Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

The Space For Social Media In Structured Online Learning, Gilly Salmon, Bella Ross, Ekaterina Pechenkina, Anne-Marie Chase

Dr Anne-Marie Chase

Equipping Students For Life After School, Geoff Masters

Prof Geoff Masters AO

Identifying and developing the knowledge, skills and attributes required for life and work is an ongoing challenge in school education.

Sharing The Assessment Reform Story, Hilary Hollingsworth

Dr Hilary Hollingsworth

A new web-based resource is chronicling the experiences of schools as they undertake assessment reform.

Diving Deeper With Assessment, Hilary Hollingsworth

Dr Hilary Hollingsworth

ACER is helping educators to understand and implement assessment practices for positive classroom change and improved learning.

National Assessment Program : Ict Literacy Years 6 & 10 Report 2014, Julian Fraillon, Wolfram Schulz, Eveline Gebhardt, John Ainley

Dr John Ainley

Literacy in information and communication technology (ICT) is critical to students as they progress through schooling and enter a world in which information technology will be ubiquitous. Work, health care, family finances, learning and social interaction will all depend on competence in ICT. To assess progress in this crucial part of student learning, ACARA conducts a National Assessment Program (NAP) aimed at measuring ICT literacy. Every three years since 2005, a sample of Year 6 and Year 10 students from across Australia have been tested to determine their ICT knowledge, understanding and skills and their ability to use ICT creatively, …

National Assessment Program : Ict Literacy Years 6 & 10 Report 2014, Julian Fraillon, Wolfram Schulz, Eveline Gebhardt, John Ainley

Dr Wolfram Schulz

Literacy in information and communication technology (ICT) is critical to students as they progress through schooling and enter a world in which information technology will be ubiquitous. Work, health care, family finances, learning and social interaction will all depend on competence in ICT. To assess progress in this crucial part of student learning, ACARA conducts a National Assessment Program (NAP) aimed at measuring ICT literacy. Every three years since 2005, a sample of Year 6 and Year 10 students from across Australia have been tested to determine their ICT knowledge, understanding and skills and their ability to use ICT creatively, …

National Assessment Program : Ict Literacy Years 6 & 10 Report 2014, Julian Fraillon, Wolfram Schulz, Eveline Gebhardt, John Ainley

Julian Fraillon

Literacy in information and communication technology (ICT) is critical to students as they progress through schooling and enter a world in which information technology will be ubiquitous. Work, health care, family finances, learning and social interaction will all depend on competence in ICT. To assess progress in this crucial part of student learning, ACARA conducts a National Assessment Program (NAP) aimed at measuring ICT literacy. Every three years since 2005, a sample of Year 6 and Year 10 students from across Australia have been tested to determine their ICT knowledge, understanding and skills and their ability to use ICT creatively, …

Assessing The Intended Participation Of Young Adolescents As Future Citizens, John Ainley, Wolfram Schulz, Julian Fraillon

Julian Fraillon

In many Western countries there is concern about the level of participation of their citizens in civic life and the apparent lack of interest and involvement among young people in public and political life (Curtice & Seyd, 2003). The development of knowledge, understanding, skills, and dispositions that prepare young people to comprehend the world, hold productive employment, and be informed active citizens are among the characteristics that educational systems, schools, and teachers value and attempt to foster. However, countries vary in the status accorded to civic and citizenship education as part of school education and the relative importance of developing …

Dps Exemplary Schools Case Study: A Cross-Case Analysis, Honorine Nocon, Alan Davis, Tracy Keenan, Ruth Brancard, Barbara Dray, Heather Johnson, Kara Mitchell, Sally Nathenson-Mejia, Nancy Shanklin, Sheila Shannon, Shruti Poulsen, Maria Thomas-Ruzic, Ron Tzur, Geeta Verma

Geeta Verma

No abstract provided.

Variability In Research Methodology, Edward Cannon

Edward Cannon

No abstract provided.

Enrollment Projections: Factors And Methods, Thomas Glass, Connie Fulmer

Connie L. Fulmer

Outlines the importance of enrollment projections for informed decision making in educational organizations. Discusses births, migration, and holding power as the three major factors that affect school populations. Describes in detail the cohort survival ratio technique, presents a sample calculation, and mentions alternative methods.

Teaching Reading In The Early Years, Prue Anderson

Prue Anderson

Teaching children to read in the early years involves a variety of comprehension strategies for the development of literate practices, as Prue Anderson explains.

