Help Us Help You!

Hello, ACHS families!

I trust you are all well as we near completion of the first term of the year.

I know that it is sometimes hard to tell the tone that written communication is expressed in, and it can sometimes be misunderstood and interpreted negatively. I want to assure you all that this letter is written from a place of care, grace, and wanting the best for your child/children.

I would like to take this opportunity to inform and give greater clarity to you all about one of ACHS’ responsibilities and obligations to the ACE Working Committee, the group that reviews and decides on which ACE Certificate applications will be approved or not.

Part of our agreement with the ACE Working Committee (Committee) is that we, and specific to me and my role, will moderate students’ returned work. This is not only to ensure that a student’s work is being done legitimately and to a high standard, but also to ensure the integrity and standard of the ACE Certificates in the broader community. When it comes time for a student to apply for an ACE Certificate, I need to be able to tell the Committee that I have moderated the student’s work and believe that everything has been completed to the Committee’s standards and requirements. So as not to jeopardise your child’s/children’s chances of receiving their ACE Year 10 Certificate and/or ACE Senior Secondary Certificate, there are some practical things that you can do which I will list below:

1.     Return work monthly.

It is important that PACE Tests are returned to us on a monthly basis. Not only does it put less of a burden on our admin team, but it also allows me to contact you early if I notice any “issues” with the work being returned that need to be remedied. If I receive a whole year’s coursework at one time, and if I do pick up on “issues”, multiple PACEs might have to be redone, the whole course might have to be repurchased and redone, or in the worst case, it may mean your child becomes ineligible for an ACE Certificate. These are all situations that have occurred in the past, and they are situations which neither you nor I want to see happen.

2.     Follow the ACE procedures & requirements. (Test Cover Page)

Please ensure that written on the front page of each PACE Test is the student’s name, the date on which the test was taken, and the result of the test.

3.     Follow the ACE procedures & requirements. (Testing)

PACE Tests MUST NOT be issued on the same day that a student completes a Self Test; the student sits the PACE Test the day AFTER a Self Test has been successfully completed. (07:36 of Parent Training Video)During a PACE Test, students CANNOT ask the supervisor (or any other person) for any help. The supervisor should observe the student until the test is completed. (08:28 of Parent Training Video)

4.     Follow the ACE procedures & requirements. (Scoring Tests)

PACE Tests should be scored by the supervisor using the TEST KEY. Under no circumstances should PACE Tests be scored by the student or another child in the family. After the test has been given to the supervisor to score, no corrections can be made to the PACE Test, and students CANNOT amend any of their answers. Any PACE Test that is scored less than 80% is a failed test. (08:45 of Parent Training Video)

5.     Follow the ACE procedures & requirements. (Recording Results)

Record the scores of passed tests on your Supervisor’s Progress Card (SPC). We strongly recommend that you keep your SPCs for as long as your are members with ACHS. From time to time, we may request that you send a photo of your SPC to us so that we can confirm PACE Test results. (09:14 of Parent Training Video)

6.     Send working-out back with PACE Tests.

Please ensure that ALL working-out for maths and science (Physical Science, Physics, Chemistry) PACEs is returned to us in the envelope of PACE Tests that you send to us monthly. Sometimes, your student will need to do working-out on separate paper. Please ensure that these pieces of paper are returned to us, too, with the PACE Test number clearly written at the top of each page.

In addition to the above not being followed, some other things the Committee sees as potential ‘red flags’ are scoring 100% in whole courses and the speed at which work is completed. Although it is not outside the realms of possibility, scoring 100% for a whole course is very rare. Even more rare than this is when multiple or all courses are completed with scores of 100%. If I notice that this is happening with your child/children, I will contact you to have a chat about your study and testing processes. Also, I would like to remind you that, although students can accelerate through the ACE curriculum, there is a 2-year minimum expectation on the completion of an ACE Year 10 Certificate.

Unfortunately, there have been instances in the past where I have discovered that students have been cheating. In most cases, I will extend grace and allow the student to prove they will no longer behave dishonestly. If cheating occurs again second time, however, the student will no longer be eligible for an ACE Certificate. To help minimise the temptation to cheat, we suggest removing all access to PACE Tests and Test Keys. PACE Tests must be removed from PACEs and stored securely. Students MUST NOT see them until taking the test. Test Keys must also be stored securely, and they should never be shown to the student under any circumstances.

The above information is more pertinent to those whose students are on their certificate pathways, but I think it is equally important for students who are not yet at that level to start developing these habits now. We are grateful that you have decided to partner with us in the education of your child/children, and we thank you for your cooperation with implementing and adhering to the above. We look forward to seeing your child/children grow not only academically, but also spiritually as they continue their learning journey.

Thank you for your support, and may God bless you all.

Yours in Christ,

Joshua McKenzie

Academic Consultant