FAQ (About the Competition)
About ICAS
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ICAS subjects and year level information can be seen here.
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ICAS Assessments are used in a growing number of countries. As year-level names vary across countries, it is simpler to code the ICAS Assessments as A, B, C, D etc. and provide a key to identify the relevant year-level for each country. Click here for the Papers to Year Levels equivalence table.
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There is no change in the format of the assessment. However, all the assessments will be taken online only and will be MCQs only. All invigilating teachers and students should be equipped with relevant devices which meet all technical requirements.
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Yes, students can bring their own devices. Teachers and students can use the Technical Readiness testto ensure all devices meet the technical requirements.
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Please take note that ICAS will be held online in the test centres or schools. No participants are allowed to take the ICAS at home.
Entering ICAS
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ICAS dates vary every year depending on declared school holiday periods. Teachers can click here for current year dates and pricing. Parents and students can contact your school directly.
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Your school can register with EATS to participate in ICAS here. A school code and password to access our online shop will be emailed to your registered school administration email address. There will be no charges applied when a school registers.
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Schools can order ICAS online at our Shop using their school code and password. Please contact us if you do not know your school code and password. Your password will be emailed to your registered school administration email address.
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Yes. You can make additional orders at our Shop.
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In special circumstances, permission may be given for a school to participate in the ICAS on an alternative date. All requests for an alternative date must be submitted in writing by the school Principal or their nominee no later than two weeks before the official sitting window. Schools that sit on an alternative date may not be eligible for ICAS medals.
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No. Entry to ICAS is school-based only. EATS is unable to accept requests from parents to enrol their child independently into an ICAS assessment.
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Discuss the matter with the Principal of your school to explore possibilities.
Year Level
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A student must only sit the paper for the year level in which s/he is currently enrolled. A student should not sit more than one paper in any one subject. Click here for the Papers to Year Levels equivalence table.
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No. Students must sit the ICAS paper for the year level in which they are currently enrolled for that subject. Students must only attempt one year level paper per subject.
Education Analysis
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Questions used in ICAS papers are written by experienced classroom teachers and subject matter experts. These writers utilise a wide range of materials and resources to ensure the questions are current, relevant and engaging for the students.
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All items are peer-reviewed by an external panel. This panel consists of practising classroom teachers and subject matter experts (including university academics). This panel considers the validity, reliability and currency of each assessment item. Once ratified by the external panel, the questions are placed in tests. All tests maintain a balance of items taking into account the difficulty level of the questions and the strands, topics and skills tested.
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Preparation is available through past papers, the order form can be downloaded here.
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Each ICAS subject has been carefully researched so that the test content is relevant and interesting. The Assessment Framework provides details of how this works for each ICAS subject. To view each subject framework go to the ICAS page and click on the framework link.
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Besides the certificate, all students receive a hard-copy of performance information (ranking) acknowledging students’ placing compared to all who sat ICAS (subject) in the corresponding year.
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Schools and teachers can access all their assessment data online. Drill down further into your assessment data to gain a more detailed understanding of performance.
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Using the same questions enables us to draw comparisons between each year level to see how different cohorts progress over time. In order to do this, we need to know how one test paper compares in difficulty with another. By comparing the information obtained from a few questions that appear in two different papers, we can get a good indication of the relative difficulty of each paper. This process is called ‘equating’ and is applied to test papers across year levels (called vertical equating) and also across calendar years (horizontal equating).
Results
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All reports and certificates are sent to the school in the first instance. Results are also available online. To access this facility, parents and their children will need their TAP ID and PIN to log in. The TAP ID is printed on the student report and is valid for all ICAS subject results.
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Yes. A secure, interactive site is created so that you can view and analyse your school and student data.
Schools: Login to theResult Portal with your ICAS school code and password to access your results online. Please note the school results are available only to participating schools, their Principals and the ICAS subject coordinators.
Parents and Students: Login with your TAP ID and PIN which is printed on the student reports. Your TAP ID is valid for all ICAS subject results.
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No. Due to privacy laws, results and student details are not disclosed over the phone.
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No. Results are dispatched directly to the school. Parents need to ask their child’s school for their child’s results. Reprints of results and certificates should also be requested through the school as EATS cannot adequately identify the person requesting the reprints.
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Schools or students can request for reprint certificates or reports with a charge. Schools or students must provide the following details for data verification:
- School Name
- School Code
- Incorrect Name of Student
- Correct Name of Student
- Year of assessment with Year Level
- Subject
The reprint process will take 3 weeks. Please contact the EATS office for more information.
Awards & Recognition
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Certificates suitable for inclusion in a portfolio are awarded to all participants. Please refer to the Awards & Recognition page for information about grade distribution.
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Yes. Schools are advised of all medal winners.
Past papers
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Past papers can be purchased here.
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The ICAS past papers are only offered in hardcopy for purchase. Past papers are not available for purchase and download in PDF or other electronic formats due to copyright.
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Currently only ICAS 2015 to 2018 papers are available while stocks last. At present, papers from 2019 onwards are not available for sale.