is also a way of adjusting assessments in order to cater for students with

special learning needs.

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In conclusion, assessments are significant in all key-learning areas as it allows students to

deliver their understanding, knowledge and skills. It is also an effective tool for gathering

information on a student’s progression in order to teachers to evaluate and improve their teaching

programs. By providing students with effective and explicit feedback through different

approaches, students will be able to progress and develop the areas that are required. As a future

Society and Culture teacher, when designing an assessment, it is important to differentiate

according to the needs of students, such as differentiating for students who have anxiety,

specifically when undertaking HSC assessments.