Education Commons^™

Infographic: Australian Achievement Trends In Timss, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

Teacher infographics

Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) measures how well Year 4 and Year 8 students from around the world are performing in science and mathematics. In this infographic we look at Australian student achievement over time.

Lifting Achievement Levels And Improving The Return On Australia’S Investment In Schooling : Submission To The Review To Achieve Educational Excellence In Australian Schools (Chair: Mr David Gonski), Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

Policy Analysis and Program Evaluation

Many students in our schools are not learning as well as they could because they are not being given learning opportunities at an appropriate level of challenge. Instead, students are grouped by year level (age) and teachers deliver curricula assumed to be appropriate for all students in the same year of school. However, the most advanced ten per cent of students in any year of school are five to six years ahead of the least advanced ten per cent. For less advanced students, the year-level curriculum is often too far ahead. Many are judged to be underperforming year after year, …

Acer Research Conference Proceedings (2017), Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Educational leaders play a crucial role in setting directions for improvement and innovation. Leaders – whether or not they are in formal leadership roles – create the tone of an institution, set priorities and directions for change, build coherence and shared commitment across the community and maintain a sharp focus on measurable improvements in student outcomes. Effective leaders take a deep interest in the quality of teaching and learning. They closely monitor indicators of student achievement and wellbeing and promote institution-wide conversations and professional learning focused on improving teaching and learning processes and student outcomes. They also form partnerships with …

Getting All Children Off To A Good Start, Geoff N. Masters Ao

Teacher columnist – Geoff Masters

One of the biggest challenges we face in improving quality and equity in our schools is to better address the learning needs of the many children who, on entry to school, are at risk of being locked into trajectories of long-term low achievement, writes Professor Geoff Masters AO.

The ‘Long Tail’ Of Underachievement, Geoff N. Masters Ao

Teacher columnist – Geoff Masters

One of the biggest challenges educators face is to find better ways to meet the learning needs of the many students who fall behind in our schools, fail to meet year-level expectations (often year after year) and, as a consequence, become increasingly disengaged, writes Professor Geoff Masters AO.

An Account Of The Inner Workings Of Standards, Judgement And Moderation : A Previously Untold Evidence-Based Narrative, Claire Wyatt-Smith, Peta Colbert

Queensland Review of Senior Assessment and Tertiary Entrance

This paper was commissioned to inform the Review of Queensland Senior Assessment and School Reporting and Tertiary Entrance Processes undertaken by Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). Specifically, the lead Investigator was tasked to address the hypothesis that the Queensland Studies Authority’s (QSA, also referred to as system) approach to specifying assessment criteria and standards remains dominant and salient across disciplines. It was also to consider the holistic and analytic judgement models that operate in District and State review panels. The original aims were therefore to consider the nature and function of standards in informing teacher judgements as reported through …

The Digest Edition 2008/2 : Using Data To Improve Student Learning, Marion Meiers

Research Digest

This Digest is focused on studies that have investigated how data can be used in schools to examine teaching practices in order to improve student learning. A selection of relevant websites is listed, and a full reference list is provided. Links to those references for which full-text online access is freely available are also included. School systems, principals and teachers have access to an extensive range of data that can be used for a variety of purposes. Accountability processes and data have come to play a significant place in policy development and reform efforts. There is a large body of …

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 …