Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

Pairwise Comparison Method Toolkit. A Toolkit For Countries To Measure Global Learning Outcomes., United Nations Educational, Scientific And Cultural Organization (Unesco), Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

Global education monitoring

This toolkit has been co-authored by the Global Education Monitoring (GEM) Centre at the Australian Council for Education Research (ACER) and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Institute for Statistics (UIS). ACER provides technical support to UIS, which has been mandated to monitor the progress of countries towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal 4 (SDG 4) in education to “ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and to promote lifelong learning opportunities for all” (United Nations, 2021). The GEM Centre sponsors and contributes to public goods and activities that facilitate education systems reporting against SDG 4 in a globally …

The Contribution Of Learning Trajectories To Enacting The Early Years Learning Framework V2.0, Caroline Cohrssen

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia v2.0 (EYLF) guides pedagogy and practice with children aged from birth to 5 years and states that ‘over time, children engage with increasingly complex ideas’. With 5 learning outcomes and 8 principles of practice, this requires educators to be highly skilled in facilitating children’s engagement with increasingly complex ideas. It also assumes that all educators recognise children’s demonstrations of understanding, and know what knowledge (or capabilities) likely preceded this understanding, and what comes next. As a framework, this specific information is missing from the EYLF. Learning trajectories may assist educators to recognise demonstrations …

Understanding Early Cognitive Development: Using Pat Early Years To Support Student Learning, Sandra Knowles

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

The correlation between early cognitive and psychosocial development is well established. For this reason, some measurement tools, such as UNICEF’s Early Childhood Development Index (ECDI2030), provide a single score as an overall indicator of a child’s development because performing poorly in one area is likely to mean inadequate development across all areas. While these broad indicators can be useful at a system level, understanding children’s development in discrete domain areas is essential for meaningful intervention. This presentation will explore how measurement tools, such as ACER’s Progressive Achievement Tests (PAT) for the Early Years, can be used to support targeted intervention …

Assessment Is Coming And The Early Childhood Sector Must Lead The Way, Dan Cloney

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

Assessment is a core component of quality early childhood practice. It is explicitly highlighted in the new Early Years Leanring Framework V2.0 and is a standard within Quality Area 1 of the National Quality Standard. In everyday early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings, and in initial teacher education, assessment is often limited to observational and narrative-driven approaches. Recent reviews of the literature highlight that there are few other assessment tools readily available to educators. What assessment looks like in early childhood is changing. The Commonwealth, as part of the Preschool Reform Funding Agreement, is developing, trialling, and implementing a …

Research Conference 2023: Becoming Lifelong Learners. Proceedings And Program, Kylie Burns (Ed.)

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

We know learning in the early years sets the foundations for people’s ongoing academic, cognitive and socio-emotional development. Education across those formative first 12 years is currently segmented, with children often starting fresh in new systems. How can each of us make learning in the early childhood and primary years more effective? Research Conference 2023 will examine research around how we can improve the continuity of learning from birth to 12 years. It will bring together leading international and Australian researchers to provide insights into the best ways to identify, conceptualise, develop and assess these new linkages for learning.

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, …

Pairwise Comparison Method: Concept Note, Australian Council For Educational Research

Global education monitoring

The paper sets out several approaches, both statistical and non-statistical, by which jurisdictions may choose to link their assessments to the global standards for reporting. One of these, the Pairwise Comparison Method (PCM), was first set out in Lazendic (2019). This concept note provides further details on the PCM and the work that has taken place since 2019 to enable the approach to be operationalised. The PCM relies on the Learning Progression Scales (LPSs) for reading and mathematics, developed by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). A full description of the development of the scales is provided in the …

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

Assessing Reading: How Assessment Can Be Used To Target Teaching And Enhance Understanding Of Reading Comprehension, Sandra Knowles

