Marking

External assessment components other than performances and examinations are categorised as ‘investigations’ for operational purposes.  

Investigations are assessed by teachers and also by external markers who are appointed by the SACE Board, with references to the performance standards for the relevant subject.

For each Stage 2 subject that has an investigation as the external assessment component, the investigation is submitted to the SACE Board for external marking after it has been marked by the teacher. Teachers must not annotate student work with comments, ticks, corrections, or results information. The investigation that is submitted must be a clean copy.
 

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Results sheets in Schools Online

Results for subjects with an investigation as the external assessment component should be submitted using the Stage 2 investigations results sheets in Schools Online.

A student who does not attempt an external assessment will receive a zero for the external assessment component, and a scaled score of zero.

In Semester 1, Stage 2 investigation results sheets are submitted in one round for Research Project A and Research Project B (results due June).

• Research Project A – Review
• Research Project B – Evaluation

In Semester 2, Stage 2 investigation results sheets are submitted in three rounds – Round 1, Round 2, and Round 3.  

Schools access Stage 2 investigation results sheets in Schools Online. These results sheets are available for the periods shown below:

Marking round	Subjects	Investigation results sheets available in Schools Online	Investigation results sheets due at the SACE Board
Semester 1	Research Project A Research Project B (results due June)	Mid-May	Late-June
Semester 2 — Round 1	Round 1 investigations	Mid-September	Early-November
Semester 2 — Round 2	Round 2 investigations	Mid-September	Early-November
Semester 2 — Round 3	Round 3 investigations	Mid-September	Early-November

All student work for external assessment must be completed, submitted to the teacher, and assessed before the investigation results sheets are completed.

The principal, or principal’s delegate verifies the investigation results sheets and submits them to the SACE Board by the due date.

The due date for teachers in Schools Online is automatically set to 3 working days before the SACE Board due date to allow time for the principal or the principal’s delegate to check and verify the results before submitting them to the SACE Board. The principal or principal’s delegate has the ability to adjust the teacher due dates for his or her school.

This is the final opportunity for schools to make enrolment changes (additions or withdrawals). 
Once results sheets have been submitted to the SACE Board, SACE Coordinators will need to contact the askSACE team to complete and submit a Late Stage 2 Changes form.

Exceptional circumstances

Where a school requires an extension to a results and materials submission deadline because of circumstances beyond their control, then an application for exceptional circumstances can be requested by the principal of the school and directed to askSACE. Eligible applications will not incur late fees.

Late Stage 2 changes

From Term 1 2023, administration fees may be charged for late class changes, late results changes, and incorrect submission of materials, for Stage 2 that occur after the results sheets are closed. Please refer to the SACE Board of South Australia (Fees) Notice [PDF 131KB] for information on charges. SACE Coordinators will need to contact the askSACE team to complete and submit a Late Stage 2 Changes form.

Advice for teachers

Teachers access investigation results sheets in Schools Online in order to:

• record the final results for the students at their school
• submit the completed results sheet to the principal’s delegate of the assessment school for authorisation
• submit materials for online submission.

The columns on the investigation results sheets, reading from the left, are as follows:

• ‘Student Name’ – listing students’ names alphabetically
• ‘Registration’ – listing the students’ SACE registration numbers.
• ‘Evaluation Max 30’ – blank column in which the teacher records student results as a mark out of 30 for the external assessment type in a subject. When a student does not provide any evidence for the assessment type, the student should be withdrawn.
• ‘Grade’ – this column is automatically populated with a grade A+ to E— that corresponds to the mark out of 30 entered in the previous column.
• ‘Special Provisions’ – this column will show ‘P’ (pending) once the SACE Board has received an application for special provisions, ‘Y’ when the application has been considered and approved, and ‘N’ when the application has been considered and special provisions have not been granted.
• ‘Potential Breaches’ – tick the box in this column to indicate a potential breach of rules by a student.
• ‘Withdrawn’ – tick the box in this column to withdraw the student’s external assessment component. (Note a ‘Withdraw’  on the investigation online results sheet does not withdraw the student from the subject).
• ‘Student Materials’ – is used by teachers to submit student materials online.

