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Introducing the CSF II

Structure

The CSF is structured in key learning areas (KLAs), strands and levels.

Key learning areas

The CSF is made up of eight key learning areas:

• The Arts
• English, including English as a Second Language (ESL)
• Health and Physical Education (HPE)
• Languages Other Than English (LOTE)
• Mathematics
• Science
• Studies of Society and Environment (SOSE)
• Technology.

Strands

Within each key learning area, the major knowledge and skills are arranged into strands. Strands in some key learning areas are discipline-based, for example, music and art in the Arts, biological science and physical science in Science, and history and geography in SOSE; others are skill-based, for example, reading, writing, speaking and listening in English, ESL and LOTE. Some key learning areas use substrands as a way of organising the material within each strand.

Levels

For each strand the CSF sets six levels for student achievement over eleven years of schooling. The six levels are associated broadly with the years of schooling from Preparatory to Year 10 as follows:

• Level 1 - End of Preparatory Year
• Level 2 - End of Year 2
• Level 3 - End of Year 4
• Level 4 - End of Year 6
• Level 5 - End of Year 8
• Level 6 - End of Year 10.

Level 6 is designed to provide for the transition between the end of the compulsory years and the requirements of the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE). Extension outcomes are also provided for students who have already demonstrated achievement at level 6.