Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons^™

Evaluation Of The Cape York Aboriginal Australian Academy Initiative : Final Report, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

Indigenous Education Research

In October 2012, the Queensland Department of Education Training and Employment (DETE) contracted the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) to undertake an evaluation of the Cape York Aboriginal Australian Academy (CYAAA) Initiative. The CYAAA Initiative is designed to improve student outcomes. It is a pilot program operating in primary schools at Coen, Hope Vale and Aurukun. (The trial began in January 2010 in Aurukun and Coen, and in January 2011 in Hope Vale.) The Initiative is part of the Cape York Welfare Reform education stream.

Snapshot Of School–Community Partnerships In Australian Schools, Sharon Clerke

Program monitoring and evaluation

Schools across Australia are increasingly connecting and engaging with community groups to create opportunities for their students. From marine parks to art galleries, radio stations to local councils, aged care to football clubs, neighbourhood houses to garden centres, the possibilities for collaboration are endless. Schools are reaching out into the broader community to build exciting and innovative relationships that are designed to have a positive impact on student learning.

This report describes some of the ways that schools and community groups are collaborating using information contained in Impact Award applications submitted by schools in 2010 and 2011. The NAB Schools …

Partnering For Success, Sharon Clerke

Program monitoring and evaluation

The NAB Schools First Awards are the result of a partnership between two not-for-profits, the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and the Foundation for Young Australians (FYA), and a large banking corporation, the National Australia Bank (NAB). The Awards project is a national criteria-based awards program which has been rewarding outstanding school–community partnerships since 2009. These Awards reflect a significant investment in education and by 2013, the fifth year of the Awards, will have awarded over $18 million to support more than 500 school–community partnerships around Australia.

This report presents a snapshot of the impact the Awards program is …

Using Data To Enhance 21st Century Skill Development In Vet Discussion Paper For The Summit On Data For Quality Improvement In Vet, Acer

Vocational, adult and professional education research

In response to the increasing demands of modern workforce and general life participation and perceptions of poor or declining educational standards, governments around the world are emphasising the important role of education systems in developing in learners a broader set of skills that will meet the challenges and demands of work, study and life in the 21st century. In many cases this has led education systems to focus increasingly on learning outcomes as a measure of system quality in addition to more traditional measures of inputs and outputs. In refocusing the notion of ‘quality’ around this proximate purpose of …

Feasibility Study For The East Asia Summit - Regional Facility For Education Quality Assessment Project (Rfeqa), John Cresswell, Karyn Docking

Monitoring Learning

This report presents a feasibility study into an East Asia Summit (EAS) Regional Facility for Education Quality Assessment (RFEQA).The project was developed partly in response tomajor findings of the 2008 study Harnessing Educational Cooperation in the EAS for Regional Competitiveness and Community Building (‘the Harnessing Report’) which noted that 'One potential issue for a number of EAS countries is that a number of the international student achievement studies are focused on secondary education. For developing countries in particular, the higher priority is likely to be student achievement in primary education as secondary participation rates are relatively low...'

This report …

Reforming Educational Assessment: Imperatives, Principles And Challenges, Geoff N. Masters

Australian Education Review

AER 57 reviews research into assessment, especially in schools; it analyses the pivotal role of assessment in learning and argues for its reconceptualisation by practitioners and policy makers to better support learning. The genesis of this AER was the ACER Research Conference Assessment and Student Learning: Collecting, interpreting and using data to inform teaching, held in Perth in August 2009.

Section 1 outlines some current pressures for assessment reform, introduces the concept of a learning assessment system designed to establish where learners are in their progress within an empirically mapped domain of learning, and sketches a set of design …

Creating An Effective School For Aboriginal And Torres Strait Islander Students, Gina Milgate, Brian Giles-Browne

Indigenous Education Research

In Australia, the Collegial Snapshot (CSS) process has been a culturally safe, engaging and empowering way for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and their parents and carers to share their insights and ideas about what makes an effective school. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents and carers through the Collegial Snapshot Process identified six key variables that make an effective school for their child including the Cultural Environment, Quality of Teachers, Community Engagement, Student Health and Wellbeing, Curriculum and School Leadership. The wealth of data collected from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and parents and carers complemented …

Making A Difference : Improving Outcomes For Indigenous Learners, Michele Lonsdale

Indigenous Education Research

This publication highlights ACER’s contributions to Indigenous Educational research over the past decade. This contribution has included research, policy analysis, program evaluation, professional development, and the development of assessment tools and other resources.

