Assessment

Foundation maths assessment and reporting toolkit aligned to the Australian Curriculum Version 9 Achievement Standard to support evidence collection, on-balance judgement and reporting.

When it comes to Foundation maths assessment in Australia, the Achievement Standard is what guides how you assess student learning and make reporting decisions.

This page explains how to use the Foundation Mathematics Achievement Standard to collect evidence, make on-balance judgements and confidently report student achievement using practical tools such as rubrics, checklists and observation grids.

Using the Achievement Standard for Assessment and Reporting

When it comes to assessing maths in Foundation, the Achievement Standard is your anchor for making judgements and reporting student achievement.

In the Australian Curriculum Version 9, teachers use both content descriptions and achievement standards, but they do not do the same job.

Content descriptions describe the knowledge, understanding and skills students are taught. They guide your planning and teaching. They include the learning experiences, concepts, skills and practice students need across the year.

The Achievement Standard describes the quality of learning students are expected to demonstrate by the end of the year (the expected or “C” standard). This is what teachers use to make judgements about student achievement and support reporting.

This distinction matters.

Not everything you teach will appear word-for-word in the Achievement Standard. Some content is taught because it builds understanding, develops fluency, supports problem-solving or prepares students for later learning. It still matters, and it still needs to be taught.

But when it comes to assessment and reporting, the key question is:

What has the student demonstrated against the Achievement Standard?

That means you teach from the content descriptions, collect evidence during learning, and use the Achievement Standard to make an on-balance judgement about what the student can do independently and consistently.

It is not enough to assess the worksheet, activity or task. Reporting should be based on the evidence students show over time and how that evidence matches the Achievement Standard.

How A–E Grades Work (and Where the Achievement Standard Fits)

The Achievement Standard describes the level of learning expected by the end of the year. In most Australian reporting frameworks, this aligns to a C grade — the expected standard.

This is where a lot of confusion comes in.

If the Achievement Standard describes a C level, how do you decide A, B, D or E?

The answer is through on-balance teacher judgement, using the evidence you have collected over time.

• A student working above the standard demonstrates deeper understanding, greater consistency and more independence → typically an A or B
• A student working at the standard demonstrates the expected level of understanding and skill → typically a C
• A student working below the standard demonstrates partial or developing understanding → typically a D or E

The Achievement Standard gives you the reference point, not the full grading scale.

To make these judgements, teachers look at:

• how consistently the student demonstrates the learning
• how independently they apply it
• how accurately and flexibly they use strategies
• how well they explain their thinking

This is why assessment needs to happen over time. A single task cannot show this.

What This Means in the Classroom

In practice, this process looks like this:

• You plan and teach using the content descriptions.
• You provide students with opportunities to learn, practise and apply their understanding.
• You observe what students can do across different lessons and contexts.
• You collect evidence over time.
• You compare that evidence to the Achievement Standard.

This is how assessment and reporting stay aligned.

Foundation Maths Achievement Standard Explained (What to Assess)

Foundation Mathematics Achievement Standard (AC v9)

By the end of Foundation Year, students make connections between number names, numerals and position in the sequence of numbers from zero to at least 20. They use subitising and counting strategies to quantify collections. Students compare the size of collections to at least 20. They partition and combine collections up to 10 in different ways, representing these with numbers. Students represent practical situations that involve quantifying, equal sharing, adding to and taking away from collections to at least 10. They copy and continue repeating patterns.

Students identify the attributes of mass, capacity, length and duration, and use direct comparison strategies to compare objects and events. They sequence and connect familiar events to the time of day. Students name, create and sort familiar shapes and give their reasoning. They describe the position and the location of themselves and objects in relation to other objects and people within a familiar space.

Students collect, sort and compare data in response to questions in familiar contexts. (ACV9)

At a Glance (Easy Teacher Summary)

By the end of Foundation, students are expected to show that they understand early number, patterns, measurement, space and data through what they can do, say and explain.

