FAQs

What is this checklist for?

In the Victorian Curriculum F–10 Version 2.0, achievement standards describe what students are expected to know and be able to do by the end of a level. Read the live standards on the official English curriculum page.

For writing, Version 2.0 organises the achievement standard under the stem “When creating texts”. VCAA’s familiarisation materials explain that Writing maps to this stem, and that content descriptions are mapped into the achievement standards to support assessment — see English Version 2.0 familiarisation.

This checklist turns those end-of-level “When creating texts” statements into a progression grid so you can see growth across Foundation to Level 7, and record evidence against each distinct idea in the standard — not just a single “overall” tick for the year.

It is separate from the Creating texts checklist. That tool tracks content descriptions and classroom teaching points. This one tracks the achievement standard itself.

How does this checklist align with the Victorian Curriculum?

Cell wording is taken from the official writing achievement standard extracts for English Version 2.0 (Foundation–Level 7), as published on the VCAA Victorian Curriculum F–10 site. Those extracts were also exported from that curriculum (see VCAA copyright statement).

Where a level packs several ideas into one sentence (for example Level 6 combining text structure, sentence structure and punctuation), those ideas are split across rows so each one can be assessed on its own. That split is a teacher tool for formative marking — the authoritative wording remains the achievement standard on the curriculum site.

Open the official standard for each level:

• Foundation
• Level 1
• Level 2
• Level 3
• Level 4
• Level 5
• Level 6
• Level 7

For a printable continuum across levels, use VCAA’s English achievement standard scope-and-sequence charts (A3): English scope and sequence — especially English Foundation–Level 6 (achievement standards) and English Levels 7–10 (achievement standards).

The strands match the ideas that recur and progress through those “When creating texts” statements:

• Purpose, audience & text type — what students create, and for whom
• Ideas & details from texts and topics — how they draw on and adapt source material
• Multimodal & digital elements — images, multimodal and digital choices
• Editing — from shared edits through to reviewing others’ work and reflecting
• Text structure & organisation — forms, paragraphs, sequence and cohesion
• Grammar & sentence structure — how sentences build links, relationships and clarity
• Punctuation — from capitals and full stops through to punctuation that supports meaning
• Vocabulary — from familiar words to precise, vivid or specialist vocabulary
• Language features & literary devices — adapting and experimenting with features from texts
• Handwriting — letter formation through to fluent, sustained writing (to Level 6)
• Spelling — from CVC words through to spelling rules and word origins

Opening a cell shows the relevant achievement standard wording, plus linked content descriptions (with official codes such as VC2EFLY13). Content descriptions sit under Language, Literature and Literacy on the same curriculum page. They are not a substitute for the achievement standard — they help you know what learning looks like underneath it (familiarisation overview).

Empty cells (—) mean that idea is not stated in the achievement standard at that level. Level 7, for example, does not include a handwriting statement in the Writing section of the Level 7 achievement standard.

How does multimodal fit into creating writing or texts?

In English Version 2.0, Writing is assessed under “When creating texts” — not “when handwriting a page”. From Foundation onward, the achievement standards expect students to create written and spoken texts and include appropriate images, multimodal or digital elements as part of that creating. See the English curriculum page and VCAA’s note that Writing maps to “When creating texts” on the familiarisation page.

So a labelled drawing with a voice memo, a captioned photo sequence, a report with a graph, or a podcast with script + soundtrack is still creating a text. The words matter; the image and sound are part of how the text means something to an audience — not a separate “ICT activity” bolted on after writing.

When you mark the Multimodal row, you are judging whether those elements are doing a job in the student’s created text (adding, extending or shaping meaning for purpose and audience). Open a Multimodal cell for classroom examples, including what “sound” looks like at each level.

What do the three marks mean (Not assessed, Working towards, Achieved)?

Turn on Mark, then click a cell to cycle marks. Drag across cells to paint the same mark. Undo, redo and Cancel are available while you are marking.

These three states are a classroom marking convention for this tool. Official reporting still follows your sector and school requirements against the Victorian Curriculum achievement standards (see Victorian Curriculum F–10 Version 2.0).

