Writing external assessment

In the Queensland Certificate of Education (QCE) system, the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority (QCAA) develops and marks external assessments for General, General (Extension), General (Senior External Examination) and Alternative Sequence syllabuses.

The QCAA also develops common internal assessments (CIAs) for Applied (Essential subjects): Essential English and Essential Mathematics.

We recruit teachers to support the development of assessments by participating in writing panels and scrutiny panels.

Recruitment

Applications are now open for roles on the writing panels and scrutiny panels to develop items and stimulus for future external and common internal assessments.

Closing dates for applications:

• common internal assessment subjects: Friday 20 October 2023
• General subjects: Friday 3 November 2023.

A selection and appointment process will be completed shortly after the closing dates.

All applications submitted by the closing date will remain current until 30 June 2024.

Position description

The position description for assessor (assessment writing) outlines the roles and responsibilities and other important information.

• Position description: Assessor (assessment writing) (PDF, 188.5 KB)

When applying via Assessor Jobs in the QCAA Portal, please select the appropriate boxes to indicate which subjects and roles you are applying for.

Writing panel

Writing panel members:

• use their subject matter expertise to support development of external assessments
• create sample responses to external assessments
• make recommendations about the suitability of assessments for student use.

Scrutiny panel

Scrutiny panel members:

• review external assessments and marking guides
• develop sample responses to external assessments
• advise the QCAA about the validity of external assessments.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the roles, applicants must:

• be registered with the Queensland College of Teachers (QCT)
• be teaching in a Queensland secondary school context and have experience in the senior phase of schooling
• have successfully completed the following courses, which may be accessed at any time in the QCAA Portal in the Assessment Literacy application:
• 1 — Attributes of quality assessment
• 2 — Developing valid and accessible assessment
• 6 — External assessment writing
• obtain principal’s agreement to support an application and release during school hours.

To be eligible for a scrutiny panel role, applicants must:

• not intend to teach units 3 and 4 to Year 12 students in the year the assessment will be used. This includes tutoring students or providing feedback on drafts and practice assessments
• not be related to any person sitting the external assessment in the year the assessment will be used with Year 12 students.

Remuneration

Assessors (assessment writing) are paid an hourly rate of $59.83 for work completed on weekends and/or outside of school hours. For work completed during school hours, assessors will continue to receive their standard salary from the school.

External assessment development: writing schedule

More information

Please email externalassessment@qcaa.qld.edu.au or phone 1300 239 227.