Notes

• To add an enrolment and results, select ‘Add student’ on the external investigations assessment results sheet.
• Teachers should take care when entering results in each column.
• Teachers must check that all information on the investigations results sheet is accurate before sending the completed results sheet to the principal or the principal’s delegate.
• Refer to Information sheet 3 for advice on completing Form 2 following a breach of rules by a student.
• Refer to Information sheet 58 for advice about special provisions for a student’s school assessment.

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Online submission

See Online submission of materials for FAQs and information about online submission of external assessment materials. Refer to file names and formats, and training videos for more information.

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Round 1 subjects

Round 1 results sheets are available mid-September and due early-November.

Investigation materials for Round 1 subjects are submitted online.

To support schools and students with any ongoing potential pressures associated with COVID, and to maximise the existing flexibility in the curriculum and assessment, the SACE Board has approved adjustments for 2023.

Subject	Assessment type
Aboriginal Studies	Acknowledgment
Agricultural Production	Production Investigation
Agricultural Systems	Experimental Investigation
Ancient Studies	Inquiry
Child Studies	Investigation
English	Comparative Analysis
English Literary Studies	Comparative Text Study
Food and Hospitality	Investigation
Health and Wellbeing	Inquiry
Media Studies	Investigation
Philosophy	Issues Study
Politics, Power and People	Investigation
Scientific Studies	Individual Inquiry
Society and Culture	Investigation
Spiritualities, Religion and Meaning	Transformative Action
Visual Arts - Art	Visual Study
Visual Arts - Design	Visual Study

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Round 2 subjects

Round 2 results sheets are available mid-September and due early-November.

Investigation materials for Round 2 subjects are submitted online.

To support schools and students with any ongoing potential pressures associated with COVID, and to maximise the existing flexibility in the curriculum and assessment, the SACE Board has approved adjustments for 2023.

Subject	Assessment type
Business Innovation	Business Plan and Pitch
Dance	Skills Development Portfolio
Design, Technology and Engineering	Resource Study
Drama	Creative Presentation
Earth and Environmental Science	Earth Systems Study
Essential English	Language Study
Information Processing and Publishing	Product and Documentation
Integrated Learning	Personal Endeavour
Language and Culture	Investigation
Music Performance – Ensemble	Performance Portfolio
Music Performance – Solo	Performance Portfolio
Outdoor Education	Connections with Natural Environment
Women’s Studies	Issues Analysis

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Round 3 subjects

Round 3 results sheets are available mid-September and due early-November.

Investigation materials for Round 3 subjects are submitted online.

To support schools and students with any ongoing potential pressures associated with COVID, and to maximise the existing flexibility in the curriculum and assessment, the SACE Board has approved adjustments for 2023.

Subject	Assessment type
Australian Languages - Additional Language	Language Study
Australian Languages - First Language	Language Study
Australian Languages - Revival Language	Language Exploration
Community Studies A	Reflection
Community Connections	Community Application Activity
Creative Arts	Practical Skills
Cross-disciplinary Studies	Analysis
Digital Technologies	Individual Digital Solution
Industry Connections	Industry Project
Music Explorations	Creative Connections
Physical Education	Group Dynamics Task
Research Project A	Review
Research Project B	Evaluation
Workplace Practices	Investigation

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Supervision and verification

For student work that cannot be verified, or for which plagiarism has been identified in the final work, Form 2: Breach of rules must be completed and submitted to the SACE Board, together with supporting evidence and a recommendation from the teacher, principal, or principal’s delegate for a penalty.

The teacher should assess the student work at face value and not apply a penalty in the marking.

The result that is submitted on the results sheet for student work that is subject to a breach of rules investigation should reflect this standard of work (at face value). The SACE Board will investigate any breach of rules application that the school submits and apply a penalty if deemed appropriate.

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Forms

• Form 2: Breach of rules [PDF 151KB]
• Form 32: Special provisions — request for external assessment adjustments [PDF 153KB]

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