Assessing The Intended Participation Of Young Adolescents As Future Citizens, John Ainley, Wolfram Schulz, Julian Fraillon

Dr Wolfram Schulz

In many Western countries there is concern about the level of participation of their citizens in civic life and the apparent lack of interest and involvement among young people in public and political life (Curtice & Seyd, 2003). The development of knowledge, understanding, skills, and dispositions that prepare young people to comprehend the world, hold productive employment, and be informed active citizens are among the characteristics that educational systems, schools, and teachers value and attempt to foster. However, countries vary in the status accorded to civic and citizenship education as part of school education and the relative importance of developing …

Hopscotch Building: A Model For The Generation Of Qualitative Research Designs, Ivan Jorrín Abellán

Ivan M. Jorrín Abellán

In this work we describe the process followed to create the “Hopscotch Model”, a tool to help novice researchers to thoroughly accomplish with the design of qualitative research studies. The model helps to incorporate the theoretical background behind any qualitative study, as well as the intrinsic complexity of the multiple technical procedures that could be followed within the many different traditions in the field. The model is supported by an easy to use web-tool that drives researchers through the design of qualitative studies. In this article we describe the different phases followed to generate the conceptual model and the web-tool …

Attracting Top Teaching Talent, Geoff Masters

Prof Geoff Masters AO

In some of the world’s highest-performing countries, entry to teaching is now as competitive as courses such as engineering, science, law and medicine.

Using Large-Scale Assessments Of Students' Learning To Inform Education Policy: Insights From The Asia-Pacific Region, Mollie Tobin, Petra Lietz, Dita Nugroho, Ramya Vivekanandan, Tserennadmid Nyamkhuu

Dr Petra Lietz

Not much is known about the ways in which assessment data have actually been used in education policy to date. Understanding the role of assessments in informing system-level decision-making is a first step towards helping stakeholders improve the design and usefulness of assessments. Moreover, this understanding can help to further discussions about how assessment data can best be used to inform policy and practice and to evaluate the effectiveness of policy reforms. This paper presents results from a systematic review of 68 studies that examined the link between participation in large-scale assessment programs of students’ learning and education policy in …

Session B: Assessing Young Children's Literacy And Mathematics Understandings, Collette Taylor, Joanne Mulligan, Maurice Walker, Prue Anderson, Marion Meiers

Prue Anderson

Current research indicates that young children are capable of developing mathematical concepts and reasoning much earlier than previously considered. Moderated by Professor Collette Tayler, this symposium on assessing young children's literacy and mathematics understandings is in three parts. Firstly the authors explore the Pattern and Structure Assessment (PASA). PASA is an early mathematical assessment interview which focuses on a range of concepts and processes and is linked with mathematical attainment in the ACER Progressive Achievement Tests in Maths (PATMaths). Secondly, the authors report on the piloting of an early-years technology-based tool called the Digital Early Reading and Mathematics Assessment (DERMA). …

Png Curriculum Reform Implementation Project : Implementation Project Report On The Pilot Curriculum Standards Monitoring Test, Chris Freeman, Prue Anderson, George Morgan

Prue Anderson

This report presents an analysis of the test data from the Curriculum Standards Monitoring Test (CSMT) Pilot program, conducted in 2003 - 2004. It has been prepared by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) on behalf of the Department of Education (DoE), with the support of the Curriculum Reform Implementation Project (CRIP). The terms of reference for the pilot CSMT required ACER and Curriculum Development Division (CDD) to conduct an assessment of PNG student achievements in literacy and numeracy in Grades 3, 4, 5 and 8 against the then current curriculum, taking into account also the outcomes of the …

What Makes A Difference? How Measuring The Non-Academic Outcomes Of Schooling Can Help Guide School Practice, Prue Anderson, Julian Fraillon

Prue Anderson

No abstract provided.

Latino Language Minority Students In Indiana: Trends, Conditions, And Challenges. Special Report, Bradley Levinson, Katie Bucher, Lauren Harvey, Rebecca Martinez, Becky Perez, Russell Skiba, Bryn Harris, Peter Cowen, Choong-Guen Chung

Bryn Harris

This Special Report surveys existing conditions for Latino [superscript 1] language minority students in Indiana's schools and identifies the most significant problems and challenges for improving their learning. The report opens with an overview of recent demographic shifts in Indiana's K-12 student population, and makes an important distinction between Indiana's long-standing and newcomer Latino populations; the latter account for the dramatic increase in the language minority population. The report then considers the culturally competent psychological assessment of ELL students. School psychologists, especially, bear the responsibility of balancing formal with informal assessments that take into account the unique cultural characteristics of …

Can We Identify Guessing In Student Response Patterns? A Preliminary Analysis Of A Field Trial Design, Chris Freeman

Chris Freeman

This research is grounded in the intersecting theoretical frameworks of validity of assessments (Messick, 1989), and the use of Item Response Theory (IRT) to analyse and report student achievement tests. The research questions seek to investigate the use of data from those assessments and in particular cases where guessing is an acknowledged and in some cases encouraged in student response strategies in multiple choice tests.

