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Full-Text Articles in Education

Learning Through Play At School: Ukraine, 2019-2024, Rachel Parker, Amy Berry, Kellie Picker, David Jeffries, Prue Anderson, Oksana Zabolotna Jan 2024

Learning Through Play At School: Ukraine, 2019-2024, Rachel Parker, Amy Berry, Kellie Picker, David Jeffries, Prue Anderson, Oksana Zabolotna

Student learning processes

The Learning Through Play at School Research Study Ukraine was a four-year longitudinal intervention study funded by the LEGO Foundation and implemented by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and the Ukrainian Educational Research Association (UERA). The study was implemented between 2019 and 2024, during COVID-19 and the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian armed forces. Despite, at times, insurmountable challenges, the professional learning intervention was successful in supporting most teachers to progress from a surface level understanding of learning through play to a deep level. In addition, almost all children’s literacy and social-emotional skills grew significantly from start …


The Overcoming Disadvantage In Early Childhood Study: Evaluation Of The Australian Literacy And Numeracy Foundation’S Early Language And Literacy Program. Summary Report, Dan Cloney, Kellie Picker, David Jeffries, Prue Anderson Nov 2023

The Overcoming Disadvantage In Early Childhood Study: Evaluation Of The Australian Literacy And Numeracy Foundation’S Early Language And Literacy Program. Summary Report, Dan Cloney, Kellie Picker, David Jeffries, Prue Anderson

Early Childhood Education

This report provides a summary of the completed Overcoming Disadvantage in Early Childhood (ODEC) longitudinal research study. The study was designed to evaluate the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation’s (ALNF) Early Language and Literacy (EL&L) program by answering the research question: What is the effect of the EL&L program on the development of language and literacy skills in preschool aged children? An integral component of this study was the development of the Early Language and Literacy Developmental Index (ELLDI), a new tool to measure oral language and literacy learning. The development of the ELLDI was based on the recognised need …


Infographic: Australia’S Reading Results Within The International Context, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer) Jul 2023

Infographic: Australia’S Reading Results Within The International Context, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

Teacher infographics

The new report, Progress in International Reading Literacy Study: Australia’s results from PIRLS 2021, reveals how the average reading performance of year 4 students in Australia compares to other countries. Find out more in today’s infographic.


Pirls 2021 Australian Year 4 Data [Sas], Kylie Hillman, Elizabeth O'Grady, Sima Rodrigues, Marina Schmid, Sue Thomson Jun 2023

Pirls 2021 Australian Year 4 Data [Sas], Kylie Hillman, Elizabeth O'Grady, Sima Rodrigues, Marina Schmid, Sue Thomson

Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)

This dataset (SAS zipped) is a data source for the report Progress in International Reading Literacy Study: Australia’s results from PIRLS 2021. Refer to the readme.txt file for details.


Pirls 2021 Australian Year 4 Data [Spss], Kylie Hillman, Elizabeth O'Grady, Sima Rodrigues, Marina Schmid, Sue Thomson Jun 2023

Pirls 2021 Australian Year 4 Data [Spss], Kylie Hillman, Elizabeth O'Grady, Sima Rodrigues, Marina Schmid, Sue Thomson

Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)

This dataset (SPSS zipped) is a data source for the report Progress in International Reading Literacy Study: Australia’s results from PIRLS 2021. Refer to the readme.txt file for details.


Pirls 2021 Australian Year 4 Data Readme [Text], Kylie Hillman, Elizabeth O'Grady, Sima Rodrigues, Marina Schmid, Sue Thomson Jun 2023

Pirls 2021 Australian Year 4 Data Readme [Text], Kylie Hillman, Elizabeth O'Grady, Sima Rodrigues, Marina Schmid, Sue Thomson

Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)

This readme file contains information on use of the datasets that form the data source for the report Progress in International Reading Literacy Study: Australia’s results from PIRLS 2021.


