ICAS (International Competitions and Assessments for Schools) are Australian examinations created by EAA (Educational Assessment Australia). They are not based on the New Zealand curriculum and are independent tests that sit outside of our learning programs. We recognise that students who wish to sit any ICAS exams need to access them through a school, and therefore we provide the opportunity for students to do so, if they wish.
ICAS are paid assessments for Year 4-6 students, and students can opt into any number of them. There is a cost involved in sitting each exam. ICAS now also offer an 'Introductory Paper' in some subjects that year 3 students can choose to sit.
Amesbury School will be offering all 6 ICAS exams again for Year 4-6 students this year: Science, Maths, Writing, English (reading), Spelling and Digital Technology. We will also offer the Introductory Paper for Year 3 in the four subjects ICAS are offering at this level: Maths, English, Spelling and Science.
The ICAS examination structure has changed quite considerably this year, along with changes to pricing for all exams. ICAS exams will be sat much later in the year than previous years, with all ICAS exams running in the final few weeks of term 3 (September 2019). Registering for ICAS through Amesbury School needs to be completed by Friday June 28th. Any registrations received by the school after this date will not be accepted, as this incurs additional admin time and expense.
Please note that ICAS have increased their prices for all exams. There will be a standard fee of $15 for all ICAS exams. ICAS charges a minimum fee of three entries per subject area; schools entering fewer than 3 students will be charged the entry fee applicable to 3 enrolments. This means that if your child is one of only one or two students entering a particular subject area from Amesbury, the cost of three entries ($45 for any exam) will either be shared with the other student entering the exam, or you will be charged the full cost of three entries if your child is the only student entering. We will let you know if you are going to be charged for more than one entry before entering your child.
We request that parents who are interested in entering their child for any ICAS exams attend a short meeting at school to discuss the content of exams and the role of the school in these exams. Even if parents are well informed about ICAS exams generally, it is still mandatory to attend this meeting before registering, as the meeting outlines Amesbury School's approach to ICAS exams. During this meeting we will cover what the school will and won't do in terms of ICAS exams. If parents agree with these expectations, students can then be entered for the exams. If you have already attended this meeting in previous years, you do not need to attend this meeting as you are already aware of the school's expectations. This meeting will be held on Friday 14th June at 4pm in the library.
During the information meeting we will also cover admin issues around the exams, such as cost, dates, general schedule and ICAS rules around examinations (they have a strict code of conduct around administering the exams). If you have attended this meeting in previous years and will not be attending the meeting this year, we will send out 2019 ICAS information once you email me to register or express interest in entering for any exams this year.
Click here for the link to the ICAS website if you would like further information regarding ICAS exams. If you are interested in entering your child/ren for any ICAS exams this year, please email me (urs.cunningham@amesbury.school.nz) to let me know. To confirm your registration please email me by Friday 28th June to let me know the ICAS exams you would like your child to enter.
Warm regards, Urs Cunningham
