Education Commons^™

Gaml/Tcg Criteria For Use Of An Assessment To Report On Sdg 4.1.1, Kemran Mestan, Maurice Walker, Colin Watson

Monitoring Learning

The Global Alliance to Monitor Learning (GAML) is the working group of the Technical Cooperation Group on SDG 4 Indicators (TCG) that focuses on learning data and aims at improving learning outcomes by supporting national strategies for learning assessments and developing internationally comparable indicators and methodological tools to measure progress towards key targets of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4). Indicator 4.1.1 is defined as the percentage of children and young people who have achieved a minimum proficiency level in (i) reading and (ii) mathematics during primary (Grade 2 or 3) and at the end of primary and lower secondary …

Mid-Term Evaluation Report (Final): Global Education Monitoring (Gem) Centre Phase 3, Valerie Haugen

Monitoring Learning

This report provides findings and recommendations from the external mid-term evaluation of Phase 3 of the Global Education Monitoring (GEM Centre) - a long-term partnership between the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). The goal of the GEM Centre is to improve learning, by ensuring that education policies, practices and investments are influenced by high-quality evidence. The aim of the mid-term evaluation was to enable reflection on the long-term partnership through the GEM Centre. The findings highlight the successes and achievements of the GEM Centre over the past decade, …

International Standard Setting Exercise, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

Monitoring Learning

The GEM Centre provides technical support to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics (UIS), which has been mandated to monitor the progress of countries towards achieving the education goals of Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4). The International Standard Setting Exercise (ISSE) was undertaken to harmonise quantitative data across assessment programs, and to provide substantive information about children’s learning levels and progress benchmarked against international standards. The goal of the ISSE was to place thresholds on empirical reading and mathematics Learning Progression Scales for the Minimum Proficiency Level at the end of lower primary …

Minimum Proficiency Levels Unpacked, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

Monitoring Learning

This document draws together work from several initiatives to establish Minimum Proficiency Levels (MPLs) for reading and mathematics, for global use in pursuit of the Sustainable Development Goal in Education, SDG 4.1, with a specific focus on indicator 4.1.1. Three educational levels are referred to in this paper as ‘end of lower primary’, ‘end of primary’ and ‘end of lower secondary’. The MPLs are described and elaborated in four ways: nutshell statements; expanded statements; domains, constructs and descriptors; and sample items. A detailed account of the history and evolution of the Minimum Proficiency Levels is provided in Appendix A

Readiness, Response, And Recovery: The Impacts Of Covid-19 On Education Systems In Asia, Anna Dabrowski, Yung Nietschke, Syeda Kashfee Ahmed, Amy Berry, Maya Conway

Monitoring Learning

This review provides insights into COVID-19 responses in educational systems in Asia, and to understand which policies and practices were already in place to contribute to system readiness and resilience. Although the evidence base remains scarce, reflecting on the different system and school-level responses in Asia provides opportunity to identify gaps in current policies and research, and consider new ways in which countries in Asia can strengthen their educational systems into the future. It considers what makes an education system resilient, and the importance of school level practices. It uses an analytical framework to review readiness, response and recovery, and …

Gem Centre: Completion Report For Phase 2 Funding, 2017–2020, Australian Council For Educational Research

Monitoring Learning

In 2014, the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and the Australian Government’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) established a partnership under the Global Education Monitoring Centre. Since then, there have been two funding periods: Phase 1 from 2014–2017 and Phase 2 from 2017–2020. Phase 3 will cover 2020–2023. This report documents the completion of Phase 2 funding and describes the shared priorities of DFAT and ACER through the GEM Centre, followed by the objectives and key outcomes of the work program during this period. The outcomes and lessons learned, together with findings from the GEM Centre mid-term …

Performance Comparison Between Ib And Non-Ib School Students On The International Schools’ Assessment, Ling Tan

Monitoring Learning

This report examines the performance of students enrolled in the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) and the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) on the ACER International Schools’ Assessment (ISA) compared with non-IB students from the same ISA cohorts. The ISA is an assessment created especially for students in international schools in Grades 3 to 10. The assessment asks both multiple-choice and open-ended questions in the areas of writing, reading, mathematics and science, and provides international normative information about student performance. The ISA scales for Reading, Mathematical Literacy and Scientific Literacy are based on those developed for the internationally endorsed frameworks …

Measuring What Matters: Insights On The Value Of Whole Child Development, Porticus, Australian Council For Educational Research, Pina Tarricone, Yung Nietschke, Kylie Hillman