Investigating The Most Appropriate Stimulus To Assess Student Ability In Writing – A Case Study Using A Criterion Referenced Marking Rubric, Chris Freeman, Jarrod Hingston, Frances Eveleigh

Chris Freeman

This research is grounded in the theoretical framework of Criterion-Referenced Assessment and its use as a tool to identify the strengths and weaknesses of student achievement in writing.

Session B: Assessing Young Children's Literacy And Mathematics Understandings, Collette Taylor, Joanne Mulligan, Maurice Walker, Prue Anderson, Marion Meiers

Maurice Walker

Current research indicates that young children are capable of developing mathematical concepts and reasoning much earlier than previously considered. Moderated by Professor Collette Tayler, this symposium on assessing young children's literacy and mathematics understandings is in three parts. Firstly the authors explore the Pattern and Structure Assessment (PASA). PASA is an early mathematical assessment interview which focuses on a range of concepts and processes and is linked with mathematical attainment in the ACER Progressive Achievement Tests in Maths (PATMaths). Secondly, the authors report on the piloting of an early-years technology-based tool called the Digital Early Reading and Mathematics Assessment (DERMA). …

Quality Assurance In Gp Training, Daniel Edwards

Dr Daniel Edwards

An annual survey is collecting information about the postgraduate training experiences of General Practice registrars across Australia.

International Computer And Information Literacy Study: Icils 2013: Technical Report, Julian Fraillon, Wolfram Schulz, Tim Friedman, John Ainley, Eveline Gebhardt

Dr Wolfram Schulz

The International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) studied the extent to which young people have developed computer and information literacy (CIL) to support their capacity to participate in the digital age. ICILS systematically investigated differences in CIL outcomes across the participating countries and looked at how these countries provide CIL-related education. The study also explored differences within and across countries with respect to the relationship between the outcomes of CIL education and student characteristics and school contexts. Chapter 1 of this report presents an overview of the International Computer and Information Literacy Study. Chapters 2 and 3 are concerned …

International Computer And Information Literacy Study: Icils 2013: Technical Report, Julian Fraillon, Wolfram Schulz, Tim Friedman, John Ainley, Eveline Gebhardt

Dr Tim Friedman

The International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) studied the extent to which young people have developed computer and information literacy (CIL) to support their capacity to participate in the digital age. ICILS systematically investigated differences in CIL outcomes across the participating countries and looked at how these countries provide CIL-related education. The study also explored differences within and across countries with respect to the relationship between the outcomes of CIL education and student characteristics and school contexts. Chapter 1 of this report presents an overview of the International Computer and Information Literacy Study. Chapters 2 and 3 are concerned …

International Computer And Information Literacy Study: Icils 2013: Technical Report, Julian Fraillon, Wolfram Schulz, Tim Friedman, John Ainley, Eveline Gebhardt

Dr John Ainley

The International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) studied the extent to which young people have developed computer and information literacy (CIL) to support their capacity to participate in the digital age. ICILS systematically investigated differences in CIL outcomes across the participating countries and looked at how these countries provide CIL-related education. The study also explored differences within and across countries with respect to the relationship between the outcomes of CIL education and student characteristics and school contexts. Chapter 1 of this report presents an overview of the International Computer and Information Literacy Study. Chapters 2 and 3 are concerned …

International Computer And Information Literacy Study: Icils 2013: Technical Report, Julian Fraillon, Wolfram Schulz, Tim Friedman, John Ainley, Eveline Gebhardt

Julian Fraillon

The International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) studied the extent to which young people have developed computer and information literacy (CIL) to support their capacity to participate in the digital age. ICILS systematically investigated differences in CIL outcomes across the participating countries and looked at how these countries provide CIL-related education. The study also explored differences within and across countries with respect to the relationship between the outcomes of CIL education and student characteristics and school contexts. Chapter 1 of this report presents an overview of the International Computer and Information Literacy Study. Chapters 2 and 3 are concerned …

Evaluation Of The State Of Georgia's School Instructional Extension Program (Siep) At One Middle School, Taiesha Adams

Taiesha Adams

This study examined the implementation of the State of Georgia's School Instructional Extension Program (SIEP) at one middle school in a rural school district. SIEP was adopted in this district in an effort to improve outcomes for students who demonstrate deficiencies in core-academic subjects. For the past 2 years, SIEP has been used at this study site to address low academic performance in the area of mathematics. However, to date, school leaders have not developed a system to evaluate the efficacy of the program. The purpose of this project study was to conduct a comprehensive program evaluation that addressed the …

The Reporting Of Icils Results, Wolfram Schulz

Dr Wolfram Schulz

This chapter describes the procedures that were used to report the population estimates in the ICILS 2013 publications. It starts with a description of the replication methodology used to estimate sampling variance, followed by an outline of how the imputation variance of students’ computer and information literacy (CIL) was computed. The subsequent section outlines the procedures for conducting significance tests of differences between country and subsample means or percentages.