Education Commons^™

Review Recommends Tertiary Entrance Changes, Geoff N. Masters, Gabrielle Matters

Dr Gabrielle Matters

A review by Gabrielle Matters and Geoff Masters of senior assessment and tertiary selection processes in Queensland has recommended changes to meet future education needs.

A New Deal For End-Of-School Assessment, Geoff N. Masters, Gabrielle Matters

Dr Gabrielle Matters

Using Data To Support Learning In Schools: Students, Teachers, Systems, Gabrielle Matters

Dr Gabrielle Matters

AER 49 examines the issues raised by the ACER Research Conference 2005: Using Data to Support Learning. It analyses the conference papers, distils the essence of the conference 'conversations', and contextualises them in the light of a survey of the broader Australian and international literature on using data to support learning. Section 1 sets the context by providing definitions and an organisational framework. Section 2 discusses some purposes for collecting and analysing educational data, and considers the role of data in professional work. It addresses issues associated with identifying potential data sources, including consideration of the decision-making required to locate …

Queensland Teachers’ Conceptions Of Assessment: The Impact Of Policy Priorities On Teacher Attitudes, Gavin Brown, Robert Lake, Gabrielle Matters

Dr Gabrielle Matters

The conceptions Queensland teachers have about assessment purposes were surveyed in 2003 with an abridged version of the Teacher Conceptions of Assessment Inventory. Multi-group analysis found that a model with four factors, somewhat different in structure to previous studies, was statistically different between Queensland primary and (lower) secondary teachers. Primary teachers agreed more than secondary teachers that ‘assessment improves teaching and learning’, while the latter agreed more that it ‘makes students accountable’. The inter-correlation of ‘assessment is irrelevant’ to ‘makes students accountable’ was statistically stronger for primary teachers. Teacher beliefs reflected the differing practices of assessment by level of schooling.

A Three-Way Classification Of Sources Of Item Difficulty In Tests And Examinations, Gabrielle Matters

Dr Gabrielle Matters

What do test takers mean when they say ‘this item is difficult’? What do test analysts mean when they say ‘this item is difficult’? The answer to the first question comes out of experience. The answer to the second question comes out of empirics. The notion of difficulty covers a considerable diversity of sources, materials and methods. Test analysts seem obliged to collapse all senses of difficulty under one heading and so it might be useful to attempt a classification or typo logy of some of the possible sources of difficulty in test items. This presentation describes such a system …

Australian Certificate Of Education : Exploring A Way Forward, Geoff Masters, Margaret Forster, Gabrielle Matters, Jim Tognolini

Dr Gabrielle Matters

In May 2005 the Department of Education, Science and Training commissioned the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) to investigate and report on models and implementation arrangements for an Australian Certificate of Education (ACE). In particular, ACER was asked to investigate four options for the introduction of a new certificate. The current investigation has reviewed existing curriculum, assessment and certification arrangements in the senior years of school in Australia; explored current issues in senior secondary education and examined state and territory responses to these issues; looked at some alternative certification arrangements internationally—including the International Baccalaureate Diploma Program; investigated the use …

Good Data, Bad News, Good Policy Making ..., Gabrielle Matters

Dr Gabrielle Matters

The New Basics Trial in Queensland (2000 –04) was about improving educational outcomes. At its heart was the idea that, to do this, there must be an orchestration of the message systems of curriculum, teaching and assessment – and that these changes must be in practices, not merely in statements of intention or expectation. This paper spans the trial period (2000 –04) and the immediate post-trial period (2005), showing how research evidence informed policy-making. The New Basics approach (which introduced three suites of Rich Tasks covering three 3-year spans from Year 1 to Year 9) to curriculum, teaching, assessment, reporting, …

Assessment Policy And Practice Effects On New Zealand And Queensland Teachers' Conceptions Of Teaching, Gavin Brown, Robert Lake, Gabrielle Matters

Dr Gabrielle Matters

Teachers' thinking about four conceptions of teaching (i.e., apprenticeship-developmental, nurturing, social reform, and transmission) were captured using the Teaching Perspectives Inventory (TPI). New Zealand and Queensland have very similar teaching-related policies and practices but differences around assessment policies and practices are expected to influence teachers' conceptions of teaching. Results from two surveys (New Zealand primary (n = 241) and Queensland primary (n = 784) and secondary (n = 614) teachers) found acceptably fitting models. TPI models were not invariant between primary and secondary teachers in Queensland while the models for primary teachers in Queensland and New Zealand were partially invariant. …

A New Role For Item Aficionados In High-Stakes Testing Programs, Gabrielle Matters