Progress In International Reading Literacy Study: Australia’S Results From Pirls 2021, Kylie Hillman, Elizabeth O'Grady, Sima Rodrigues, Marina Schmid, Sue Thomson May 2023

Progress In International Reading Literacy Study: Australia’S Results From Pirls 2021, Kylie Hillman, Elizabeth O'Grady, Sima Rodrigues, Marina Schmid, Sue Thomson

Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)

Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) is a large-scale assessment that measures how effective countries are in teaching reading literacy. Conducted every five years since 2001 (with Australia participating since 2011), PIRLS provides information about how to improve teaching and learning so that young students become accomplished and self-sufficient readers. In Australia, almost 5,500 Year 4 students participated in PIRLS 2021. These students completed tests in reading comprehension and answered questionnaires on their background and experiences in learning reading at school. To inform educational policy in the participating countries, alongside the assessment of reading literacy, PIRLS also routinely collects …


Infographic: Basic Literacy Skills And The Gap Between Male And Female Students, Jo Earp Mar 2023

Infographic: Basic Literacy Skills And The Gap Between Male And Female Students, Jo Earp

Teacher infographics

NAPLAN’s National Minimum Standard is the ‘agreed minimum acceptable standard of knowledge and skills without which a student will have difficulty making sufficient progress at school’. Ahead of the 2023 tests, we compare the percentage of male and female students in year 9 achieving at or above the standard in Literacy, over time.


Infographic: Basic Skills And The Gap Between Indigenous And Non-Indigenous Students, Jo Earp Mar 2023

Infographic: Basic Skills And The Gap Between Indigenous And Non-Indigenous Students, Jo Earp

Teacher infographics

In the National Assessment Program — Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) tests, the national minimum standard (NMS) is the ‘agreed minimum acceptable standard of knowledge and skills without which a student will have difficulty making sufficient progress at school’. This infographic looks at the performance of Indigenous and non-Indigenous students in Year 9, over time.


Pirls 2021 Australian Year 4 Data Tables [Excel], Kylie Hillman, Elizabeth O'Grady, Sima Rodrigues, Marina Schmid, Sue Thomson Jan 2023

Pirls 2021 Australian Year 4 Data Tables [Excel], Kylie Hillman, Elizabeth O'Grady, Sima Rodrigues, Marina Schmid, Sue Thomson

Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS)

No abstract provided.


Equity And Equality In Learning In Asia-Pacific: What Do Results From Large-Scale Assessments Tell Us? Gender In Focus Policy Brief, Syeda Kashfee Ahmed, Anna Dabrowski, Jacqueline Cheng, Victoria Klimova, Isabella Mccallum Jan 2023

Equity And Equality In Learning In Asia-Pacific: What Do Results From Large-Scale Assessments Tell Us? Gender In Focus Policy Brief, Syeda Kashfee Ahmed, Anna Dabrowski, Jacqueline Cheng, Victoria Klimova, Isabella Mccallum

Global education monitoring

This policy brief investigates gender disparities in learning outcomes and the factors contributing to these disparities as identified in large-scale assessment data in Southeast Asia. It additionally provides a set of recommendations aimed at enhancing equitable student learning outcomes while advocating for comprehensive support of gender-based interventions within educational quality initiatives, spanning both systemic and school-level support. The findings presented in this brief are drawn from large-scale assessment (LSA) datasets and secondary analysis of these sources. For more detailed information regarding the large-scale assessments in Southeast Asia, please refer to the appendix section.


