This document shows how the summative task Waste Rock Stockpile Investigation assesses the mandated WA Curriculum (SCSA) Year 4 Science content, and explains the design of the task and marking key. It is for teacher planning and moderation and is not given to students.
Curriculum content assessed
| Strand / sub-strand | Content description (SCSA Year 4) |
|---|---|
| Science understanding — Earth and space sciences | "Weathering, erosion, transportation and deposition cause slow or rapid change to Earth's surface." |
| Science inquiry — Questioning and predicting | "Pose questions and make predictions based on planned observations of phenomena that include variables to be measured and changed." |
| Science inquiry — Planning and conducting | "Plan and conduct investigations, including elements of fair tests, and consider the material and equipment risks." |
| Science inquiry — Processing / Collaborating and applying | "Organise and represent data … to identify patterns" and "use science knowledge to propose explanations for observed phenomena and solutions to problems." |
Alignment with the Year 4 achievement standard
The Year 4 achievement standard states that students "appreciate that Earth's surface changes over time due to a variety of processes," "plan investigations that include elements of fair tests and consider the material and equipment risks," and "use science knowledge to propose explanations and solutions to problems." This task is an authentic performance of all three at once.
| Task part | What it asks | Content / standard link |
|---|---|---|
| Part A — Plan your fair test | Question, prediction, and variables (change / measure / control). | Questioning and predicting; planning a fair test. |
| Part B — Safety | Identify and manage a risk. | "Consider the material and equipment risks." |
| Part C — Design and result | Build a design, conduct the test, record the observation vs the uncovered pile. | Planning and conducting; making and recording observations. |
| Part D — Explain and improve | Explain the result using weathering/erosion and propose an improvement. | Earth and space understanding; "propose explanations and solutions." |
How the marking key reflects the standard
Because this content description sits alongside four inquiry sub-strands, the marking key is inquiry-weighted: Planning a fair investigation (30) and Conducting, observing and recording (30) carry the most weight, matching the emphasis on fair-test planning and conducting; Explaining results and improving (using science) (25) assesses the Earth-science understanding and the "propose solutions" content; Identifying and managing risk (15) assesses the explicit risk requirement. The High / Sound / Limited descriptors mirror the SCSA judging-standard language.
Why this task is valid and fair
- It builds on the taught sequence. Students learn the weathering types (Lesson 9), run a freeze–thaw fair test (Lesson 10) and model erosion, transportation and deposition (Lesson 11) before applying all of this to a real problem — so it assesses developed learning, using the same fair-test template used all term.
- It is authentic to Western Australia. Acid mine drainage from waste-rock stockpiles is a genuine local environmental issue in a mining state, making the science meaningful and connecting classroom learning to students' world.
- It is inclusive. Group building with individual planning sheets supports collaboration while producing individual evidence; the labelled diagram lets students show understanding visually; and the exemplar's guidance to scaffold or extend (differentiation) is built in.