Essential Secondary Science Assessment (ESSA)
Consultation in ESSA
Through consultation, ESSA is stimulating and contributing to discussion by the national and statewide science education community about the nature and requirements of the Stage 4 Science curriculum and the design of appropriate and informative assessment tools for school science.
Consultation is a two way process in which the ESSA team, interest groups and other areas of the NSW Department of Education and Communities exchange information about ESSA and science education in the middle years.
National and academic consultation
ESSA participates in relevant statewide and national forums and conferences, and consults with academic partners including:
- ADPRO Peter Fensham, Queensland University of Technology, Queensland
- Associate Professor Debra Panizzon, Flinders University, South Australia
- Professor John Pegg, University of New England, NSW
- Professor Len Unsworth, University of New England, NSW.
Of the ESSA program, Emeritus Professor Peter Fensham has said, 'It (ESSA) is really working at the cutting edge of what we should be emphasising in science education if we are to reverse the current situation where, across the developed world, fewer able students are taking further studies in science and most are not at all impressed by the traditional science in schools. There is a real opportunity in NSW of combining the ideas of PISA with the SOLO approach, and I hope it will be grasped.'
Statewide representative consultation
ESSA consults with interest groups that include representation for:
- non-government school education
- government school education
- students, parents and the community
- tertiary education
- teachers and educational managers
- pedagogy, curriculum and assessment specialists.
Department of Education and Communities consultation
ESSA consults widely within the NSW Department of Education and Communities to ensure that the program is accessible and relevant for the broad range of Year 8 students in NSW. Consultation includes:
- state office directorates, such as Aboriginal Education and Training, Disability Programs, Equity Programs and Distance Education and Curriculum and Learning Innovation Centre
- regional officers, such as consultants and professional development officers
- school officers, including significant numbers of classroom teachers who provide, for example, detailed feedback during workshops.
The ESSA team values the continuing support and involvement of these groups in the ESSA program.