Review Of The Australian Core Skills Framework And Digital Literacy Skills Framework And Relevant Assessment Tools. Final Report, Louise Wignall, Anita Roberts, Jana Scomazzon Nov 2022

Review Of The Australian Core Skills Framework And Digital Literacy Skills Framework And Relevant Assessment Tools. Final Report, Louise Wignall, Anita Roberts, Jana Scomazzon

Transition and Post-School Education and Training

This is the final report of a project commissioned in 2020 by the then Department of Education, Skills and Employment to review the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF) and Digital Literacy Skills Framework (DLSF) and tools available to support assessment using these frameworks. The review explored the development and history of the ACSF and DLSF, their use and application in the Australian context and examined features of selected international adult skills frameworks and curriculum. Through this desktop research and range of consultation activities with stakeholders, the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) has investigated current use of the ACSF and …


The Overcoming Disadvantage In Early Childhood Study: Evaluation Of The Australian Literacy And Numeracy Foundation’S Early Language And Literacy Program. Final Report, Dan Cloney, Kellie Picker, David Jeffries, Prue Anderson Jan 2022

The Overcoming Disadvantage In Early Childhood Study: Evaluation Of The Australian Literacy And Numeracy Foundation’S Early Language And Literacy Program. Final Report, Dan Cloney, Kellie Picker, David Jeffries, Prue Anderson

Early Childhood Education

The Overcoming Disadvantage in Early Childhood (ODEC) study is a longitudinal evaluation of the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation’s (ALNF) Early Language and Literacy (EL&L) program. The study was designed to answer the research question: What is the effect of the EL&L program on the development of language and literacy skills in preschool aged children? An integral component of this study was to develop a new measure of oral language and literacy - the Early Language and Literacy Developmental Index (ELLDI). The ELLDI was developed in recognition of the need for a best practice measure of oral language and literacy …


Online Training On Formative Assessment For Early Language, Literacy, And Numeracy (Elln) In The Philippines: Final Report, Rti International Nov 2021

Online Training On Formative Assessment For Early Language, Literacy, And Numeracy (Elln) In The Philippines: Final Report, Rti International

Teacher education

This report describes findings and lessons learned from an online teacher training course in the Philippines. "Becoming a Learning Detective" is a 5-day online course that focuses on the design and use of formative assessment to improve literacy and numeracy outcomes in Kindergarten to Grade 3 (K–3) classrooms. The emphasis is on classroom-based assessment strategies that are embedded within daily teaching and learning experiences, involving an active partnership between teacher and students. The course brings together asynchronous and synchronous elements, as well as whole group, small group, and individual learning experiences. The course was implemented for the first time among …


Research Snapshot: Unicef Philippines Early Childhood Education Kindergarten To Grade 4 Longitudinal Study, Rachel Parker, Jacqueline H. S. Cheng, Prue Anderson, Dan Cloney, Adeola Monty Sep 2021

Research Snapshot: Unicef Philippines Early Childhood Education Kindergarten To Grade 4 Longitudinal Study, Rachel Parker, Jacqueline H. S. Cheng, Prue Anderson, Dan Cloney, Adeola Monty

Early Childhood Education

The Philippines Early Childhood Care and Development (ECCD) Longitudinal Study was a major research investment by UNICEF, the Philippines Department of Education, and the Australian Government. It was designed to investigate the impact of one of the most significant education reforms in Philippines history: the introduction of the Kindergarten year as part of the K-12 Basic Education System. It offers useful insights into the impact of Philippines Mother Tongue-Based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) and key language transition points for students from Kindergarten to Grade 4. This longitudinal study measured not only the impact of Kindergarten, but also the contribution that preschool …


Developing An Assessment Of Oral Language And Literacy: Measuring Growth In The Early Years, Dan Cloney, Kellie Picker Aug 2021

Developing An Assessment Of Oral Language And Literacy: Measuring Growth In The Early Years, Dan Cloney, Kellie Picker

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

Children develop rapidly in their early years. A crucial component of this development is a child’s ability to learn and use language. Even before they enter formal education, children have learned much about oral language and literacy through meaningful interactions with others, and from their life experiences. Children, however, do not develop at the same pace – some children arrive in early childhood education and care (ECEC) programs more advanced while others require additional support. Recent reviews of the assessment tools available to ECEC educators show a lack of good quality measurement and a reliance on checklist style inventories or …


Infographic: School Librarian Recruitment – Valuing Reading For Pleasure, Dominique Russell Jul 2021

Infographic: School Librarian Recruitment – Valuing Reading For Pleasure, Dominique Russell

Teacher infographics

A new study has explored job titles and descriptions for school librarian jobs advertised in the United States and Australia to assess the emphasis placed on a school librarian’s role in promoting reading for pleasure. Researchers found ‘Australian school librarians are far more likely to be expected to foster reading for pleasure’.


