Education Commons^™

The Role Of Learning Progressions In Global Scales, Ray Adams

Professor Ray Adams

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

Assessing Computational Thinking, Daniel Duckworth

Daniel Duckworth

This paper provides some context for the role of computation thinking (CT) in the Australian Curriculum, an abridged literature review of CT as a problem-solving framework from the International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) 2018 assessment framework and some examples of how CT has been used to solve real-world problems. Finally, this paper presents ways to teach and assess CT.

International Computer And Information Literacy Study 2018: Assessment Framework, Julian Fraillon, John Ainley, Wolfram Schulz, Daniel Duckworth, Tim Friedman

Daniel Duckworth

The primary purpose of International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) 2018 is to assess systematically the capacities of students to use ICT productively for a range of different purposes, in ways that go beyond a basic use of ICT. ICILS 2018 includes authentic computer-based assessments that are administered to students in their eighth year of schooling. These generate data reflecting two dimensions of ICT-related capacities: computer and information literacy (CIL) and computational thinking (CT). ICILS 2018 investigates variations in CIL and CT between and within countries and the relationships between those constructs and student attributes (background characteristics and developed …

International Computer Andinformation Literacy Study 2018: Assessment Framework, Julian Fraillon, John Ainley, Wolfram Schulz, Daniel Duckworth, Tim Friedman

Dr Tim Friedman

The primary purpose of International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) 2018 is to assess systematically the capacities of students to use ICT productively for a range of different purposes, in ways that go beyond a basic use of ICT. ICILS 2018 includes authentic computer-based assessments that are administered to students in their eighth year of schooling. These generate data reflecting two dimensions of ICT-related capacities: computer and information literacy (CIL) and computational thinking (CT). ICILS 2018 investigates variations in CIL and CT between and within countries and the relationships between those constructs and student attributes (background characteristics and developed …

Iea International Computer And Information Literacy Study 2018 Assessment Framework, Julian Fraillon, John Ainley, Wolfram Schulz, Daniel Duckworth, Tim Friedman

Dr Wolfram Schulz

The primary purpose of International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) 2018 is to assess systematically the capacities of students to use ICT productively for a range of different purposes, in ways that go beyond a basic use of ICT. ICILS 2018 includes authentic computer-based assessments that are administered to students in their eighth year of schooling. These generate data reflecting two dimensions of ICT-related capacities: computer and information literacy (CIL) and computational thinking (CT). ICILS 2018 investigates variations in CIL and CT between and within countries and the relationships between those constructs and student attributes (background characteristics and developed …

Iea International Computer And Information Literacy Study 2018 Assessment Framework, Julian Fraillon, John Ainley, Wolfram Schulz, Daniel Duckworth, Tim Friedman

Julian Fraillon

The primary purpose of International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) 2018 is to assess systematically the capacities of students to use ICT productively for a range of different purposes, in ways that go beyond a basic use of ICT. ICILS 2018 includes authentic computer-based assessments that are administered to students in their eighth year of schooling. These generate data reflecting two dimensions of ICT-related capacities: computer and information literacy (CIL) and computational thinking (CT). ICILS 2018 investigates variations in CIL and CT between and within countries and the relationships between those constructs and student attributes (background characteristics and developed …

Review Of The Piaac Numeracy Assessment Framework: Final Report, Dave Tout, Diana Coben, Vince Geiger, Lynda Ginsburg, Kees Hoogland, Terry Maguire, Sue Thomson, Ross Turner

Ross Turner

The Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) is an international assessment of the proficiency of adults (aged 16-65 years) in key information processing skills (reading, numeracy and Problem Solving in Technology-Rich Environments). The PIAAC Survey of Adult Skills has revealed that a considerable number of adults in OECD countries possess only limited literacy and numeracy skills. The OECD is currently reviewing the content of the frameworks and cognitive assessment instruments for the 2nd cycle of PIAAC ready for delivery in 2021-22. This report is the result of a review of the numeracy construct and assessment in PIAAC. …

Designing Rubrics For Authentic Assessment, Kathryn Richardson, Anne-Marie Chase

Dr Anne-Marie Chase

This presentation looks at the steps in developing authentic rubrics, from determining the constructs that will be assessed; breaking down the constructs into a set of broad capabilities that need to be observed; transferring capabilities into indicative behaviours (indicators or criteria); and determining the different levels of proficiency.