In simple terms, you are looking for whether students can:

• recognise and work with numbers to at least 20
• count and compare collections accurately
• solve simple problems using familiar strategies
• recognise and continue patterns
• describe shapes, position and location
• compare objects and events using everyday language
• collect and sort simple data

Assessment is based on what students can consistently demonstrate independently over time, not what they complete in one task. To support assessment, this Achievement Standard is broken down below into clear, observable behaviours and classroom examples.

State and Territory Curriculum Differences

While this resource is aligned to the Australian Curriculum Version 9, it’s important to recognise that Foundation maths assessment in Australia is applied within different state and territory systems.

All states use the Australian Curriculum as the foundation, but many have:

• adapted versions of the curriculum
• additional guidance documents
• state-specific expectations for assessment and reporting

For example:

• Western Australia uses the Western Australian Curriculum and Assessment Outline, supported by SCSA Judging Standards
• New South Wales uses NESA syllabuses and reporting frameworks
• Queensland uses the Australian Curriculum alongside Department of Education resources and assessment guidance to support teacher judgement and reporting
• Victoria uses the Victorian Curriculum (aligned to the Australian Curriculum) with the Victorian Teaching and Learning Model and reporting expectations

Other states and territories also provide their own supporting materials, reporting scales and advice for teachers.

These state-based documents often include:

• annotated work samples
• grade descriptions
• reporting advice
• clarification of expectations

In some cases, there may also be additional inclusions or areas of emphasis that sit alongside the Australian Curriculum.

What This Means for Assessment and Reporting

Even with these differences, the core process remains the same across Australia:

• you teach using the curriculum
• you collect evidence of learning over time
• you compare that evidence to the Achievement Standard
• you make an on-balance judgement
• you report student achievement

The Achievement Standard remains the reference point for judging what students can demonstrate.

What’s Included in This Resource

This assessment resource supports teachers to observe and evaluate what students can demonstrate across all areas of Foundation mathematics, focusing on how they apply their understanding, explain their thinking and make connections in familiar contexts. It moves beyond simple task completion to capture how students reason, justify and use their knowledge during learning.

It forms part of a two-part assessment approach:

• assessment tasks provide opportunities for students to demonstrate their learning
• this toolkit helps you capture, track and use that evidence for assessment and reporting

This resource focuses on the toolkit component, giving you practical tools to make sense of the evidence you collect during everyday classroom learning.

It includes a set of tools designed for use during small group work, maths rotations and whole-class activities. These tools help you collect evidence as it happens, monitor progress over time and make consistent, on-balance judgements aligned to the Achievement Standard.

Included in this resource:

• Colour Rubric (A–E) (Teacher)
  Designed for display or laminating to support consistent judgement of student understanding
• Black & White Individual Rubric
  A student-friendly version for recording individual progress and assessment evidence
• Whole Class Checklists
  Track student understanding across the class and identify patterns over time
• Observation Grids
  Ideal for small group work, rotations or games to capture real-time evidence
• Comment Bank (A–E Reporting)
  Ready-to-use report comments aligned to the Achievement Standard

Together, these tools provide a clear and practical way to assess student understanding across all areas of Foundation mathematics, helping you capture meaningful evidence and make consistent, on-balance judgements aligned to the Achievement Standard.igned to the Achievement Standard.

How This Resource Supports You

These tools support the assessment and reporting process by helping you focus on what students can demonstrate and capture evidence as it happens.

They work alongside your state or system requirements, including judging standards and reporting guidelines, helping you apply them more clearly and confidently in your classroom.

Ready to simplify your maths assessment and reporting?

If you want a clear, manageable way to assess and report in Foundation maths, this toolkit brings everything together.

It helps you capture evidence as it happens, track learning over time and make confident A–E judgements aligned to the Achievement Standard.

Assessment tasks are available separately and are designed to work alongside this toolkit, giving students meaningful opportunities to demonstrate their understanding.