Dr Gabrielle Matters

The purpose of this paper is to point teachers, test analysts, and users of test results to the significance of student responses at the item level and considering what it is that each item purports to measure and actually measures before taking the evidence of a low score on a test − just a score derived from a collection of items − and coming to the seemingly obvious but not necessarily accurate conclusion that the student has no knowledge or understanding of the domain being tested. An item aficionado does not approach test items and test results at the level …

A Report To The Queensland Studies Authority : Assessment Approaches In Queensland Senior Science Syllabuses, Gabrielle Matters

Dr Gabrielle Matters

This commissioned paper deals with appropriate assessment in senior science subjects in Queensland. The terms of reference were: To investigate the theoretical underpinnings of the two approaches to criteria-based and standards-referenced assessment in the Queensland senior science syllabuses; To make recommendations as to which approach is the more applicable in the current context; and To model the proposed approach, and provide advice about implementation.

Designing Assessment Tasks For Deep Thinking, Gabrielle Matters

Dr Gabrielle Matters

I want to present some ideas about how a valid and reliable process for assessing deep thinking is not a function of the assessment regime (such as external or internal, standardised or teacher-devised), but is actually a product of the successful application of certain design criteria and the interplay of three essential elements. The argument I present rests on one simple belief that I hold: the capacity to design good assessment tasks is a vital part of an extensive professional repertoire and, as such, demands space and time, ritual and respect. (Teacher–assessors should not let anybody tell them that designing …

The New Basics Research Report, Gabrielle Matters, Allan Luke, Ray Barrett, Ray Land

Dr Gabrielle Matters

This report describes the research component of a trial in 38 Queensland state schools of a new way of preparing young Queenslanders to meet the challenges of new times and of contributing to the Smart State. The New Basics Trial investigated the viability of a new framework for integrating what is taught with how it is taught, assessed and reported. The research program complemented two other key elements of the Trial - development of the components of the framework and its implementation in selected schools. The research activities reported here provide primary data, analyses and some conclusions about the impact …

Psychological Predictors Of The Propensity To Omit Short-Response Items On A High-Stakes Achievement Test, Gabrielle Matters, Paul Burnett

Dr Gabrielle Matters

This article presents the findings of a study of the psychological variables that discriminate between high and low omitters on a high-stakes achievement test using a shortresponse format. Data were obtained from a questionnaire administered to a random sample (N = 1,908) of students prior to sitting the 1997 Queensland Core Skills (QCS) Test (N = 29,273). Fourteen psychological variables were measured including test anxiety (four subscales), emotional stability, achievement motivation, self-esteem, academic self-concept, self-estimate of ability, locus of control (three subscales), and approaches to learning (two subscales). The results were analyzed using descriptive discriminant analysis and suggested that the …

Multiple-Choice Versus Short-Response Items: Differences In Omit Behaviour, Gabrielle Matters, Paul Burnett

Dr Gabrielle Matters

The overall rate of omission of items for 28,331 17 year old Australian students on a high stakes test of achievement in the common elements or cognitive skills of the senior school curriculum is reported for a subtest in multiple choice format and a subtest in short response format. For the former, the omit rates were minuscule and there was no significant difference by gender or by type of school attended. For the latter, where an item can be 'worth' up to five times that of a single multiple choice item, the omit rates were between 10 and 20 times …

Can We Tell The Difference And Does It Matter? Differences In Achievement Between Girls And Boys In Australian Senior Secondary Education, Gabrielle Matters, Reg Allen, Ken Gray

Dr Gabrielle Matters

The nature and interpretation of differences between the achievements of females and males in senior secondary school studies in Australia, and the implications for policy and practice of these perceived differences, are showing signs of change. The way-s in which these issues are discussed publicly across Australia are reviewed and then matched against indications that have emerged from data in one state (Queensland) and from other, published studies. This analysis suggests that there are important notions of gendered achievement that may not be receiving due consideration by those who formulate policy or analyse practice.

The Omit Phenomenon In High-Stakes Achievement Testing Using An Short- Response Format, Gabrielle Matters

Dr Gabrielle Matters

The Queensland Core Skills Test: Implications For The Mathematical Sciences, Gabrielle Matters, Ken Gray

Dr Gabrielle Matters

No abstract provided.

An Exploration Of Validity And Reliability That Tolerates Distinct Privileges: Standardisation And Contextualised Judgments, Gabrielle Matters, J Pitman, J O'Brien

Dr Gabrielle Matters

No abstract provided.

Tertiary Entrance In Queensland: A Review, Gabrielle Matters

Dr Gabrielle Matters

253p. Report of the Working Party on Tertiary Entrance, established by the Minister's Joint Advisory Committee on Post-Secondary Education and the Board of Secondary School Studies at the request of the Queensland Minister for Education. Chair: J Pitman. [ISBN: 072422677X]