A case study: St Mary’s and St Laurence’s, Catholic Primary Schools, Dubbo
At the commencement of 2026, St Mary’s School, Dubbo and St Laurence’s, Dubbo, both located within the Diocese of Bathurst, identified the development of assessment-capable students as a shared strategic priority.
Both schools are long-standing subscribers to Essential Assessment (EA), with established assessment practices already in place. This provided a strong foundation to move beyond assessment as a tool for data collection and towards deliberately building student assessment literacy.
With this shared intent, educators across both schools committed to reshaping how students experienced assessment. The aim was to ensure assessment moments were purposeful, transparent and supportive of learning rather than perceived as evaluative events.
As part of this commitment, the EA consultant (at a diocesan-run PD) first modelled a consistent, intentional assessment routine with the leadership teams from both schools. School leaders then modelled the routine with staff, with leaders and teachers jointly establishing shared norms of practice for EA introduction sessions across both sites.
The intent of this work was to reduce cognitive load associated with the process of assessment, allowing students to focus their thinking on the mathematics itself.
Establishing Purpose & Understanding Assessment
Each assessment session began with teachers explicitly explaining why students were taking the assessment. Teachers shared the origin of the word assessment, derived from the Latin assidere, meaning to sit beside. Students were reminded that assessment is not something done to them, but an opportunity to sit beside their learning. This helped students understand what they know, and helped to identify their next steps.
This simple reframing positioned assessment as a learning tool, fostering a sense of safety and purpose, and supporting lower cortisol levels, which are conditions imperative for learning.
Building Schema through Vocabulary
Teachers at both schools directed students’ attention to a small set of key vocabulary displayed on the whiteboard. These words were deliberately selected from the upcoming assessment and tailored to the specific class and cohort.
Initially, this routine was applied to the Number and Algebra NSW Common Grade Assessment.
The vocabulary routine followed a consistent structure and took approximately two to three minutes, with students clear about their role to: Listen, Think, Talk.
- Listen: The teacher read each word aloud and students repeated the word.
- Think: Students reflected on whether they knew and could explain the word.
- Talk: Students discussed their thinking with a learning partner and then shared their explanations with the broader class.
Teachers responded to student contributions by affirming correct understandings and explicitly addressing misconceptions. At no stage did teachers launch into direct instruction of the vocabulary. Instead, incorrect responses were redirected back to the group to encourage collective thinking.
If no student could accurately define a term, teachers posed the question:
“What do we do in Essential Assessment if we do not know a word?”
Students confidently responded:
“We use the ‘I don’t know yet’ function.”
Explicit Modelling of the Assessment Process
Teachers then shifted students’ attention to the whiteboard and modelled the EA student portal step by step. This modelling was deliberate and interactive.
Students were guided through the entry routine:
Circle, circle, start
Students repeated the sequence aloud, reinforcing automaticity.
Teachers prompted students through a sequence of orienting questions.
Where is the question? At the top.
Where do our eyes go next? The centre.
If we know how to answer? We answer it.
If we do not know? We tap ‘I don’t know yet’.
Is it okay not to know? Yes, because we are learners.
How do we move on? We tap the blue arrow.
This shared language and routine ensured every student understood both the expectations and the mechanics of the assessment experience
Reducing Cognitive Load through Structure
By explicitly teaching the following, teachers significantly reduced extraneous cognitive load:
- What assessment is.
- Why it matters.
- The vocabulary likely to appear.
- How to navigate the platform.
Students no longer needed to expend mental energy on understanding the assessment process itself. Instead, their cognitive resources were directed toward the mathematical thinking required by the task.
Over time, this routine built automaticity, allowing assessment engagement to feel familiar, predictable and safe.
Impact on Student Outcomes
Across both St Mary’s and St Laurence’s, this small but deliberate structural shift changed how students approached assessment. Students demonstrated increased confidence, reduced anxiety and greater independence when engaging with assessments.
Assessment data from both schools showed that students who completed assessments later in the year and again at the beginning of the new school year, without any new instruction, demonstrated improved, more consistent results. This suggests that when assessment processes are intentionally taught and normalised, students are better positioned to demonstrate what they know and sustain learning over time.
Leadership Reflection
A school leader from St Laurence’s, Dubbo reflected on the impact of modelling on staff practice:
“I can listen to theory a thousand times, but it was not until I saw it modelled in the classroom that it became very clear how achievable it was.”
This insight reinforced a shared approach across both schools. Professional learning needed to move beyond explanation and into visible practice. Leadership teams prioritised modelling, immediate application and a disciplined focus on one instructional priority. As a result, staff alignment strengthened rapidly and the intended practices became embedded across classrooms.
Following Diocesen-lead professional learning, both schools embedded the work into Professional Learning Community meetings. Teachers used Flexi Assessments to move from broad trends to granular data analysis, ensuring instructional decisions were informed by evidence.
Key Takeaways
St Mary’s School, Dubbo and St Laurence’s, Dubbo demonstrate that assessment literacy can be deliberately taught and embedded. By investing a small, consistent amount of time at the start of each assessment engagement lesson to build schema, clarify expectations and reduce cognitive load, teachers changed how students experienced assessment and improved the quality of the evidence collected.
This case study illustrates how intentional, low-impact instructional routines, when supported by modelling and focus, can strengthen assessment as a learning tool and accelerate improvement across schools.
Building on this shared early success, both schools are now motivated to continue refining practice with EA, and have identified additional growth goals for 2026. We are pleased to be partnering with St Mary’s School, Dubbo and St Laurence’s, Dubbo as they continue to strengthen assessment literacy and data-informed teaching.
