Trinity Centre Valencia.

Tel: 627 137 138

Decree 5706
119.02.08 49214
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Order dated 31st January 2008 from the Department of Education which sets out the special
guidelines for Evaluation, Regulation and Promotion of Language Teaching within the
Valencian Community {200812059J
Decree 155/2007 of the Department of Education dated 21 st of September for the first time
ever sets out the regulation of special guidelines for Language teaching within the Valencian
Community whilst also establishing the curriculum for both Basic and Intermediate levels
(DOCV dated 24.09.07)
The Decree states in Article 6.1 that the official documents to be used in the evaluation of
teaching; in accordance with Annex II of Royal Decree 1629/2006 dated 29th of December
which lays down the basic features of the curriculum of Foreign Language teaching of the
Organic Law of Education 2/2006 dated 3rd May; are academic records and evaluation
procedures.
Moreover, the Decree establishes in Article 6.2 that the department whose responsibility it is
to create the different models of evaluation documentation in each community should
ensure that they at least contain the minimum information required for these as laid out in
the aforementioned Annex II (R.D.1629/2006 29th Dec), thus ensuring uniformity of
academic documentation throughout the Spanish State and in this way permitting the
mobility of students.
Decree 155/2007 itself also stipulates that the teaching staff should evaluate the
development of the competences of the students in accordance with the objectives, as well
as evaluating the processes of teaching and teacher's own teaching performance in relation
to their achievement of the educational objectives of the curriculum; this will also facilitate
the addition of those additional aspects of teaching and the educational project deemed
appropriate to the centre in question.
Similarly, it will establish the tests for certification of each of the languages being taught in
the Valencian Community within the Official Language Schools (as well as all other areas of
teaching) that are required for the demonstration of the expected levels of Basic,
Intermediate and Advanced knowledge and which are necessary for citizens to prove their
competence in the different languages taught.
The department of Education in this community aims, through this order, to regulate
evaluation and promotion within the field of Foreign Languages thus rendering them
common, objective, trustworthy and comparable with other communities.
Hence, by virtue of the powers invested in me by Article 28e of the Department of
Education Law 5/1983 dated 30th December I order:
Article 1. Purpose and scope
1.1 The purpose of this order is to regulate evaluation and promotion in the Official
Language Schools within the Community of Valencia.
1.2 The Department responsible for the regulation and creation of material used for testing
the achievement of the required level that merits certification in the desired language; for
Basic, Intermediate and Advanced; will make reference to the Objectives, Competencies
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and Evaluation Criteria for the respective languages. This order will have application
within all the territory pertaining to the Valencian Community.
Article 2. Nature of the evaluation
2.1 The evaluation of the teaching of languages in the Official Language Schools is designed
to determine the progress made by students as well as their mastery of the language
concerned and their ability to adopt strategies in order to attain the desired objectives.
2.2 The evaluation will be a continuous part of the teaching learning process and is intended
to identify difficulties as they occur, determine their causes, and as a result redirect the
teaching to accommodate the diversity of ability, learning pace, interests and motivation
of the students both globally and, where appropriate, finally during their progress through
the Official Language School.
2.3 Students should be evaluated by making reference to the Objectives, Competences and
Evaluation criteria set for the different levels of Basic, Intermediate and Advanced levels
as set out in the curricula for the respective languages.
2.4 Each teaching department will create their own programme of teaching schedules for
each of the levels of Basic, Intermediate and Advanced. Sequencing the Objectives,
Contents and Evaluation criteria and adapting them to the characteristics of the
students.
2.5 The teaching schedules whilst consolidating the referents of evaluation will also specify
the strategies and the instruments of evaluation considered to be deemed most
appropriate. Moreover, in conjunction with the Common European Framework of
Reference for Language teaching, students will be encouraged to establish procedures
for self and co-evaluation so fostering their autonomy and ability to assess their own
learning.
Article 3. Process of the evaluation of the student.
3.1 At the beginning of each course the teacher will carry out an initial evaluation of students
in order to determine the best approach to the teaching of the group and at the same
time enabling students to appreciate their own academic level and personal learning
needs.
3.2 Teachers will regularly inform students of their progress throughout the course. This will
include the incorporation of any additional measures required for the students to attain
their goals. Each Language School by virtue of its pedagogical autonomy and
independent organisational structure will establish the required procedures in order to
make this information available. To this end therefore, all teachers must inform students
of their development at least once during the course of any given academic year and
preferably after the first half of the year.
3.3 At the end of those courses in which it is not necessary for the students to take an exam
for a certificate all students of a given language course will sit a test created by the
relevant language department. A teacher may exempt a student fully or partially from the
general test if he/she has attained the required level consistently during the academic
year; thus testing only those skills still requiring improvement.
