Teachers Can | Teachers Cannot | Why / Why Not |
Let you know if you are on the right track to meet the standard / checkpoint and refer you back to the task/criteria if there are omissions or errors to improve. | Indicate what grade you will get. | It is a breach of assessment conditions. NZQA says we cannot do this. This may vary from subject to subject. |
Indicate skills/area for focus. | Indicate everything you are doing right/wrong. | It is then not an authentic, independent piece of your work. This means you would not be able to submit it for assessment. |
Give you holistic feedback. | Rewrite the content or suggest specific ideas. | This makes sure you have included the things you need to meet the standard. We cannot do the work or thinking for you as this undermines the assessment. |
Do a classroom activity or model the skill on the board and give you time to fix it in your own work. | Fix the errors, circle them or show you where they are. The teacher cannot work on your assessment piece. | Authenticity. It must be your own work. |
Give you feedback when you meet a checkpoint or provide a draft in advance of the assessment date. ‘In general feedback and feedforward should become less specific the closer the student is to the assessment date’ NZQA. | Give you feedback close to the due date or give you feedback if you miss a checkpoint. If your class is given a specific number of checkpoint(s), you cannot ask for further opportunities for feedforward. | This is unfair on you as you will not have enough time to implement the feedback. It is unfair on other students who met the checkpoint. It is also an unfair expectation on the teacher. |
Model the different criteria and how to achieve them. | Use your content and ideas to model how you can meet each criteria. | The teacher is achieving the grade instead of you. |
Can give you examplers of the task which meet different grade criteria, for reading in class. | Allow you to take home exemplars of student work from previous years on the same topic/text. | Can lead directly to plagiarism, either unwittingly or otherwise. |
Set checkpoints for the class to meet (if these are not already set in your course outline). They may also offer conferencing one-on-one (verbal feedback) as part of the feedback process. | Give everyone feedback or conference with everyone at exactly the same time. | Teachers have many classes and many students. This is physically impossible. Checkpoints are set across classes to ensure equity. Oral (verbal) feedback is considered the same as written feedback. |
Reteach specific areas of weakness for the whole class, if a weakness is identified. | Give you feedback on the same draft with minor changes or provide you feedback every time you do a draft. | It needs to be fair and reasonable for the teacher and the class. Perhaps consider asking the teacher to address a specific skill with the class so that you can apply it to your own understanding / draft. |
Identify clearly if you are plagiarising or missing key components such as a bibliography or have made inappropriate text choice. | Teachers have an obligation to ensure the work they assess is authentically the students own. | |
Can indicate you are not meeting checkpoints, and not completing tasks towards achievement in an assessment. | Can challenge you if the changes between drafts indicate outside intervention. |
Marist College offers a range of opportunities for our young women to succeed. We offer 33 different subject choices by the time our students reach Year 13.
The latest Education Review Office report states:
- Students are afforded many opportunities for personal growth and academic success. They achieve highly in external examinations and competitions. They participate enthusiastically in an extensive range of sporting, cultural and service activities and demonstrate worthwhile leadership skills. In particular they value the Marist special character and are proud of the school and its traditions.
- Students attain high levels of academic achievement.
- Teachers provide students with high quality learning experiences. They have high expectations of students, know them well and provide holistic support.
- There is a purposeful working environment evident throughout the school. Students are focused and remain on task. They take evident pride in their achievement.
