Education Commons^™

Acer Enews 12 December 2007, Acer

ACER eNews Archive

No abstract provided.

Australia's School Funding System, Andrew Dowling

Policy Analysis and Program Evaluation

Australian governments spend over $30 billion on primary and secondary schools each year.1 Yet the process of school funding, including the way in which amounts are calculated, distributed and reported upon, is unavailable not only to the wider public but to some extent even to those working in education. Although Australia’s total spending on schools is small by international standards (given the size of its population), it is significant enough to warrant a more transparent process.

Acer Enews 11 November 2007, Acer

ACER eNews Archive

No abstract provided.

Acer Enews 10 October 2007, Acer

ACER eNews Archive

No abstract provided.

Asg Student Social And Emotional Health Report, Michael. E. Bernard, Andrew Stephanou, Daniel Urbach

Wellbeing

This report presents the results of sophisticated Rasch measurement analysis and multi-level modelling to validate and support the use of the ACER Social and Emotional Wellbeing (SEWB) student and teacher surveys for reporting on the social and emotional well-being of students from the early years of schooling through to senior secondary school levels. It describes the social and emotional well-being of over 10,000 students attending 81 schools across Australia. Among the more important findings of this research are the characteristics of students with low levels of social and emotional well-being compared with students with higher levels of social and emotional …

Acer Enews 09 September 2007, Acer

ACER eNews Archive

No abstract provided.

Sampling And Weighting Of The 2003 Lsay Cohort: Technical Report No. 43, Sheldon Rothman

LSAY Technical Reports

The 2003 cohort of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) was drawn from the sample of 15 year-olds in Australian schools who participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), conducted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2003. Australia was one of 41 countries that participated in PISA in 2003.

An International Perspective On Active Citizenship Among Lower Secondary Students, Wolfram Schulz

Civics and Citizenship Assessment

The new IEA International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) will investigate the extent to which young people are prepared to undertake their roles as citizens across a range of countries. ICCS will survey 13-to-14-year old students in over 30 countries in the year 2009. The ICCS outcome data will be obtained from representative samples of students in their eighth year of schooling and context data from the students, their schools and teachers. ICCS is the third international IEA study in this area and it is explicitly linked through common questions to the IEA Civic Education Study (CIVED) which was …

Assess And Assist: Capacity Building For All Teachers Of Students – With And Without Learning Difficulties, Ken Rowe

Student learning processes

Following a brief discussion of the fundamental importance of monitoring growth, this paper draws from emerging findings from evidence-based research and ‘state-of-the art’ practice in assessment and reporting of students’ developmental and learning progress – whether or not students experience learning difficulties. The monitoring of individual progress over time requires both diagnostic and developmental assessments of such progress on well-constructed scales (or ‘maps’) that are qualitatively described. The use of such ‘maps’ enables early detection of potential ‘risk factors’, and the monitoring of both individuals and groups across the years of schooling. Such ‘maps’ and their reporting products constitute major …

Acer Enews 08 August 2007, Acer

ACER eNews Archive

No abstract provided.

The Review Of Teacher Education For Languages Teachers : Final Report, Elizabeth Kleinhenz, Jenny Wilkinson, Margaret Gearon, Suzanne Fernandez, Lawrence Ingvarson

Teacher education

This report produces a comprehensive national picture of the nature and effectiveness of teacher education and re-training opportunities for languages teachers. The report investigates course entry requirements, course content and structure for primary and secondary languages teachers; identifies structural impediments relating to the development of languages teachers' linguistic and pedagogical competency; and explores the potential application of the Professional Standards for Accomplished Teaching of Languages and Cultures, developed by the Australian Federation of Modern Language Teachers (AFMLTA), in teacher education for languages teachers.

Pisa 2003 Australia : Ict Use And Familiarity At School And Home, Sue Thomson, Lisa De Bortoli

OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) Australia

No abstract provided.

Acer Enews 07 July 2007, Acer

ACER eNews Archive

No abstract provided.