3.4 At the end of each of the final years of each level students will be allowed to sit the exam
of accreditation. The department responsible for the creation of the exam papers will
also determine the norms of their evaluation and the required level of attainment
necessary for their realisation. This will also include the information available in the
student's Individual assessment file (FIS).
3.5 Schools should, at the moment of evaluation, take into account the option available to
organise the curriculum so as to distinguish between the oral and the written skills.
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3.6 The teaching staff will carry out evaluation continuously, objectively and make ongoing
comparisons with both the students' achievements and their own teaching in relation to
their achievement of the educational objectives. The results of this evaluation will be
included in the Annual Report of each of the Language Schools and serve as a means
by which to introduce aspects of teaching practice and educative projects that are
deemed appropriate.
3.7 In respect of the setting of the grades of final qualifications these will conform to those
set out in the current legislation.
Article 4. Promotion
4.1 At the end of those courses in which it is not necessary for the students to take an exam
for a certificate The teacher of the group will; taking into account the continual
assessment and, where appropriate, the final global test; make the decisive decision as
to a student's promotion up to the next relevant level or their further retention within the
old one.
4.2 The Official Language Schools will take the necessary steps to ensure further years
spent in the same level are dedicated to the overcoming of problems encountered in any
of the skills.
Article 5. Exams and Continuance
5.1 In those courses that don't require the full exam for accreditation, students will be able to
take exams twice a year in their attempts to promote to the following course. The first will
occur at the end of the 120 hours of study required in each course and the second will
take place in September prior to the commencement of the academic year. The student
shall only be required to take those skills failed in the first exam.
5.2 In intensive courses students also have two exams per year in which to promote to the
following grade within the same level. In the first four months of intensive courses
begun at the start of the first term the first exam will take place before the end of
January; the second during the month of June. For intensive courses begun in the third
quarter of the year the exam will be set before the end of May and the second in the
month of September before the start of the academic year.
5.3 Each Official Language school will establish their own calendar of implementation
of exams referred to in points one and two of this article.
5.4 Students are entitled to attend lessons up to a maximum number of year's equivalent to
double the total number of years required to take the course normally. After this time
students are not entitled to re-register for a course unless after completion of annual
registration there remain vacancies in the school.
Article 6. Evaluation Results
6.1 In accordance with paragraph h) of Annex II of Royal Decree 1629/2006 and dated the
2nd of December which sets out the basic aspects of the curriculum as covered by the
new law of Education 2/2006 dated the 3rd of May, final grades and skills alike will be
expressed in terms of a student either being capable or incapable.
Article 7. Evaluation Records
7.1 The official documents that should be used for evaluation of Foreign Language teaching
in the Communities Official Language Schools are the following: academic records and
evaluation procedures.
7.2 The academic records are considered the fundamental documentation required to
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guarantee the transfer of students between the different centres and should include:
Identification data pertaining to the centre and personal information of the students
together with their enrolment data such as: student number; course type; language
studied; actual level and course; academic year; and the qualifications so far obtained.
7.3 The academic records will also gather together the information of direct access granted
to certain courses; waiver of fees; passes of the required number of exams; transfer to
other centres and change of course type.
7.4 The academic records will also include information about the length of time expected to
be taken for the student to obtain the desired level of certification.
7.5 The academic record set out in Annex I of this document will contain the levels and
structure of the courses together with the minimum number of lesson hours per course
in accordance with those laid down in Decree 155/2007 dated the 21 st of September by
the Department of Education which regulates the specialist teaching of languages here
in the Valencian Community and which also establishes the curriculum of Basic and
Intermediate levels.
7.6 Students may request copies of their academic records which will be signed as bona fide
by the secretary of the centre and endorsed by the director.
7.7 The qualification record sheets; the model for which may be found in Annex II of this
order; will be completed at the end of each course for each level. These records will
include the theoretical comparison of students in which the results of each of the skills
tested in the final exam will be set down separately and will specify the qualification of
the course; they will be signed by the relevant teaching staff and should be endorsed by
the head of department.
7.8 Students will also have a complementary file organised by the Department of
Education known as the Individual Assessment File (or FIS) which will record their
achievements in terms of the levels of skills attained throughout all the successive
courses. A model for this can be seen in Annex III of this order.
Article 8. Custody of documents
8.1 Academic records and records of student's qualific8'Jons will be stored in the archives of
the centre. The Department of Education for each local community will be expected to
provide adequate storage and; in the case of closure of a centre; transportation
facilities. The same applies to the filing and archiving of the Student's Individual
Assessment File at the end of each course.
8.2 Given the confidential nature of these evaluation documents all enquires pertaining must
be first approved by the centre.
8.3 The Education Department concerned will be able to set up the computerisation of
the archives when this action assumes that this will not cause any centre in
question to lose autonomy over their own archives.