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

The skills demonstrated by a proficient reader are not easy to untangle. Current research acknowledges that reading comprehension is a highly complex area of ability, one that needs to be understood as the coordination of several integrated processes. Using example test questions and data, this presentation explores how assessment can help us make sense of reading comprehension in a way that curricula and commonly used teaching strategies cannot. Assessment is evidence that informs us about the skills involved in the reading process, how they relate to each other, and how they develop in complexity. When assessment is understood in this …

Reimagining The Purpose Of Assessment, Geoff N. Masters

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

Assessment is commonly understood as the process of judging how well students have learnt what they have been taught. It comes at the end of a sequence that begins with a curriculum or course syllabus. Teachers are expected to deliver this body of specified content, students are expected to learn it, and assessment is the process of judging and grading students on how well they have learnt what teachers have taught. This is a common view of assessment among students, parents and many teachers. I will argue in this presentation that this traditional understanding of what it means to learn …

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.

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 …

Reporting Student Progress: What Might It Look Like?, Hilary Hollingsworth, Jonathan Heard, Anthony Hockey, Tegan Knuckey

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

The Communicating Student Learning Progress review produced by ACER in 2019 set out recommendations for schools and systems to improve the way schools report on student learning, in particular learning progress. Two case study schools from Victoria – a Catholic primary school and government secondary school – discuss changes they’ve made to their student reporting processes, in response to the review’s recommendations. Further research is recommended into how schools are rethinking reporting to engage students and parents in monitoring learning growth.

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 …

How Might We Identify And Measure Learning Progression In History?, Louise Zarmati

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

In this session, Dr Zarmati will share her research on efforts to map and describe progress in the learning area of History.

Learning progression is a continuum that measures advances in learning by tracking development from early learning to more sophisticated levels of mastery. Mathematics relies on an understanding of empirical knowledge and concepts in a hierarchical sequence; students need to understand (or master) one mathematical concept before they can proceed to the next. In comparison, progress of understanding in history is not necessarily hierarchical because it is based on mastery of concepts and skills rather than historical knowledge, which …

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.

Rethinking Measurement For Accountable Assessment, Mark Wilson

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

The underlying model for most formal educational measurement (e.g. standardised tests) is based on a very simple model: the student takes a test (possibly alongside other students). The complications of there being an instructional plan, actual instruction, interpretation of the outcome, and formulation of next steps, are all bypassed in considering how to model the process of measurement. There are some standard exceptions, of course: a pre-test/post-test context will involve two measurements, and attention to gain score, or similar. However, if we wish to design measurement to hold to Lehrer’s (2021) definition of ‘accountable assessment’ – as ‘actionable information for …

Making Excellent Progress In Early Reading: How Can The Identification Of Essential Skills And Concepts Help?, Dara Ramalingam, Prue Anderson, Sandra Knowles, Danielle Anzai, Greta Rollo

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

The ability to read and understand text is fundamental to full participation in modern adult life (Olson, 1977; Elwert, 2001). It is essential to educational progress across domains, but increased literacy levels are also linked to positive outcomes in terms of employment and health. Given its critical role both in the facilitation of learning in all domains, and in many aspects of life beyond school, it is imperative that we give students the best possible chance to develop their reading skills. This paper uses early reading as a case study for examining how the identification and explication of essential skills …

Interpreting Learning Progress Using Assessment Scores: What Is There To Gain?, Nathan Zoanetti

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

Using assessment scores to quantify gains and growth trajectories for individuals and groups can provide a valuable lens on learning progress for all students. This paper summarises some commonly observed patterns of progress and illustrates these using data from ACER’s Progressive Achievement Test (PAT) assessments. While growth trajectory measurement requires scores for the same individuals over at least three but preferably more occasions, scores from only two occasions are naturally more readily available. The difference between two successive scores is usually referred to as gain. Some common approaches and pitfalls when interpreting individual student gain data are illustrated. It is …

Identifying And Monitoring Progress In Collaboration Skills, Claire Scoular

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

The nature of skills such as collaboration is complex, particularly given that there are internal processes at play. Inferences need to be made to interpret explicit behaviours observed from intentionally designed assessment tasks. This paper centres on the approach to develop hypotheses of skill development into validated learning progressions using assessment data. Understanding a skill from a growth perspective is essential for the effective teaching and development of the skill. The application of Item Response Theory (IRT) allows the interpretation of assessment data as levels of proficiency that we can use to map or monitor progress in collaborative skills.