Effects Of Item Positions On Their Difficulty And Discrimination : A Study In Pisa Science Data Across Test Language And Countries, Luc T. Le

OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)

This study was based on a four-cluster rotation design of 13 linked test booklets from PISA 2006 science data. It investigated effects of item positions on their difficulty and discrimination parameter estimates obtained from one and two parameter IRT Partial Credit models. The analyses were done separately for 57 test language groups from 53 countries with a total of about 340,000 students.

The results revealed that for all of the test language groups the items tended to become more difficult when they were located later in the test. However, a high linear relationship between the item difficulty estimates by the …

Acer Enews 06 June 2007, Acer

ACER eNews Archive

No abstract provided.

Improving Consistency In Teacher Judgements : An Investigation For The Department Of Education, Victoria, Marion Meiers, Clare Ozolins, Phillip Mckenzie

School and system improvement

The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) was commissioned by the Department of Education in Victoria to undertake an investigation of current best-practice approaches to ensuring consistency of teacher judgements against P-10 state-wide standards.

The investigation encompassed national and international approaches that had been implemented or were under development. A key objective of the investigation was that the approaches identified should be based on current information, research and best practice, and that they should be supportive of the continued development of a learning and assessment culture in Victorian schools. The report of the investigation was required to provide key baseline …

Acer Enews 05 May 2007, Acer

ACER eNews Archive

No abstract provided.

Lsay Cohort Report Of 15 Year-Olds In 2003: 15 Year-Olds In 2003, Catherine Underwood, Sheldon Rothman

LSAY Cohort Reports

This report provides details of the 2003 cohort of 15 year-olds of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY). Information on this cohort was first collected in 2003 when these young people participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). A follow-up telephone interview that year collected further information on the cohort. Information about the activities of the 2003 cohort of 15 year-olds in subsequent years is available in other reports in this series.

Lsay Cohort Report Of 15 Year-Olds In 2003: 16 Year-Olds In 2004, Catherine Underwood, Sheldon Rothman

LSAY Cohort Reports

This report provides details of the experiences of the 2003 cohort of 15 year-olds of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) in 2004. Information on this cohort was first collected in 2003 when these young people participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), conducted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). A follow-up telephone interview that year collected further information on the cohort. The reference period for this report is 2004, when the age of respondents was 16 years. Information about the activities of the 2003 cohort of 15 yearolds in previous years is available …

Lsay Cohort Report The Year 9 Class Of 1998: 21 Year-Olds In 2005, Catherine Underwood, Kylie Hillman, Sheldon Rothman

LSAY Cohort Reports

This report provides details of the experiences of the 1998 Year 9 cohort of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY). Information on this cohort was first collected in 1998 when these young people were Year 9 students in Australian schools. The reference period for this report is 2005, when the modal age of respondents was 21 years. Information about the 1998 Year 9 LSAY cohort’s activities in previous years is available in earlier reports in this series.

Lsay Cohort Report Of 15 Year-Olds In 2003: 17 Year-Olds In 2005, Catherine Underwood, Kylie Hillman, Sheldon Rothman

LSAY Cohort Reports

This report provides details of the experiences of the 2003 cohort of 15 year-olds of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth (LSAY) in 2005. Information on this cohort was first collected in 2003 when these young people participated in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), conducted by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). A follow-up telephone interview that year collected further information on the cohort. The reference period for this report is 2005, when the age of respondents was 17 years. Information about the activities of the 2003 cohort of 15 yearolds in previous years is available …

Australian Young People : Their Stories, Their Families And Post School Plans, Jennifer Bryce, Michelle Anderson, Tracey Frigo, Phillip Mckenzie

Transition and Post-School Education and Training

In 2006, an OECD report noted that Australia has one of the highest gaps between high and low performing students, with the low performing students coming largely from low SES backgrounds. In conjunction with the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), The Smith Family has been researching the challenges faced by Learning for Life students, all from low SES backgrounds, in making successful post-school transitions. Last year's report flagged how important it would be to tap into the family context more deeply to assess the degree and type of influence that families were having on the decision making processes of …

Acer Enews 04 April 2007, Acer

ACER eNews Archive

No abstract provided.