When should I tick Achieved on a cell?

Ask yourself:

• Does the student’s work match this cell’s achievement standard wording on the official curriculum page, not a looser approximation?
• Is the evidence from creating written and/or spoken texts, as the “When creating texts” stem describes?
• Would another teacher looking at the same samples likely agree?

If yes, mark Achieved. If the student is close but not secure, mark Working towards. If you have not assessed it, leave it blank.

Mark the column that matches the standard you are judging. A Year 4 student working below level may have Achieved marks in Level 2 or 3 cells — that is useful progression information. Do not mark a higher level Achieved just because the student is enrolled in that year.

For worked examples of assessing with English Version 2.0 achievement standards, see VCAA’s sample tasks on the familiarisation page (including the Level 3 example assessment task).

What’s a practical way to use Mark mode?

1. Select the student.
2. Use the year filters to focus on the levels you are judging (often the student’s year and one either side).
3. Open Mark and work strand by strand, or from a writing sample across several strands.
4. Open a cell when you need the exact achievement standard wording or related content descriptions — then cross-check on the official English curriculum if you are moderating.
5. Exit Mark when finished so changes are kept (or use Cancel if you want to discard the session).

Revisit marks when you have new evidence — for example after a unit, moderation, or mid-year and end-of-year reporting. Working towards often becomes Achieved as teaching and practice continue.

Does a student need every part of the Level 4 standard to be “at Level 4”?

No. The Level 4 achievement standard describes what students are typically able to understand and do by the end of that level (Level 4 English curriculum).

For reporting, teachers make an on-balance, holistic, evidence-based judgement against the achievement standard as a whole — not a clause-by-clause pass mark. Department of Education advice states that achievement standards “are to be addressed as a whole and not disaggregated for the purposes of reporting” (Student reporting FAQ (PDF).

So: greens and ambers in this checklist are formative breadcrumbs. A Level 4 Writing report score is still one professional judgement against the full “When creating texts…” Level 4 standard — not “every strand Achieved”.

The student’s year of schooling does not decide the score. You report where the evidence sits on the continuum (Reporting Student Achievement F–10 policy).

What does “not disaggregated for reporting” mean?

It means the official report gives one overall judgement against the Writing achievement standard for that mode — for example a single score for Writing — not separate report grades for editing, spelling, multimodal, and so on.

You can break the standard into strands for teaching and for tools like this checklist. You shouldn’t turn those bits into separate official report scores. Parents and DET get something like “Writing: Level 4.0”, informed by your evidence, not a strand-by-strand report card.

Source: DET Student reporting FAQ (PDF), question on strands vs the single achievement standard.

When do I report Level 4.0 versus 3.5?

Official scores sit on a continuum in 0.5 steps (for example Level 3.5). DET’s reporting policy uses that as the example of a teacher judgement score: Reporting Student Achievement F–10.

There is no official rule that says “use 4.0 when X% of the standard is done” or “use 3.5 when Y boxes are green”. Teachers place the student where the evidence most accurately sits against the achievement standards — on balance and defensible (Student reporting FAQ).

In plain terms for Writing:

• 4.0 — on balance, the evidence matches the Level 4 “When creating texts” standard.
• 3.5 — past Level 3, not yet solidly at Level 4.

Old AusVELS “progression point examples” used to help with mid-level judgements; DET is clear they were advisory only and not for reporting. They were replaced by VCAA indicative progress templates — also advice to help form a judgement, not a mandatory formula for choosing .5 vs .0 (FAQ Q10; English indicative progress (including Writing).

English Writing scoring on the continuum starts from 0.5 (DET reporting guidance). School moderation is how teams keep 3.5 / 4.0 judgements consistent.

How should this checklist relate to reporting and moderation?

Victorian government and Catholic schools report student achievement against the Victorian Curriculum F–10 achievement standards at least twice per year, as outlined on VCAA’s Version 2.0 overview and DET’s reporting policy.

