Education Commons^™

Improving Assessment Processes And Quality In Medical Specialisations, Daniel Edwards

Dr Daniel Edwards

ACER’s work for a number of specialist colleges in medicine is contributing to higher quality education, as Daniel Edwards explains.

Icils Test Development, Julian Fraillon

Julian Fraillon

The ICILS assessment was developed over a 20-month period from April 2010 to December 2012. Most of this work was conducted by the international study center (ISC) at the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) in collaboration with national research coordinators (NRCs) and the project advisory committee (PAC). SoNET Systems conducted the software development for the test modules. This chapter provides a detailed description of the test development process and review procedures as well as the test design implemented for the ICILS field trial and main survey.

The Development Of A Test Of Interpersonal Understanding (Emotional Intelligence) Using Filmed Scenarios, Jennifer Bryce

Dr Jennifer Bryce

No abstract provided.

Assessing Creative Thinking Skills - An Interdisciplinary Approach, Mark Butler

Mark Butler

The Australian Council for Educational Research (A.C.E.R.) is a not-for-profit organisation that works with Australian and international governments to develop and improve learning and assessment practices. In 2012 A.C.E.R. was contracted by the Victorian government to undertake research in the assessment of critical and creative thinking skills for students aged 8 to 18. Over 300 test items were developed for this purpose and these items were used to form a developmental scale for thinking. The research highlights the how critical and creative thinking skills can be incorporated into lessons which transcend traditional subject boundaries. This presentation focuses on the process …

Iccs Test Development, Julian Fraillon

Julian Fraillon

The ICCS civic knowledge assessment was developed over an 18-month period from October 2006 to April 2008. Most of the ICCS test-item development was conducted by the international study center (ISC) at the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) in collaboration with the study’s national research coordinators (NRCs) and the Project Advisory Committee (PAC). This chapter provides a detailed description of the test-development process, review procedures, and the test design implemented for the ICCS field trial and main survey. Table 2.1 provides an overview of the test-development processes and timeline.

Technical Report Of Brunei Nsscme 2008, Andrew Stephanou, Ling Tan

Dr Ling Tan

A collaboration between ACER and the Ministry of Education in Brunei Darussalam aims to establish an assessment monitoring system in government schools, NSSCME (National Study of Student Competencies in Mathematics and English), and to assist in building test development and psychometrics capacity. ACER’s input is in the examination of the Brunei curriculum, development of assessment instruments in line with the curriculum, construction of reporting scales, and training of staff in item writing, marking, interpretation of results, educational measurement and use of data analysis software. A comprehensive workshop program for item writers, teachers and officers is being conducted both in Brunei …

Investigating Gender Differential Item Functioning Across Countries And Test Languages For Pisa Science Items, Luc Le

Dr Luc Tu Le

This study uses PISA cycle 3 field trial data to investigate the relationships between gender differential item functioning (DIF) across countries and test languages for science items and their formats and the four other dimensions defined in PISA framework: focus, context, competency, and scientific knowledge. The data used were collected from 60 test language groups by 50 participating countries with a total of about 83,000 15-year-old students. An IRT method is used to detect the gender uniform DIF for each of the language groups and the whole international sample. Gender directions have been drawn for each of the five item …

Item Panelling, Or Cognitive Walk-Through, Ross Turner

Ross Turner

Linguistic And Cultural Norms In Language Testing : A Case Study, Annie Brown, Tom Lumley

Dr Tom Lumley

Users of English in Asia may not have the same need to aspire to a ' standard' form of English. It may be more appropriate for them to develop a communicative competence employing the sociolinguistic and cultural norms of the region. Taking such an approach in the development of tests of English proficiency involves rethinking basic assumptions. This paper considers these issues in the context of a test of English proficiency developed for use with English teachers in Indonesia

Reading Comprehension Sub-Skills: Teachers' Perceptions Of Content In An Eap Test, Tom Lumley

Dr Tom Lumley

This study examines the place of sub skills in English as second language (ESL) syllabus and test design, with particular attention to the enduring influence of Munby (1978). Rasch analysis of item difficulty and the use of Rasch Item Response Theory (IRT) are discussed.