Perceptions Of The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme Among Australian And New Zealand Universities, Hamish Coates, Marita Macmahon-Ball, Chris Rosicka

Higher education research

The number of secondary students completing an International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma has risen rapidly in recent years, and the IB is playing an increasing role in preparing people for university study. The International Baccalaureate Organisation (IBO) is interested in universities' perceptions of the IB as a preparation for undergraduate study, and engaged the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) to research this area of higher education. The aim of the study was to investigate university representatives' perceptions of the IB Diploma. A key aspect of the research was to determine what university representatives knew about the IB Diploma, and whether …

Codebook: Lsay 2006 Sample Of 15 Year-Olds Wave 1 (2006) Technical Report No. 42, Sheldon Rothman

LSAY Technical Reports

In 2006, a nationally representative sample of approximately 13 000 15 year-old students was selected to participate in OECD PISA. More than 10 000 of these young people became the fourth cohort of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth. The PISA sample was constructed by randomly selecting fifty 15 year-old students from a sample of schools designed to represent state and sector. Assessments in mathematical literacy, reading literacy, scientific literacy and problem solving were administered to students in their schools to provide information on school achievement for use in later analyses of educational and labour market participation. Students also completed …

Codebook: The Lsay 1998 Year 9 Sample Wave 9 (2006) Technical Report No. 39, Catherine Underwood

LSAY Technical Reports

In 1998, a nationally representative sample of approximately 14,000 Year 9 students was selected to form the second cohort of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth. The sample was constructed by randomly selecting two Year 9 classes from a sample of schools designed to represent state and sector. Reading and numeracy tests were administered to students in their schools to provide information on school achievement for use in later analyses of educational and labour market participation. Students also completed a background questionnaire about their educational and vocational plans and attitudes to school. Details on the 1998 survey are provided in …

Codebook: The Lsay 2003 Sample Of 15 Year-Olds Wave 4 (2006) Technical Report No. 41, Catherine Underwood

LSAY Technical Reports

selected to participate in the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), conducted by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). More than 10,000 of these young people became the third cohort of the Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth. The PISA sample was constructed by randomly selecting fifty 15 year-old students from a sample of schools designed to represent state and sector. Assessments in mathematical literacy, reading literacy, scientific literacy and problem solving were administered to students in their schools to provide information on school achievement for use in later analyses of educational and labour market participation. Students also completed …

Codebook: The Lsay 1995 Year 9 Sample Wave 12 (2006) Technical Report No. 40, Catherine Underwood

LSAY Technical Reports

Longitudinal Surveys of Australian Youth is a program of surveys of young people jointly managed by ACER and the Australian Government Department of Education, Science and Training (DEST). The surveys focus on the education and labour market experiences of groups of young Australians, beginning from their middle years of secondary schooling. Data collected include basic demographic variables, as well as information about educational and labour force participation and experiences extending over a number of years. The present form of the LSAY program commenced in 1995 with a national sample of Year 9 students. The program also brings together earlier longitudinal …

Australian Young People, Their Families And Postschool Plans : A Research Review, Tracey Frigo, Jennifer Bryce, Michelle Anderson, Phillip Mckenzie

Transition and Post-School Education and Training

This literature review is part of a project commissioned by The Smith Family that is investigating the effects and influences of family expectations on the cost benefit analyses undertaken by students when they are considering their post-school plans. The 2006 report for The Smith Family, On track? Students choosing a career, pointed to the possibility of a strong effect of family expectations on young people’s post-school plans (Beavis, 2006). Post-school plans often include decisions about further education, so a family’s influence or involvement in assessing the costs and benefits associated with this decision is not surprising (Usher, 2005). On track? …

Acer Enews 03 March 2007, Acer

ACER eNews Archive

No abstract provided.