Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons™
Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 9 of 9
Full-Text Articles in Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research
Evidence-Informed Early Language And Literacy Practice: Implementation Of A New Formative Assessment For Early Language And Literacy Development, Sarah Groom, Mary-Ruth Mendel, Eric Brace, Philippa Pryor
Evidence-Informed Early Language And Literacy Practice: Implementation Of A New Formative Assessment For Early Language And Literacy Development, Sarah Groom, Mary-Ruth Mendel, Eric Brace, Philippa Pryor
2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences
With one in five Australian children starting school developmentally vulnerable, there is a need in this critical period for visibility over children’s oral language and early literacy development. The Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation (ALNF) partnered with a Northern Territory primary school to implement the Early Language and Literacy Development Index (ELLDI), a newly-created valid and reliable assessment which places children on a progression scale for oral language and early literacy development and provides meaningful, accessible recommendations for educational practice. Twenty-three children in the school’s transition cohort were measured using the ELLDI at the beginning and end of the school …
Sharing And Securing Learners' Performance Standards Across Schools, Richard Kimbell
Sharing And Securing Learners' Performance Standards Across Schools, Richard Kimbell
2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences
Assessing learners’ performance makes very different demands upon teachers depending on the purpose and the context of the assessment. But common to all assessment is some sense of what ‘quality’ looks like. Most often teachers engage in formative assessments in the classroom, and the familiar standards of the classroom are adequate for this purpose. However if teachers are to undertake external, nationally regulated assessment then some sense of a national standard of quality is required. But there are very limited mechanisms by which teachers can acquire this understanding, so they use their best judgement, and standards vary from school to …
An Innovative Method For Teachers To Formatively Assess Writing Online, Dr Sandy Heldsinger, Stephen Humphry
An Innovative Method For Teachers To Formatively Assess Writing Online, Dr Sandy Heldsinger, Stephen Humphry
2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences
Assessment is an integral component of effective teaching and a teacher’s professional judgement influences all routine aspects of their work. In the last 20 years, there has been considerable work internationally to support teachers in using assessment to improve student learning. However, there is a pressing issue that impedes teacher professional judgement being exploited to its full potential. The issue relates to teacher assessments in the context of extended performances such as essays and arises from the complexity of obtaining reliable or consistent teacher assessments of students’ work. Literature published in the United States, England and Australia details evidence of …
Research Conference 2022: Reimagining Assessment: Proceedings And Program, Kylie Burns (Ed.)
Research Conference 2022: Reimagining Assessment: Proceedings And Program, Kylie Burns (Ed.)
2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences
The focus of this year’s Research Conference is on the use of assessment to support improved teaching and learning. The conference is titled ‘reimagining assessment’ because we believe there is a need to transform the essential purposes of educational assessment to provide better information about the deep conceptual learning, skills, competencies, and personal attributes that teachers and schools now have as objectives for student learning and development. Reimagined assessments must now be focused on monitoring learning across this broader range of intended outcomes and provide quality information about the points individuals have reached in their long-term development.
The Swans/Ables Project: A Set Of Resources Developed Collaboratively With Teachers To Support The Teaching And Learning Of Students With Additional Learning Needs, Toshiko Kamei
2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences
The inclusion of students with additional learning needs in schooling is part of policy and practice in Australia. However, it has been well documented that teachers lack the resources and training to meaningfully include students with additional learning needs in the full range of learning in their classrooms. The SWANs (Students with Additional Needs) program of work aimed to fill this gap through developing assessments based on learning progressions to provide targeted information to support the teaching and learning of all students, including students with additional learning needs. The development and implementation of the SWANs/ABLES suite of resources illustrates how …
Supporting Science Teaching Practice With Learning Progressions, Erin Furtak
Supporting Science Teaching Practice With Learning Progressions, Erin Furtak
2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences
Learning progressions are often used as foundations for curriculum and assessment. At the same time, as representations of the development of student ideas and practices, they can also serve as maps to support teachers during instruction. This paper describes a program of research in which my colleagues and I have investigated how learning progressions can support high school science teachers in cycles of co-designing formative assessments.
Accountable Assessment, Richard Lehrer
Accountable Assessment, Richard Lehrer
2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences
There is widespread agreement about the importance of accounting for the extent to which educational systems advance student learning. Yet, the forms and formats of accountable assessments often ill serve students and teachers; the summative judgements of student performance that are typically employed to indicate proficiencies on benchmarks of student learning commonly fail to capture student performance in ways that are specific and actionable for teachers. Timing is another key barrier to the utility of summative assessment. In the US, summative evaluations occur at the end of the school year and may serve future students, but do not help teachers …
Applying Empirical Learning Progressions For A Holistic Approach To Evidence-Based Education: Swans/Ables, Emily White
Applying Empirical Learning Progressions For A Holistic Approach To Evidence-Based Education: Swans/Ables, Emily White
2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences
Learning progressions have become an increasing topic of interest for researchers, educational organisations and schools as they can describe the expected pathway of learning within a content area to allow for targeted teaching and learning at all levels of ability. However, there is substantial variation in how learning progressions are developed and to what extent teachers can use them to inform their practices. The ABLES/SWANS tools (Students with Additional Needs/Abilities Based Learning and Education Support) are an example of how an empirical learning progression can be applied to support teachers’ ability to not only target teaching to a student’s zone …
Learning Progressions As Models And Tools For Supporting Classroom Assessment, Alicia C. Alonzo
Learning Progressions As Models And Tools For Supporting Classroom Assessment, Alicia C. Alonzo
2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences
Like all models, learning progressions (LPs) provide simplified representations of complex phenomena. One key simplification is the characterisation of student thinking in terms of levels. This characterisation is both essential for large-scale applications, such as informing standards, but potentially problematic for smaller-scale applications. In this paper, I describe a program of research designed to explore the smaller-scale use of LPs as supports for teacher classroom assessment practices in light of this simplification. Based on this research, I conclude that LP levels may serve as a generative heuristic, particularly when teachers are engaged with evidence of the limitations of LP levels …