Infographic: Student Enjoyment Of Reading, Dominique Russell Jun 2021

Infographic: Student Enjoyment Of Reading, Dominique Russell

Teacher infographics

The most recent Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) survey measured the attitudes held by 15-year-olds on reading. An Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) Snapshot report has analysed these attitudes, and looked at how they differ between girls and boys, Indigenous and non-Indigenous students, and most disadvantaged and least disadvantaged students.


Infographic: Foundational Literacy And Numeracy Skills, Jo Earp Jun 2021

Infographic: Foundational Literacy And Numeracy Skills, Jo Earp

Teacher infographics

In the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2019, Year 4 principals were asked to report how many students in their school could do foundational literacy and numeracy skills such as ‘write their names’ and ‘recognise written numbers from 1 to 10’ when they began their first year of primary school. Find out how Australian data compare to the international average in this infographic.


The Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics Program, Australian Council For Educational Research Jun 2021

The Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics Program, Australian Council For Educational Research

Assessment GEMS

The Southeast Asia Primary Learning Metrics Program (SEA-PLM) is a regional assessment of Grade 5 students in six Southeast Asian countries. SEA-PLM was initiated in 2012 by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Association (SEAMEO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The first main cycle of SEA-PLM was implemented in 2019, with future cycles intended. All member countries of SEAMEO can choose to participate in SEA-PLM. The first six participating countries were: Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines and Viet Nam. SEA-PLM measures curricula and cross-curricula knowledge, skills and understanding in the domains of mathematics, reading, writing and global …


Public Enquiry: Adult Literacy And Its Importance, Australian Council For Educational Research Mar 2021

Public Enquiry: Adult Literacy And Its Importance, Australian Council For Educational Research

Transition and Post-School Education and Training

The Australian Council for Educational Research’s submission to the Australian Government Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training's Public Enquiry into Adult literacy and its importance highlights the importance of these skills to Australia’s well-being and economy, and calls on the government to continue participation in an international assessment to monitor outcomes and improve adult education.


Assessment Of Oral Language And Early Literacy In Early Childhood Education And Care: Literature Review, Danielle Anzai, Sandra Knowles, Dan Cloney, Pam Munro-Smith, Pru Mitchell Jan 2021

Assessment Of Oral Language And Early Literacy In Early Childhood Education And Care: Literature Review, Danielle Anzai, Sandra Knowles, Dan Cloney, Pam Munro-Smith, Pru Mitchell

Early Childhood Education

This literature review is one of a series of reviews to support Victorian early childhood professionals to assess children's learning and development in relation to the five Learning and Development Outcomes in the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF). This review focuses on the Outcome: Children are effective communicators, and specifically on children as effective oral communicators. Focusing on the development of oral language and early literacy in the early years, this literature review sets out to provide a resource that will equip early childhood professionals with the knowledge to identify and assess children's progress in oral language …


Pacific Islands Literacy And Numeracy Assessment, Australian Council For Educational Research May 2020

Pacific Islands Literacy And Numeracy Assessment, Australian Council For Educational Research

Assessment GEMS

The overall purpose of Pacific Islands Literacy and Numeracy Assessment (PILNA) is to support the improvement of education outcomes of students in the Pacific Island countries. It does this by generating cognitive and contextual data to monitor learning outcome, as well as facilitating ongoing collaborative efforts. PILNA measures the numeracy and literacy achievement of students at the end of Year 4 and Year 6. PILNA also supports participating countries to achieve Sustainable Development Goals. Specifically, SDG 4.1, which aims to have ‘all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning …


The Early Grade Reading Assessment: Assessing Children’S Acquisition Of Basic Literacy Skills In Developing Countries, Australian Council For Educational Research May 2020

The Early Grade Reading Assessment: Assessing Children’S Acquisition Of Basic Literacy Skills In Developing Countries, Australian Council For Educational Research

Assessment GEMS

The Early Grade Reading Assessment (EGRA), administered individually in about 15 minutes, measures the most basic foundation skills for literacy acquisition in the early grades. The assessment was developed by the Research Triangle Institute (RTI) through funding provided by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and the World Bank, in addition to resources provided by RTI. In the context of this emerging focus on measuring basic literacy skills, EGRA was developed to provide a battery of assessments of basic reading skills for developing countries to monitor the status of early reading in primary schools. The assessment tool was …


The Southern And Eastern Africa Consortium For Monitoring Educational Quality, Australian Council For Educational Research May 2020

The Southern And Eastern Africa Consortium For Monitoring Educational Quality, Australian Council For Educational Research

Assessment GEMS

The Southern and Eastern Africa Consortium for Monitoring Educational Quality (SACMEQ) carries out large-scale cross-national research studies in member countries in the Southern and Eastern Africa region. SACMEQ aims to assess the conditions of schooling and performance levels of learners and teachers in the areas of literacy and numeracy.


Progress In International Reading Literacy Study: Measuring And Making International Comparisons Of Student Achievement In Reading, Australian Council For Educational Research May 2020

Progress In International Reading Literacy Study: Measuring And Making International Comparisons Of Student Achievement In Reading, Australian Council For Educational Research

Assessment GEMS

Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) is an ongoing, cyclical international study of student achievement in reading. It is directed by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA). PIRLS measures the reading comprehension performance of students and collects a wide array of contextual information about students, schools, curricula and educational policies and systems. PIRLS is designed to inform educational practice and policy by providing an international perspective of teaching and learning in reading literacy.


The Annual Status Of Education Report Survey: Monitoring Learning Levels Of Children In Rural India, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer) May 2020

The Annual Status Of Education Report Survey: Monitoring Learning Levels Of Children In Rural India, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

Assessment GEMS

The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) survey is a household-based survey of school-aged children in all rural districts in India. It is the only annual survey that yields data on children’s basic learning levels in this country. It evolved out of the work of a non-governmental organisation called Pratham. The ASER survey aims to obtain reliable, district-level estimates of the status of rural children’s school enrolment and skills in reading and arithmetic, and to measure the change in these estimates over time.


International Early Learning And Child Well-Being Study, Australian Council For Educational Research May 2020

International Early Learning And Child Well-Being Study, Australian Council For Educational Research

Assessment GEMS

The International Early Learning and Child Well-Being Study (IELS) assesses children at age 5, measuring key learning and development outcomes. The overall purpose of IELS is to help countries to better support the development and overall well-being of young children through improved early learning experiences. It achieves this by: providing robust empirical data on children’s early learning; identifying factors that enable and inhibit children’s early learning; and informing early childhood education centres and schools about skill levels of five year old children, as well as related contextual factors, which could be used to make more informed decisions about curriculums and …


Scottish National Assessments Inform Next Steps For Learning Aug 2019

Scottish National Assessments Inform Next Steps For Learning

International Developments

ACER works with the Scottish Government, in partnership with Twig and SCHOLAR, to develop and deliver assessments of literacy and numeracy learning progress. Since 2017, more than a million assessments have been completed by children and young people throughout Scotland.


Infographic: Top Borrowed Picture Books, Dominique Russell Mar 2019

Infographic: Top Borrowed Picture Books, Dominique Russell

Teacher infographics

Each year, a list of the top 10 most borrowed picture books in Australia is released by the Civica Libraries Index. See which picture books made the list for 2018 in today’s infographic.