Article 9. waiver of fees
9.1 Students can request waiver of fees without the need to present any justification until
the end of the month of November for intensive courses and the end of January for
ordinary ones. The waiver will be entered in the student's records following the
appropriate steps. The said waiver will have no connection with the student's possible
need to repeat a course, as if the student wishes to continue he/she must re-apply for
admission in the usual way.
9.2 Students may apply for waiver of fees by demonstrating adequate justification.
Application should be made through the student's advisory body who will provide the
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appropriate form and co-ordinate the required documentation in conjunction with the
underlying reasons for the application.
Article 10. Circulation of information
10.1 Language schools will make all the above mentioned information available to all its
students through all possible means. It is the responsibility of the teaching body to make
all information about objectives, programming, and evaluation procedures and criteria
known to all their students.
Article 11. Evaluation and Certification of other courses
1. In accordance with points 2 and 3 of Article 4 of Decree 155/2007 dated the 21st of
September in which the Community of Valencia sets out the organisation of teaching in it's
language schools and establishes the curriculum for Basic and Intermediate levels; the
department responsible for education will be able to authorise the teaching of
monographic courses at Basic Intermediate and Advanced levels; training courses and
other complementary training offers will thus be made available to the teaching staff in
response to any given social demand. Similarly, Official language schools may, under the
terms extended to them by the Department of Education, organise and give courses
specialising in the perfection of skills and languages equally in the Basic, Intermediate
and Advanced levels as in the levels C 1 and C2 as approved by the European Council
and defined in the European Common Frame of Reference for Languages. Each official
school of Language will be responsible for its own programming.
2. The attainment of a pass in any of these courses or training modules will not result in the
attainment of a certificate in any of the three levels (Basic, Intermediate or Advanced);
however, the Official Language Schools may upon request certify the hours of courses
studied and the level of achievement obtained in the courses set out above in point one of
this article.
3 In order that the certificates relating to courses for level C of the European Common
Frame of Reference are issued by the corresponding administration correctly they should
meet the requirements of said framework in terms of Social and programming concerns.
This will particularly be the case with the courses of the official languages of the Valencian
Community.
4 The completion of the above mentioned courses will form part of the student's academic
record.
5 The qualification for this complementary training course will be expressed in terms of
"Competent" or "Incompetent"
Article 12. Promotion following the level test
1 Prior to the beginning of the course throughout the month of September Official Language
Schools will convene and carry out level tests.
2 Level tests; which will have been created by the relevant teaching departments in order to
guarantee their uniformity; will permit students who pass to have direct access to the
second level of Basic; to the second or *third course of intermediate (*for authorised
languages such as Arabic, Chinese or Japanese); and to the second course of Advanced.
Article 13. Students with Special Educative Needs
1 In accordance with points three and four of additional order one of decree 155/2007; dated
the 21st of September from the Department of Education of the Valencian Community
which regulates special provision of language teaching and establishes the curriculum of
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the Basic and Intermediate levels; the Education Department may authorise those
students with Special Educative Needs arising from disability a modification of the length
of stay in the school to the maximum permitted for each level or partial extension thereof
as required. In order to avail themselves of this, students should declare their disability at
the time of enrolment and provide the corresponding certificated proof.
2 Equally, in respect of the evaluation tests and exams required, Language Schools will
adapt the duration and conditions of these to the specific characteristics of the students
with Special Needs.
3 These provisions should be recorded in student's academic records.
ADDITIONAL ORDERS:
First
The present rules which make reference exclusively to the Basic and Intermediate levels will
also apply to the Advanced level once the curriculum for this has been approved and
providing they do not go against any alternative ruling made therein.
Second. Dissemination and Monitoring of Rules
1 The Department of Education with territorial jurisdiction for a particular area will be
responsible for the necessary measures to be taken to disseminate and apply this order
2 The Inspectorate of Education will assess the educative community; will supervise the
process of evaluation and promotion of students; and will propose measures which
contribute to their perfection.
Third. Students' Personal Data
With reference to the obtaining of students personal data, to students subsequently leaving
a centre or transferring to another, and the confidentiality of their documents throughout;
These matters will at all times be governed by the current legislation for personal data
protection as well as those norms stated in the twenty third additional article of the Second
Organic Law of Education dated the 3rd of May 2006.
Forth. Distance learning of English: "That's English"
For students studying the distance learning programme, "That's English", none of the above
rules concerning fee wavers, exams and maximum length of study apply as this group of
students are not subject to any limit to the time they remain as students.
This decree hereby replaces all others of a similar or inferior nature which oppose the norms
laid out herein. The Department of Education will determine the number and nature of any
further orders or measures required for the interpretation and implementation of this decree
ALEJANDRO FONT DE MORA
TURON Num. 5706/19.02.2008
49220