Review Of The Piaac Numeracy Assessment Framework: Final Report, Dave Tout, Diana Coben, Vince Geiger, Lynda Ginsburg, Kees Hoogland, Terry Maguire, Sue Thomson, Ross Turner

David (Dave) Tout

The Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) is an international assessment of the proficiency of adults (aged 16-65 years) in key information processing skills (reading, numeracy and Problem Solving in Technology-Rich Environments). The PIAAC Survey of Adult Skills has revealed that a considerable number of adults in OECD countries possess only limited literacy and numeracy skills. The OECD is currently reviewing the content of the frameworks and cognitive assessment instruments for the 2nd cycle of PIAAC ready for delivery in 2021-22. This report is the result of a review of the numeracy construct and assessment in PIAAC. …

Developing A Global Health Assessment Collaboration: Ancillary Report, Daniel Edwards, Jacob Pearce, David Wilkinson

Dr Daniel Edwards

This document reports on a project designed to develop an assessment collaboration between medical schools in both Australia and the United Kingdom. The project was funded by the Office for Learning and Teaching (OLT), utilising surplus funding from a broader assessment collaboration project – the Australian Medical Assessment Collaboration (OLT ID12-2482). The Global Health Assessment Collaboration (GHAC) involved five universities in Australia and the United Kingdom (UK). It developed an assessment framework and item specifications, undertook assessment item drafting workshops, built in a process of review and resulted in the development of a focused suite of assessment items. This report …

Equipping Teachers With Tools To Assess And Teach General Capabilities, Claire Scoular

Dr Claire Scoular

There is wide recognition that students need to be equipped with appropriate social and cognitive skills demanded by society and the workforce. The unresolved question is how to do this. Many education systems globally are addressing this demand by including skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, and creativity into curriculum documents or supplementary materials. However, there is little research to guide educators in teaching such skills at school level. The need to develop practical solutions for assessing and teaching social and cognitive skills, broadly classified under the umbrella ‘21st-century skills’ or ‘general capabilities’, is ever increasing. An integrated approach …

Communicating Student Learning Progress: What Does That Mean And Can It Make A Difference?, Hilary Hollingsworth, Jonathan Heard

Jonathan Heard

Traditionally in schools, the main method of communicating students’ academic performance has been the summative end-of-semester report, and the focus of much of this communication has centred on reporting achievement against year-level standards. While semester reporting largely remains established practice, the advent of new school management systems has seen schools embrace a practice known as ‘continuous reporting’. Though well-intended, early analysis would suggest that the potential benefits of this relatively new process are inconsistently understood, and reveal a confusion between progressive instalments of feedback versus feedback on student progress. Such confusion may be indicative of other gaps in the organisational …

Communicating Student Learning Progress: What Does That Mean And Can It Make A Difference?, Hilary Hollingsworth, Jonathan Heard

Dr Hilary Hollingsworth

Traditionally in schools, the main method of communicating students’ academic performance has been the summative end-of-semester report, and the focus of much of this communication has centred on reporting achievement against year-level standards. While semester reporting largely remains established practice, the advent of new school management systems has seen schools embrace a practice known as ‘continuous reporting’. Though well-intended, early analysis would suggest that the potential benefits of this relatively new process are inconsistently understood, and reveal a confusion between progressive instalments of feedback versus feedback on student progress. Such confusion may be indicative of other gaps in the organisational …

Session P: Assessing General Capabilities, Julian Fraillon, Juliette Mendelovits

Juliette Mendelovits

There is growing interest in general capabilities and cross-curricular learning outcomes such as literacy in information and communication technologies, creative thinking and collaborative and individual problem-solving. As the expectation for such competencies to be taught in schools has increased, so has the need for teachers and schools to validly and reliably assess student learning in those areas, and to report on them in ways that teaching and learning. In this presentation examine the challenges of assessing on student learning and learning growth capabilities and cross-curricular learning present approaches used in research some of these challenges and reflect can be applied …

Session P: Assessing General Capabilities, Julian Fraillon, Juliette Mendelovits

Julian Fraillon

There is growing interest in general capabilities and cross-curricular learning outcomes such as literacy in information and communication technologies, creative thinking and collaborative and individual problem-solving. As the expectation for such competencies to be taught in schools has increased, so has the need for teachers and schools to validly and reliably assess student learning in those areas, and to report on them in ways that teaching and learning. In this presentation examine the challenges of assessing on student learning and learning growth capabilities and cross-curricular learning present approaches used in research some of these challenges and reflect can be applied …

Pisa In Brief : Highlights From The Full Australian Report : Challenges For Australian Education : Results From Pisa 2009 : The Pisa 2009 Assessment Of Students' Reading, Mathematical And Scientific Literacy., Sue Thomson, Lisa De Bortoli, Marina Nicholas, Kylie Hillman, Sarah Buckley

Kylie Hillman

No abstract provided.

Pisa In Brief : Highlights From The Full Australian Report : Challenges For Australian Education : Results From Pisa 2009 : The Pisa 2009 Assessment Of Students' Reading, Mathematical And Scientific Literacy., Sue Thomson, Lisa De Bortoli, Marina Nicholas, Kylie Hillman, Sarah Buckley

Kylie Hillman

No abstract provided.

Pisa In Brief : Highlights From The Full Australian Report : Challenges For Australian Education : Results From Pisa 2009 : The Pisa 2009 Assessment Of Students' Reading, Mathematical And Scientific Literacy., Sue Thomson, Lisa De Bortoli, Marina Nicholas, Kylie Hillman, Sarah Buckley

Kylie Hillman

No abstract provided.