Monitoring Learning

This policy analysis report captures how cities and countries value, define, and measure Whole Child Development (WCD) - and equivalent - both broadly and in the context of reaching those in extreme adversity. The WCD conceptual framework of this study refers to 11 key themes: values, life skills, social and emotional learning, spirituality, academic knowledge, student engagement, adult support, community, academically challenging learning, safe environments, and health. The report provides insights into the challenges experienced in embedding WCD in education systems and offers evidence around the growing recognition and momentum globally around WCD and holistic learning. One of the key …

Learning Through Play Experience Tool: Guidelines For General Use Of The Learning Through Play Experience Tool, Lisa Van Beeck

Monitoring Learning

The aim of the Learning through Play (LtP) Experience Tool is to see a play experience through the eyes of a child and use this to understand the texture of the child’s experience. The LtP Experience Tool is not designed to rate or evaluate the child. It is an observational tool used to collect data on a child’s play experience by empathising with a child and how they respond to the play experience. These guidelines provide an overview of the purpose of the LtP Experience Tool and how to use it to understand a child’s play experience. The guidelines are …

Learning Through Play Experience Tool: Contextual Data Tools, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

Monitoring Learning

The Learning through Play (LtP) Experience Tool was developed for use at LEGO House to observe and measure the quality of children’s play experiences. The LtP Experience Tool includes a set of Contextual Data Tools. The primary purpose of the Contextual Data Tools: "is to put the LtP Experience Tool into ‘context’, by emphasising that we are not assessing the individual child assuming that there is something wrong with the child’s performance or behaviour. But that we are measuring the child to understand whether anything should be changed in the context/environment/facilitation around the child". The Contextual Data Tools …

Measurement Of Young Children's Learning For Program Evaluation, Jen Jackson, Syeda Kashfee Ahmed, Toby Carslake, Petra Lietz

Monitoring Learning

The global commitment to early learning has been expressed in the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals Agenda (SDG) (United Nations, 2016) and access to support for early learning is considered a human right for all children, whether provided by the family, community, or institutional programs (UNESCO, 2013). Inadequate cognitive stimulation has been identified as one of the key psychosocial risk factors associated with poor child development – a factor that is modifiable, with the right interventions (Walker et al., 2007). Thus, insights into how early learning supports may be delivered effectively in various contexts are essential. To explore the …

Improving Young Children's Learning In Economically Developing Countries: What Works, Why, And Where? Scoping Review, Jen Jackson, Syeda Kashfee Ahmed, Toby Carslake, Petra Lietz

Monitoring Learning

This scoping review responds to the increasing interest in improving early childhood education and care (ECEC) in economically developing countries. It examines available research in relation to the question: What effective interventions have been implemented recently in economically developing countries to improve children’s learning in the years before school? As much of the research underpinning ECEC interventions has focused on economically developed countries, it is timely to review available research about the effectiveness of interventions in the economically developing world. The ECEC interventions were categorised as Income supplementation (n=8); Parent-focused interventions (n=37); Child-focused education and nurturing care (n=35); Integrated interventions …

Measures Of Characteristics And Skills Associated With Learning Through Play: Findings From The Literature, Rachel Parker, Lisa Van Beeck, Janine Callanan

Monitoring Learning

This literature review was commissioned by the LEGO Foundation to inform the revision of the Learning through Play (LtP) Experience Tool, which was developed for use at LEGO House to observe and measure the quality of children’s play experiences. This review aims to determine the extent to which the LEGO Foundation’s tool reflects good practice regarding instrument design and administration, and whether tools that measure similar characteristics using similar methods already exist

Growth To Achievement: On-Demand Resources For Teachers, Christine Cawsey Am, John Hattie, Geoff N. Masters Ao

Monitoring Learning

A central finding of the Review to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian Schools (the Excellence Review) was that learning progressions can help teachers tailor their teaching to support students’ achievement through continuous learning growth. Aligned, online and on-demand assessments, combined with professional learning and resources, will aid the use and interpretation of learning progressions in order to maximise the learning growth and attainment of every student every year. The Commonwealth Minister for Education and Training has established an expert reference panel to shape a shared vision for this important work and provide advice on how to take it forward. The …

Effective Child-Focused Education And Nurturing Care Interventions, Jen Jackson, Syeda Kashfee Ahmed, Toby Carslake, Petra Lietz