Use this checklist to support professional judgements against the Writing / “When creating texts” part of the English achievement standard, alongside work samples and your school’s assessment processes. It does not replace VCAA advice, sector instructions, or your school’s reporting requirements — it makes the writing achievement standard visible as a progression so marking stays consistent across students and over time.

Where do the “What this can look like” examples come from?

The Checklist Definition at the top of each popover is a plain-English restatement of the cell for quick teacher reading. It is not a substitute for the official achievement standard.

Elaborations (under each VC code) stay as VCAA’s official teaching suggestions for that content description. The full list is not copied into “What this can look like”. Where a look-like bullet needs a worked sentence that only exists in an elaboration (for example an adverbial phrase), that sentence is quoted and linked as VCAA VC2E….

The What this can look like bullets are quoted from a named source, with a link: ACARA annotated portfolios (the token ACARA Y4-sat p.9 opens page 9 of that PDF), V9 HTML work samples, NAPLAN marking-guide pages, VCAA content-description elaborations (the worked sentence, not the whole elaboration list), the Literacy Teaching Toolkit, or VCAA formative assessment rubric samples (for example VCAA Punctuation Levels 1–6).

A separate Student writing section shows short excerpts of authentic student writing (as green quote blocks) from NAPLAN annotated scripts and ACARA annotation quotes, each linked to the source page.

Key terms are defined from the VCAA English glossary (Victorian Curriculum F–10 Version 2.0). A few achievement-standard phrases such as precise vocabulary and technical vocabulary also cite the National Literacy Learning Progression. Each term lists its source under the definition.

• Annotated English work samples (ACARA): V9 English work samples and the F–7 annotated portfolios on docs.acara.edu.au. A token such as ACARA Y4-sat p.9 opens that PDF page.
• NAPLAN writing marking guides (ACARA): criterion pages in the narrative and persuasive guides, linked as NAPLAN narrative p.15 (and so on).
• VCAA elaborations: a worked sentence from the content description, linked as VCAA VC2E4LA07 (opens that code).
• VCAA formative assessment rubric samples: English – Primary samples including Punctuation Levels 1–6 (linked as VCAA Punctuation Levels 1–6 in punctuation “looks like” bullets).
• Literacy Teaching Toolkit (Victorian Department of Education): writing process and handwriting.

Open a cell to see the official achievement-standard wording, the linked content-description codes, and VCAA elaborations under each code. Use “What this can look like” as a bridge to classroom evidence — then judge against the achievement standard and your school’s moderation processes.

Where are the official sources?

• English curriculum (Victorian Curriculum F–10 Version 2.0) — achievement standards, content descriptions and elaborations
• English learning area overview
• English scope and sequence — downloadable achievement standard charts (F–6 and 7–10)
• English Version 2.0 resources — videos and planning materials
• English Version 2.0 familiarisation — Writing stem “When creating texts”, assessment examples
• English indicative progress — Writing mode template (advisory)
• VCAA English – Primary formative assessment rubric samples — Punctuation Levels 1–6 and vocabulary samples with annotated student work
• ACARA work samples — annotated English student work aligned to national achievement standards
• National Literacy Learning Progression — Writing — Creating texts, Grammar, Punctuation, Spelling, Handwriting indicators
• NAPLAN writing marking guides — Audience, structure, ideas, vocabulary, cohesion, paragraphing, sentences, punctuation, spelling
• Literacy Teaching Toolkit — Writing — Victorian classroom guidance on grammar, spelling, handwriting and the writing process
• Australian Curriculum Version 9 — English content descriptions and elaborations (national alignment)
• Arc — Victorian Lesson Plans — DET classroom sequences aligned to Victorian Curriculum 2.0 (EduPass)
• Victorian Curriculum F–10 Version 2.0 — implementation and reporting context
• Reporting Student Achievement and Progress F–10 (DET policy)
• DET Student reporting FAQ (PDF) — whole-standard reporting; progression points → indicative progress
• English – comparison of curriculums (Version 1.0 to Version 2.0)
• VCAA copyright statement — attribution for curriculum material

Curriculum content © Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA), with national work samples © ACARA where cited. This checklist is a teacher planning and assessment aid and is not an official VCAA or ACARA product.