Improving Consistency In Teacher Judgements : An Investigation For The Department Of Education, Victoria, Marion Meiers, Clare Ozolins, Phillip Mckenzie

Clare Ozolins

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 …

National Assessment Program : Ict Literacy 2008 : Year 6 And Year 10 : Technical Report, Chris Freeman, John Ainley, Julian Fraillon, Eveline Gebhardt, Kate O'Malley, Wolfram Schulz

Dr Wolfram Schulz

This report describes the technical aspects of the National ICT Literacy Sample Assessment and summarises the main activities involved in the data collection, the data collection instruments and the analysis and reporting of the data. Chapter 2 summarises the development of the assessment domain and describes the process of item development and construction of the instruments. Chapter 3 reviews the sample design and describes the sampling process. Chapter 3 also describes the weighting procedures that were implemented to derive population estimates. Chapter 4 summarises the field administration and data management procedures, including quality control and the cleaning and coding of …

Improving Consistency In Teacher Judgements : An Investigation For The Department Of Education, Victoria, Marion Meiers, Clare Ozolins, Phillip Mckenzie

Dr Phillip McKenzie (retired)

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 …

Improving Consistency In Teacher Judgements : An Investigation For The Department Of Education, Victoria, Marion Meiers, Clare Ozolins, Phillip Mckenzie

Marion Meiers (1941-2018)

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 …

National Assessment Program : Ict Literacy 2008 : Year 6 And Year 10 : Technical Report, Chris Freeman, John Ainley, Julian Fraillon, Eveline Gebhardt, Kate O'Malley, Wolfram Schulz

Julian Fraillon

This report describes the technical aspects of the National ICT Literacy Sample Assessment and summarises the main activities involved in the data collection, the data collection instruments and the analysis and reporting of the data. Chapter 2 summarises the development of the assessment domain and describes the process of item development and construction of the instruments. Chapter 3 reviews the sample design and describes the sampling process. Chapter 3 also describes the weighting procedures that were implemented to derive population estimates. Chapter 4 summarises the field administration and data management procedures, including quality control and the cleaning and coding of …

Towards A Growth Mindset In Assessment, Geoff Masters

Prof Geoff Masters AO

Assessment and reporting processes shape student, parent and community beliefs about learning – sometimes in unintended ways.

Measuring Progress, Geoff Masters

Prof Geoff Masters AO

Geoff Masters discusses the need for a system of educational assessment that provides long-term pictures of student progress.

National Assessment Program : Ict Literacy 2008 : Year 6 And Year 10 : Technical Report, Chris Freeman, John Ainley, Julian Fraillon, Eveline Gebhardt, Kate O'Malley, Wolfram Schulz

Dr John Ainley

This report describes the technical aspects of the National ICT Literacy Sample Assessment and summarises the main activities involved in the data collection, the data collection instruments and the analysis and reporting of the data. Chapter 2 summarises the development of the assessment domain and describes the process of item development and construction of the instruments. Chapter 3 reviews the sample design and describes the sampling process. Chapter 3 also describes the weighting procedures that were implemented to derive population estimates. Chapter 4 summarises the field administration and data management procedures, including quality control and the cleaning and coding of …

Designing Online Assessment For Improved Student Learning And Experience, Roy Wybrow, Pauline Taylor, David Smorfitt

Associate Professor Pauline Taylor-Guy

Performance Enhancement Of The Task Assessment Process Through The Application Of An Electronic Performance Support System, Alistair Campbell

Alistair Campbell PhD

Higher education in Australia, as for many other countries, has changed greatly over the last 20 years at all levels and in many areas of operation including teaching, learning and assessment. The driving forces for these changes have been both internal and external, and have included factors such as: the increasing student population; the increasing use of part-time staff; a reduction in government funding; an increased expectation of institutional accountability; and the growing access and use of information and communication technologies (ICT) in teaching and learning. Assessment has not escaped these changes but in many cases has not kept up …

Mathematical Thinking Of Preschool Children In Rural And Regional Australia : Research And Practice, Robert Hunting, Janette Bobis, Brian Doig, Judith Mousley, Lyn English, Joanne Mulligan, Marina Papic, Catherine Pearn, Bob Perry, Jill Robbins, Jenny Young-Loveridge

Catherine Pearn

Results of a research project that investigated: early childhood educators' thoughts on young children's mathematical thinking and development; reviewed recent research literature on the mathematical learning and thinking of young children; and made this information accessible to early childhood educators at all levels. Sixty-four early childhood educators from regional and rural New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria were interviewed for the project. Questions focused on: children's mathematics learning; support for mathematics teaching; use of technology; attitudes to mathematics; and assessment and record keeping. [p.1]

Development And Piloting Of The Victoria University Student Dividend, Hamish Coates, Daniel Edwards

Dr Daniel Edwards

The VU Student Dividend reflects a new approach to improving learning in Australian tertiary education. It is a landmark study that sets an important precedent, being the first institution level assessment of learning outcomes conducted to monitor and improve the quality of education. The Victoria University (VU) Student Dividend was conceptualised by VU, and developed and implemented by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). The student assessment and graduate survey were piloted in 2008. The VU Student Dividend reflects an assessment of the extent to which VU’s courses and programs prepare students and graduates to engage productively in the …