Teach For Australia Pathway: Evaluation Report Phase 3 Of 3, Paul R. Weldon, Phillip Mckenzie, Elizabeth Kleinhenz, Kate Reid

Initial Teacher education

This report is the final of three reports of the evaluation of the Teach for Australia (TFA) Pathway, a pilot of an alternative approach to teacher education in Australia. The evaluation was undertaken by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) over the period 2010 to 2012. The basic design of the TFA Pathway is as follows: 1. High-achieving university graduates are recruited nationally. Applicants are subject to a rigorous recruitment process and are selected on the basis of qualities and skills suitable to the teaching profession, and the possession of a genuine desire to reduce educational disadvantage. 2. Selected …

Partnering For School Improvement : Case Studies Of School-Community Partnerships In Australia, Sharon Clerke

Program monitoring and evaluation

The case studies in this booklet illustrate the creative ways in which Australian schools are responding to local needs by establishing and building partnerships with community organisations and businesses. These partnerships have been formed to share resources, both human and material. They are providing students with access to breakfast clubs, homework and tutoring programs, after-school fitness and sporting activities, and other programs designed to re-engage students. Local businesses that want students to know more about employer expectations and the realities of the workplace are providing work placements and work experience, traineeships and apprenticeships. Some schools are partnering with other educational …

International Computer And Information Literacy Study: Assessment Framework, Julian Fraillon, Wolfram Schulz, John Ainley

ICT - Digital Literacy

The purpose of the International Computer and Information Literacy Study 2013 (ICILS 2013) is to investigate, in a range of countries, the ways in which young people are developing computer and information literacy (CIL) to support their capacity to participate in the digital age. To achieve this aim, the study will assess student achievement through an authentic computer-based assessment of CIL administered to students in their eighth year of schooling. It will also collect and report on analyses of data about student use of computers and other digital devices as well as students’ attitudes toward the use of computers and …

2012 University Experience Survey National Report, Ali Radloff, Hamish Coates, Rebecca Taylor, Richard James, Kerri-Lee Krause

Higher education research

How students experience university plays a major role in their academic, personal and professional success. Over the last decade Australian universities and governments have placed considerable emphasis on key facets of the student experience ecology such as skills development, student engagement, quality teaching, student support, and learning resources. This report discusses a 2012 project that furnished a new national architecture for collecting feedback on understanding the improving the student experience. The University Experience Survey (UES) has been developed by the Australian Government to provide a new national platform for measuring the quality of teaching and learning in Australian higher education. …

Aqtf Quality Indicator Service : 2011-12 Report, Acer

Vocational, adult and professional education research

In 2007 ACER lead a sector-side development, deployment and support of a set of instruments and reporting tools to underpin a new data-driven and outcomes-focused approach to quality assurance in Australia’s vocational education and training sector. The AQTF 2007 Quality Indicator survey resources provide building blocks for a wide range of conversations about the quality of vocational education and training. Such feedback is used in education systems and organisations to obtain information on the quality of education and training.

Broadly speaking, collecting information about performance provides a valuable source of data for RTOs to:

◗◗ gauge how well they are …

Enhancing The Quality Of Teaching And Learning In Australian Schools : Submission To The Senate Inquiry On Teaching And Learning (Maximising Our Investment In Australian Schools), Geoff N. Masters

School and system improvement

International research identifies several steps that governments can take to enhance the quality of teaching and learning, and thus levels of student achievement and wellbeing, in primary and secondary schools. The steps are:

1. Restrict and raise the quality of student intakes to teacher education

2. Set and confirm the achievement of minimum standards for registration

3. Recognise and reward the development of specialist knowledge and skill

International Update (No. 3) June 2012

International Update archive (2010-2012)

Table of contents for this issue: (a) Comparing school learning outcomes internationally; (b) Girls outperform boys in reading in PISA 2009+; (c) Investigating computer and information literacy; (d) Discovering civic knowledge, attitudes and engagement; (e) Expertise and networks from Australia to PNG; (d) Education systems must bridge Indigenous and Western worlds; (e) AHELO fieldwork goes live; (f) Innovative international assessment communities evolve; (g) Quality assurance research and its relevance to China; (h) Professional certification can improve teaching quality.

Professional Practice Research: Ensuring Teacher Development Through A Critical Approach To Professional Learning, Tania Aspland, Ian Macpherson

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Concurrent Session Block 3

Effective Strategies For Implementing Differentiated Instruction, John Munro

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Concurrent Session Block 2

Differentiated Classroom Learning, Technologies And School Improvement : What Experience And Research Can Tell Us, Kathryn Moyle

2009 - 2019 ACER Research Conferences

Concurrent Session Block 1

Improving schools with technologies

Teach For Australia Pathway : Evaluation Report Phase 2 Of 3, Paul R. Weldon, Phillip Mckenzie, Elizabeth Kleinhenz, Kate Reid

Initial Teacher education

The evaluation of the Teach for Australia Pathway was commissioned by DEEWR and commenced in March 2010. The purpose of the evaluation is to assess whether the delivery of the Pathway can be modified to better achieve intended outputs and outcomes, and whether the Pathway is achieving expected outcomes.