Evidencing Creativity And Curiosity In Ib Schools, Sarah Richardson, Sladana Krstic

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

There is growing recognition of the importance of learners gaining transversal or 21st-century attributes in order to thrive in the contemporary world. This poses a number of challenges for educators. First, to what extent are transversal attributes innate, or do they include a combination of traits and skills? Second, what can teachers do to help nurture these attributes in learners? Third, how can the existence or strengthening of attributes be recognised? In this paper, we draw on work that we are doing for the International Baccalaureate Organisation to define conceptual frameworks for creativity and curiosity. Our goal is to enable …

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

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 …

Karmel Oration: Excellent Progress For All: A Function Of Year-Level Curriculum Or Evidenced-Based Learning Progressions?, Dianne Siemon

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

Excellent progress for all students is an ambitious but necessary goal if we are to improve the life choices of all students. At the moment, we are not serving all our students well despite the best efforts of teachers. We need to look further afield to the curriculum and assessment regimes that drive current practice. Grouping students by ability and offering a watered-down curriculum for some is not the answer. Evidenced-based learning progressions that point to what is important in ensuring all students build a deep, well-connected understanding of mathematics over time is what is needed to support reform at …

This Time Without ‘Feeling’: Children’S Intuitive Theories Of Art As A Logical Basis For Learning Progression In Visual Arts, Karen Maras

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

Learning in Visual Arts has traditionally been framed as an experiential process in which feeling and intuition complement the development of aesthetic knowledge. However, while art can be about feelings and processes that develop students’ expressive capacities, the complexity of art understanding and thinking extends beyond this narrow common-sense assumption. I argue that this assumption, which is represented in the Australian Curriculum: The Arts (ACARA, 2015), and even more firmly resonates in recent proposals for the revision of this curriculum (ACARA, 2021), obfuscates the conceptual and theoretical bases on which students make progress in art understanding. This paper examines the …

How Education Gets In The Way Of Learning, Geoff N. Masters

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

The formal structures and processes of school education – including the organisation of the school curriculum, processes for assessing student learning, methods of reporting performance, and the uses to which student results are put – are often inconsistent with what is now known about the best ways to promote human learning. Rather than being designed to maximise every student’s learning, these structures and processes often reflect 20th century priorities, including the use of school education to sort and select students into different education and training destinations, and future careers. This sorting function of schooling is becoming increasingly irrelevant in knowledge …

Research Conference 2021: Excellent Progress For Every Student: Proceedings And Program, Australian Council For Educational Research

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

The focus of the 2021 Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) Research Conference is on evidence-based strategies for ensuring that every student makes excellent ongoing progress in their learning. This is an important topic because many students in our schools do not make good, steady progress. Some slip behind and fall increasingly behind the longer they are in school. By the middle years of school, this contributes to significant levels of student disengagement. ACER has invited a number of leading educational researchers to join us to share the findings of their research relevant to this topic. An important conclusion of …

The Role Of Learning Progressions In Global Scales, Ray Adams

International Developments

Learning progressions are valuable tools for the international assessment community. Ray Adams reports.

The Science Behind The Art Of Teaching: Evaluation As Inspiration, Michele Bruniges Am

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Teachers across Australia inspire students to love learning. Our best teachers are constantly evaluating their impact on learning outcomes and adapting their practice – balancing the art and science of teaching. As we move rapidly towards the third decade of the 21st century, there is more pressure than ever for all teachers to deliver both deep discipline knowledge and the skills students need to survive and thrive in the workplace of the future. We need to use technology and data to support teachers to maximise learning outcomes for their students. This has to be done in a way that helps …