Monitoring Learning

Child-focused education and nurturing care interventions provide learning support directly to the child. In line with the International Standard Classification of Education (ISCED Level 0), the support is typically provided by either centre- or home-based Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services outside the child’s family and includes an educative and caring component with an active child development element. The 35 child-focused interventions in this review (of a total of 109 studies; see further details under background) occurred in 29 countries in five regions – the widest geographical spread of all intervention types under consideration. The most frequently represented countries …

Income Supplementation Interventions In Economically Developing Countries, Jen Jackson, Syeda Kashfee Ahmed, Toby Carslake, Petra Lietz

Monitoring Learning

Income supplementation interventions provide cash transfers directly to the parents/families of young children, with the objective of improving learning and other outcomes. Interventions of this type directly address poverty as the origin of many of the challenges to children’s learning in economically developing contexts. Such programs seek to affect positively child wellbeing and readiness to learn as well as the home learning environments. These effects can be achieved by using the additional income, for example, to support centre-based childcare or school attendance, to buy more nutritious food or to enable parents to spend more time with their children. The eight …

Parent-Focused Interventions In Economically Developing Countries, Jen Jackson, Syeda Kashfee Ahmed, Toby Carslake, Petra Lietz

Monitoring Learning

The authors conducted a scoping review of Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) interventions in economically developing countries between 1998 and 2017, aimed at improving children’s learning in the years before school. The review identified 37 parent-focused studies from 19 countries which provide an evidence base for parent-focused interventions that have both depth and geographical breadth. This policy note outlines characteristics of these interventions which contribute to changes in developmental outcomes for children. It found that of all ECEC interventions, the largest body of effectiveness evidence is available for parent-focused programs.

Learning Progressions In Acer's Work, Charlotte Waters

Monitoring Learning

This document has been developed to provide background to ACER’s learning progressions; to explain the terminology that is being used in this work; and to describe how learning progressions are being incorporated into various aspects of ACER’s work.

The Unesco Institute For Statistics Reporting Scales: Concept Note, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

Monitoring Learning

Measurement of learning achievement is essential to monitor how well education systems are delivering on the promise of universal quality education. This promise is reflected in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Number 4 (Target 4.1): By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes. Goal 4 can only be meaningful if there is a shared global understanding of quality education, and relevant and effective learning. The various indicators associated with SDG Target 4.1 attempt to translate its key constructs into measurable outcomes against …

Learning Progressions As An Inclusive Solution To Global Education Monitoring, Ray J. Adams, Jen Jackson, Ross Turner

Monitoring Learning

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) mark a welcome shift in global discussion of education, because now we are talking not only about getting children into school, but also about making sure that they are learning. At the same time, the SDGs introduce a new layer of complexity, because we need to define what quality education means in a way that is meaningful across international contexts.

This short paper describes how the development of global learning progressions provides an innovative solution, to balance the need for flexibility and consistency in global monitoring of learning.

Development Of Reporting Scales For Reading And Mathematics: A Report Describing The Process For Building The Uis Reporting Scales, Ross Turner, Ray Adams, Ursula Schwantner, Dan Cloney, Claire Scoular, Prue Anderson, Alexander Daraganov, Jen Jackson, Sandra Knowles, Gayl O'Connor, Pam Munro-Smith, Stavroula Zoumboulis, Pauline Rogers

Monitoring Learning

As a technical partner of the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, ACER-GEM has created reporting scales for reading and maths, with the intention of enabling countries to examine and report the outcomes of their assessment activities using a common framework. This report gives the theoretical and contextual background to the scales, and describes the steps in the drafting process.

Monitoring Learning Against The Sustainable Development Goals, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

Monitoring Learning

The Global Alliance to Monitor Learning (GAML) is an international collaboration to improve learning around the world, led by the UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). The Australian Council for Educational Research Centre for Global Education Monitoring (ACER-GEM) has a major role in supporting GAML, as the UIS’s technical partner. This publication outlines ACER’s role in the work plan of the Global Alliance to Monitor Learning.

