Supporting the successful implementation of English Version 2.0

This summary reflects Essential Assessment's intention to streamline, clarify, and support the successful implementation of the English Version 2.0 curriculum across Victorian schools.

Victorian curriculum English aims

Students are expected to:

Purposefully listen, speak, read, view, write, and reflect on a variety of texts.
Use Standard Australian English in combination with non-linguistic communication.
Examine and analyse texts, appreciating aesthetic and literary elements.
Harness English in all its variations to express ideas and interact meaningfully.

Curriculum structure

Level statements (top-level context)

Level statements provide a brief overview of what students are expected to engage with at each level, including text types, modes of communication, curriculum intent, and relevant general capabilities.

Three strands (curriculum organisation)

The curriculum is structured across three interrelated strands. Each strand includes sub-strands and content descriptors that define what is to be taught.

Strand	Sub-strands	Summary Focus
Language	Language for interacting with others Text structure and organisation Language for expressing and developing ideas	Knowledge of grammar, vocabulary and how language functions in context.
Literature	Literature and contexts Engaging with and responding to literature Examining literature Creating literature	Engagement with literary texts; covering comprehension, analysis of themes, character, setting adn authorial choices in cultural context.
Literacy	Interacting with others Phonic and word knowledge (F-6)/word knowledge (7-10) Building fluency and making meaning (F-6) Texts on context Analysing, interpreting and evaluating Creating texts	Practical application of language skills; covering communication, audience awareness and text creation across formats and purposes.

Content descriptions

Content descriptors are located within each strand and outline the core knowledge and skills to be taught.

Achievement standards

Achievement standards outline what students should know and be able to do by the end of each level. While informed by the three strands, they are organised by language modes:

Reading and Viewing
Writing
Speaking and Listening (not covered by Essential Assessment)

Key clarification

Strands structure what is taught.
Language modes structure how learning is assessed and reported.
Achievement standards integrate the strands and modes to define outcomes.

Key revisions in English Version 2.0

Refined content descriptions for clarity and consistency.
Clearer progression of skills across sub-strands.
Visual organisers connect content descriptions to achievement standards.
Improved integration between reading, writing, and speaking.

Removed elements

Word processing skills (now in Digital Technologies curriculum).
The Language variation and change sub-strand is now embedded through texts and communication.

Essential Assessment’s English V2.0-aligned resources

What’s available now

New strand-based assessments for Levels F–8.
Assessments offered in two-year level bands (e.g. 2–3, 4–5, 6–7).
Every content descriptor from the three strands is assessed except for:
- Delivering spoken texts
- Handwriting
Rich stimulus texts, aligned to grouped curriculum points, are used as the basis for assessment questions

What to expect & intended use

EA’s new strand-based assessments integrate carefully constructed, highly engaging stimulus texts that act as a vehicle for the application and analysis of targeted, curriculum-aligned assessment questions. These rich texts span a wide variety of text types that afford students authentic contexts to apply integrated Literacy skills.

Unlike other Literacy assessments that measure a small selection of curriculum outcomes, such as Reading Comprehension for NAPLAN, these strand-based assessments provide a more comprehensive and granular measure of students’ proficiency at each content descriptor.

As such, the data and reporting diagnostics they generate may yield lower scores compared to other Literacy assessments. It is essential to remember that they are fundamentally different assessment measures: one that encompasses the totality of embedded curriculum points, versus one that measures a narrow and changing selection.

As has always been the case, strand-based assessments provide a summary snapshot of student ability when measured against the new curriculum and are intended to be used as one source of triangulated data alongside teacher judgment and other assessments.

Practical considerations for administration

Recommendation

Begin by setting the assessment range at the year level you believe best captures the student’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). For example, if you aim to assess a student working around a Year 3 level, select the Year 3–4 assessment range.

To support cognitive load during an English assessment, students may take a rest break at the end of each year level section (as indicated by the built-in Dynamic checkpoint when Dynamic mode is selected or indicated by the teacher after they have previewed the assessment ). At this point, students can self-reflect and ask, “Have I reached my ZPD?”. Educator and student can jointly decide whether to continue to the next section or submit.

Please note that once unlocked, the student can only complete one more year level of content. Dynamic will not continue to shift students to higher levels of content after unlocking.

If Dynamic mode is not active, it is especially important that teachers preview the assessment to identify natural pause points and support student pacing. Teachers should always preview the assessment before assigning it and inform students in advance about the opportunity for a “rest break” at designated checkpoints, as with other types of assessments.

What’s next

My Literacy (Levels 2–7) is aligned to English Version 2.0: launching Term 4.
Foundation–1 now available and Levels 9–10 on it's way!
Topic-based assessments in development (e.g., Reading Comprehension, Rules of Language among others).

Key features of the new English assessments

Engaging stimulus texts aligned to achievement standards.
Two-year level assessment bands.
Comprehensive curriculum coverage (excluding handwriting and spoken delivery).
Reading stimuli presented in a manner similar to NAPLAN Reading magazines (previously used by ACARA before 2023).

Content design principles from the Essential Assessment Content team

Text complexity

Stimuli are evaluated using:

Lexile levels and readability scores.
Considerations of syntax, language density, theme maturity, and audience suitability.

This supports scaffolding and reading development from Foundation to Year 10.

Backward design from curriculum codes

Assessment tasks are designed in a backward design from content descriptions and achievement standards.
Texts and questions directly align with multiple content descriptors.

Genre and text type balance

This balance prepares students for the wide range of reading expectations in VC 2.0.

The revised English curriculum invites a more integrated, flexible, and focused approach to literacy education in Victorian schools. Essential Assessment proudly supports this transition through evidence-based assessments, curriculum alignment, and teacher-friendly tools that maintain clarity, rigour, and equity across all levels.