Wa Curriculum: Education Standards And Learning Outcomes

what is the western australian curriculum

The Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline (the Outline) is for all students from Kindergarten to Year 10. It sets out the mandated curriculum, guiding principles for teaching, learning and assessment, and support for teachers in their assessment and reporting of student achievement. The School Curriculum and Standards Authority is an independent statutory authority that regulates school curriculum and assessment for all Western Australian children from Kindergarten to Year 12. The Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) is the certificate that all young people in Western Australia receive after they successfully complete secondary school.

Characteristics Values
Regulated by the School Curriculum and Standards Authority Knowledge, understanding, skills, values and attitudes
Applicable to all students from Kindergarten to Year 10 Student learning
Eight Learning Areas Guiding principles for teaching, learning and assessment
Mandated curriculum Support for teachers in their assessment and reporting of student achievement
Adapted from the Australian Curriculum version 9 ---
Pre-primary to Year 10 curriculum ---
Flexibility in year levels ---
Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) Breadth and depth of study, literacy and numeracy

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The Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE)

The School Curriculum and Standards Authority, an independent statutory authority, regulates the curriculum and assessment for all Western Australian students from Kindergarten to Year 12. The Authority has established reporting requirements for all schools in Western Australia, mandating that each public school must have an assessment and reporting plan to communicate a child's progress to their parents or guardians.

The WACE requires students to demonstrate a breadth and depth of study and to meet specified achievement standards, including literacy and numeracy. Typically, students complete their WACE in their final two years of secondary school, though there is no time limit for completion, and students can take as long as they need to meet the requirements. Students must complete 20 units, with a maximum of four Year 11 units and four Year 12 units awarded as unit equivalents by substituting VET qualifications and/or endorsed programs.

The Western Australian Curriculum, which forms the basis of the WACE, covers various subjects, including English, Health and Physical Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, Mathematics, Science, and Technologies. These curricula have been adapted from the Australian Curriculum version 9 to suit the Western Australian context.

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Curriculum and Assessment Outline

The Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline, or "the Outline", is a curriculum for all students from Kindergarten to Year 10. It sets out the mandated curriculum, guiding principles for teaching, learning, and assessment, and support for teachers in their assessment and reporting of student achievement. The Outline is divided into eight Learning Areas: English, Health and Physical Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, Mathematics, Science, Technologies, The Arts, and Languages.

The School Curriculum and Standards Authority, which regulates school curriculum and assessment for all Western Australian children from Kindergarten to Year 10, has adopted and adapted the Australian Curriculum version 9 to the Western Australian context. This means that the Western Australian Curriculum is largely the same as the Australian Curriculum, except for some minor changes requested by the state of Western Australia to make it more relevant to their context, mainly in history, geography, Indigenous, and cultural studies.

The Western Australian Curriculum outlines the knowledge, understanding, skills, values, and attitudes that students are expected to acquire. It also provides guidelines for the assessment of achievement and for the development and accreditation of courses for schools by setting and recording each person's achievement against standards. The specific content for each learning area and year level can be found on the School Curriculum and Standards Authority website.

The Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) is the certificate that all young people in Western Australia receive after they successfully complete secondary school. The WACE requires each person to demonstrate a breadth and depth of study and to reach a specified achievement standard, including literacy and numeracy. While young people typically complete their WACE in their final two years of secondary school, there is no specified time limit for completion, and study towards the achievement of the WACE can be undertaken over a lifetime.

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Learning areas and outcomes

The Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline (the Outline) is for all students from Kindergarten to Year 10. It sets out the mandated curriculum, guiding principles for teaching, learning and assessment, and support for teachers in their assessment and reporting of student achievement. The School Curriculum and Standards Authority has a phased approach in adopting and adapting the Australian Curriculum to the Western Australian context. The Western Australian curriculum applies from pre-primary to Year 10. Kindergarten has its own curriculum, but as this year is not compulsory, it does not apply to home educators. Years 11 and 12 have a separate curriculum, which differs from state to state.

The Western Australian curriculum is provided in eight learning areas: English, Health and Physical Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, Mathematics, Science, Technologies, The Arts, and Languages. The curriculum in each learning area is designed to provide students with the knowledge, understanding, skills, values, and attitudes they are expected to acquire. The specific content for each learning area and year level can be found on the School Curriculum and Standards Authority website.

The Western Australian Curriculum: English and the Western Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education have been adapted from the Australian Curriculum and are available for implementation in 2025. The Western Australian Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences, the Western Australian Curriculum: Mathematics, the Western Australian Curriculum: Science, and the Western Australian Curriculum: Technologies have also been adapted from the Australian Curriculum and are available for familiarisation in 2025.

The Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) is the certificate that all young people in Western Australia receive after successfully completing secondary school. The WACE requires each person to demonstrate a breadth and depth of study and to reach a specified achievement standard, including literacy and numeracy. Young people typically complete their WACE in their final two years of secondary school, but there is no specified time limit for completion.

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Curriculum differences from other states

The Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline (the Outline) is for all students from Kindergarten to Year 10. It sets out the mandated curriculum, guiding principles for teaching, learning and assessment, and support for teachers in their assessment and reporting of student achievement. The Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) is the certificate that all young people in Western Australia receive after they complete secondary school. The School Curriculum and Standards Authority, an independent statutory authority, regulates the curriculum and assessment for all Western Australian children from Kindergarten to Year 12.

The Western Australian curriculum encompasses ACARA's Australian curriculum English, Mathematics, and Science. Additionally, year-level syllabuses for Humanities and Social Sciences, Health and Physical Education, Technologies, The Arts, and Languages remain consistent with the Australian curriculum but are contextualized for Western Australian students and teachers. The Western Australian Curriculum: English and the Western Australian Curriculum: Health and Physical Education have been adapted from the Australian Curriculum version 9 and will be implemented in 2025. The Western Australian Curriculum: Humanities and Social Sciences, the Western Australian Curriculum: Mathematics, the Western Australian Curriculum: Science, and the Western Australian Curriculum: Technologies have also been adapted from the Australian Curriculum version 9 and are available for familiarization in 2025.

While the Australian curriculum serves as a foundation, there are some differences in how it is implemented and contextualized in Western Australia. For example, primary schools are given a lot of flexibility within the curriculum outcomes. Some schools may choose to teach printed cursive instead of printing or real cursive, and some may not teach times tables by rote, focusing only on the concept of multiplication. These differences in approach can impact the pace at which students progress through the curriculum, as noted by some parents transitioning their children from NSW to WA.

However, it is important to recognize that curriculum development and implementation are complex processes that involve various factors and stakeholders. Over time, different Australian states have taken different starting points and approaches to address issues such as knowledge and competencies, values, inclusiveness, assessment, and retention. These variations reflect the unique contexts and priorities of each state, and ongoing research and comparative studies help to shed light on these differences.

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Curriculum Council and Standards Authority

The Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline is for all students from Kindergarten to Year 10. It sets out the mandated curriculum, guiding principles for teaching, learning and assessment, and support for teachers in their assessment and reporting of student achievement. The School Curriculum and Standards Authority has a phased approach in adopting and adapting the Australian Curriculum to the Western Australian context. The Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) is the certificate that all young people in Western Australia receive after they successfully complete secondary school.

The School Curriculum and Standards Authority is an independent statutory authority that regulates school curriculum and assessment for all Western Australian children from Kindergarten to Year 12. It develops an outline of curriculum and assessment that sets out the knowledge, understanding, skills, values, and attitudes that children are expected to acquire. It also develops guidelines for the assessment of achievement and develops and accredits courses for schools by setting and recording each person's achievement against standards, and reporting on those standards.

The School Curriculum and Standards Authority replaced the Curriculum Council in 2012. The Curriculum Council was formed in 1997 and superseded the Secondary Education Authority. The inaugural Chief Executive of the Curriculum Council was Paul Albert, who served from 1997 to 2001. He was succeeded by Norma Jeffery, who served from 2003 to 2006, and was responsible for the implementation of the Curriculum Framework. Dave Wood was then appointed to the role of Chief Executive in 2006 but was dismissed in 2010 following a series of errors in the WACE examinations.

Frequently asked questions

The Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline (the Outline) is for all students from Kindergarten to Year 10. It sets out the mandated curriculum, guiding principles for teaching, learning and assessment, and support for teachers in their assessment and reporting of student achievement.

The School Curriculum and Standards Authority is an independent statutory authority that regulates the Western Australian Curriculum. The Authority was established in 2012 and replaced the Curriculum Council of Western Australia.

The Western Australian Curriculum is provided in eight Learning Areas: English, Health and Physical Education, Humanities and Social Sciences, Mathematics, Science, Technologies, The Arts, and Languages.

The Western Australian Curriculum is based on the Australian Curriculum, with some minor changes implemented to make it more relevant to Western Australia. These changes are mostly in History, Geography, Indigenous, and Cultural Studies.

The Western Australian Certificate of Education (WACE) is the certificate that all young people in Western Australia receive after they successfully complete secondary school. The WACE requires each person to demonstrate a breadth and depth of study and to reach a specified achievement standard, including literacy and numeracy.

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