Subject | Stage 2 | Planning to Teach | Subject Operational Information
Subject operational information
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Stage 2 Scientific Studies
These web pages connect schools and teachers to information on procedures relating to final moderation and external assessment requirements. Key dates, including dates for the submission of results, are also provided.
Stage 2 Scientific Studies is a 20-credit subject.
The learning and assessment requirements for this subject are set out in the subject outline [DOC 1.6MB].
Online moderation and marking
School assessment materials for Stage 2 Scientific Studies will be submitted for online moderation using school assessment results sheets in Schools Online.
External assessment materials for Stage 2 Scientific Studies will be submitted for online marking using investigation results sheets in Schools Online.
Key dates
For a simplified list of key operational dates, see the Scientific Studies calendar.
School assessment component
Teachers assess the evidence of student learning for:
- Assessment Type 1: Inquiry Folio
- Assessment Type 2: Collaborative Inquiry.
The SACE Board quality assures the school assessment results through final moderation.
Refer to SACE Assessment and Reporting Guidelines [PDF 290KB] and SACE Stage 2 Moderation Overview [DOC 33KB] for information about the policy context and procedures.
Moderation sample selection
Teachers select the moderation sample of school-assessed materials to submit to the SACE Board.
Refer to Moderation sample selection, which includes FAQs and an instructional video.
Submitting school assessment materials for final moderation
For more information see Online submission of materials.
Supervision and verification
Refer to the information in Supervision and Verification of Students’ Work: Policy and Procedures [DOC 90KB] on the use of the record sheet [DOC 164KB] to record and authenticate each student’s work. If used, these sheets are to be kept in the school until the end of the clerical check period.
A teacher who is unable to verify that the work is the student’s own must initiate a breach of rules action through the school’s SACE/NTCET coordinator.
Information
- Results sheets and online submission — Stage 2 final moderation (Information sheet 50)
- Moderation sample selection
External assessment component
Students undertake one individual inquiry, using the proposal developed and assessed in Assessment Type 1: Inquiry Folio. Students present an individual report that summarises the proposal, identifies any modifications made to the procedure, analyses the data obtained, and evaluates the method or model(s) used. The individual inquiry has three parts:
- the design proposal (this is part of the school assessment and is not assessed with the external assessment)
- the practical investigation
- a report of the findings of the investigation.
The combined word count should be a maximum of 1500 words if written, or the equivalent in multimodal form.
Refer to the subject outline for details of the individual inquiry requirements.
Submitting materials for external assessment
For more information see Online submission of materials.
Assessment Type 3: Individual Inquiry
This assessment type is categorised as an investigation for operational purposes.
The teacher assesses each student’s individual inquiry and then submits all individual inquiries to the SACE Board for external assessment.
Supervision and verification
Refer to Supervision and Verification of Students’ Work: Policy and Procedures [DOC 90KB]. Teachers must use the record sheet [DOC 164KB] to record and authenticate each student’s work. These sheets are to be kept in the school until the end of the clerical check period.
A teacher who is unable to verify that a practical investigation, or part of a practical investigation, is the student’s own work must submit a completed report of potential breach of rules [DOC 108KB] to the SACE Board, through the school’s SACE/NTCET coordinator.
Information
- Results sheets and online, submission — Stage 2 investigations (Information sheet 51)
- external assessment cover sheet - (optional use) [DOC 34KB]