Principles Of Good Practice In Learning Assessment, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer), Unesco Institute For Statistics

Monitoring Learning

The Principles of Good Practice in Learning Assessment (GP-LA) are a central element of the international commitment to the management of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) 4 data quality for learning outcomes. The GP-LA is an independent articulation of good practices that accommodates the diversity of large-scale learning assessment activities being undertaken throughout the world. Within SDG 4 reporting processes it serves two purposes. First, it serves as the conceptual framework to evaluate the quality of large scale assessments and data from these assessments submitted for SDG 4 reporting. Second, the principles described in the GP-LA will support the diagnosis of …

Fostering Understanding Of Early Numeracy Development, Kate Reid, Nicola Andrews

Monitoring Learning

In 2012, the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) began the Longitudinal Literacy and Numeracy Study: Transitions from Preschool to School (LLANS:TPS). The study is part of a program of longitudinal literacy and numeracy research at ACER that started with a seven-year longitudinal study of children’s developing literacy and numeracy throughout primary school, which began in 1999 with a cohort of 1000 children from 100 schools around Australia (Meiers et al., 2006). The original Longitudinal Literacy and Numeracy Study (LLANS) developed new instruments for assessing children’s literacy and numeracy understanding in the first three years of primary school and described …

Improving Quality Education And Children’S Learning Outcomes And Effective Practices In The Eastern And Southern Africa Region : Zimbabwe : Country Case Study, Elizabeth Cassity

Monitoring Learning

This case study of Zimbabwe provides an understanding of the specific practices implemented to measure and improve the literacy and numeracy learning outcomes of Zimbabwean primary school children in the long term. It explores emerging trends from the 2014 Zimbabwe Early Learning Assessment (ZELA) in student learning outcomes and the provision of textbooks and teaching materials procured through the Education Development Fund (EDF). It also reviews the multiyear programme of an intensive capacity-building partnership with the Zimbabwe School Examinations Council (ZIMSEC) and the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). The capacity-building programme supports the longterm sustainability of ZELA through system …

Improving Quality Education And Children’S Learning Outcomes And Effective Practices In The Eastern And Southern Africa Region : Main Report, Tim Friedman, Ursula Schwantner, Jeaniene Spink, Naoko Tabata, Charlotte Waters

Monitoring Learning

In order to understand the major impediments to student learning in the region, UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office commissioned this study to map and compare existing assessments of literacy and numeracy in primary education in the region, to examine how the data can be used to characterise children who are experiencing only limited learning outcomes to inform education policy, and to document practices that could help improve learning outcomes of disadvantaged children. The report concludes with a macro theory of change combining assessment, analysis and action. The research was jointly supported by ACER's Centre for Global Education Monitoring.

Improving Quality Education And Children’S Learning Outcomes And Effective Practices In The Eastern And Southern Africa Region : Appendices, Tim Friedman, Ursula Schwantner, Jeaniene Spink, Naoko Tabata, Charlotte Waters

Monitoring Learning

These appendices comprises a collection of tables, figures, methodology and country case study notes to support the main report of this study: Improving Quality Education and Children’s Learning Outcomes and Effective Practices in the Eastern and Southern Africa Region : Main report.

Improving Quality Education And Children’S Learning Outcomes And Effective Practices In The Eastern And Southern Africa Region : Rwanda : Country Case Study, Ursula Schwantner

Monitoring Learning

This case study of Rwanda provides an understanding of the specific practices implemented to measure and improve the literacy and numeracy learning outcomes of Rwandan primary school children in the long term. An important development regarding the quality standards and assurance programme of education in Rwanda is the 2011 introduction of Learning Achievement in Rwandan Schools (LARS). This case study outlines the main purposes and components of LARS, the main findings regarding effective strategies and factors from the LARS baseline report and the capacity building component of LARS.

Isa : International Schools' Assessment, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

Monitoring Learning

This is a booklet describing the International Schools' Assessment (ISA), a set of tests used by international schools and schools with an international focus, to monitor student performance over time and to confirm that their internal assessments are aligned with international expectations of performance. The tests are designed and developed by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). The tests address: mathematical literacy, reading, writing and scientific literacy. The booklet outlines: the history of the ISA; the benefits to schools; marking; test validity and reliability; and the schools in each country who are using the tests.

Report On The Concurrent Validity And Inter-Rater Reliability Studies Of Uwezo, Acer

Monitoring Learning

In 2014 ACER through the Centre for Global Education Monitoring (GEM) worked with Results for Development (R4D) to conduct a broad evaluation the testing tools and processes of four citizen-led learning assessments: The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) in India, Beekunko in Mali, Jàngandoo in Senegal, and Uwezo in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. As part of this evaluation ACER designed two small quasi-experimental studies to investigate the concurrent validity and inter-rater reliability of Uwezo.

• The concurrent validity study explored the relationship between performance on Uwezo and performance on EGRA/EGMA (ie instruments that themselves have confirmed validity and reliability).
• The …