This report (Part 2) concerns the second of three phases of the evaluation of the TFA Pathway. The first report (Part 1) was designed to provide a summary of data gathered on the operation of the Pathway in its initial stages. Data for that report were collected via site visits with …

Some Drivers Of Test Item Difficulty In Mathematics, Ross Turner

OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)

This paper is one of four contributions to the symposium session at the AERA’s 2012 Annual Meeting titled Exploring Reading and Mathematics Item Difficulty: Teaching and Learning Implications of PISA Survey Data. The author presents a rubric used to analyse mathematics test items developed for use in the OECD’s PISA survey. The rubric focuses on a set of mathematical competencies that are components of mathematical literacy. The work on which this report is based suggests that demand for activation of these competencies functions as a significant driver of item difficulty, which potentially has implications for the teaching and learning of …

Measuring And Rewarding School Improvement, Geoff N. Masters

Program monitoring and evaluation

There is now a widely held view that the most effective strategy for improving countries’ educational performances is to improve the day-to-day work of schools. This view follows several decades of significant increases in government expenditure on school education in developed countries, often with little or no accompanying evidence of improvements in the quality or equity of educational provision. A number of countries have introduced incentives – both rewards and sanctions – in an attempt to ‘drive’ improvements in the work of schools. Many of these incentive schemes have followed the model adopted in business of specifying and measuring desired …

The On Track Survey 2011: The Destinations Of School Leavers In Victoria. Statewide Report, Sheldon Rothman, Catherine Underwood

Vocational, adult and professional education research

The On Track project was initiated in 2003. Since the first large-scale survey in that year, around 350,000 school leavers have participated in the On Track surveys, providing valuable insights into their post-school destinations and pathways. This 2011 report is based on data from telephone surveys of 35,002 Year 12 or equivalent completers and 3768 early leavers from the 2010 school year. The information was collected in April and May 2011. The report focuses on analyses at the state and regional levels.

Regional Focus : India And Bangladesh

International Developments

ACER India increased the size of its workforce in 2011 and now boasts more than double the number of staff employed in 2010. The expansion increases the capacity of ACER India in terms of data analysis with a focus on international achievement studies, state monitoring programs and evaluation studies, as well as in terms of publication and marketing. The increased capacity means ACER India is well placed to independently undertake educational research and development work in India and beyond.

A Clearer Picture : National And International Testing In The Uae, Alan Egbert

International Developments

The Ministry of Education of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) has recently introduced the UAE National Assessment Program (UAENAP), developed by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) in partnership with the ministry, to monitor student achievement and progress, in order to inform policy and curriculum development for the nation.

International Developments (No.2) 2012

International Developments

No abstract provided.

International Update (No. 2) November 2011

International Update archive (2010-2012)

Table of contents for this issue: (a) Beginning teacher standards in Saudi Arabia; (b) National assessment reports on health of UAE school system; (c) AHELO moves ahead; (d) ACER and CBSE conduct international assessment conference; (e) ACER India expands operations; (f) Measuring adult skills in New Zealand; (g) ACER and UNESCO Beirut collaborate in Arab States; (h) Reading literacy reform in Portugal; (i) Assessing generic skills; (j) Testing basic mathematics in Norway.

Phase One Of The Demonstration Project On Course Redesign And Academic Productivity : Final Report, Peter Bentley, Hamish Bennett Coates, Leo Goedegebuure

Higher education research

The objectives of the Demonstration Project on Course Redesign and Academic Productivity (the ‘Demonstration Redesign Project’) are to improve academic productivity and student learning. The project originated out of a series of executive seminars organised by the LH Martin Institute (LHMI) and led by Professor Bill Massy. These seminars highlighted successful academic productivity and student learning improvements achieved through course redesigns led by the National Center for Academic Transformation (NCAT) in the USA. Building on early 2010 foundation meetings with NCAT in Washington DC, the Demonstration Redesign Project is a partnership between the two participating universities, James Cook University (JCU) …

Pisa 2009 Technical Report, John Cresswell (Ed)

OECD Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA)

PISA is methodologically highly complex, requiring intensive collaboration among many stakeholders. The successful implementation of PISA depends on the use, and sometimes further development, of state-of-the-art methodologies and technologies. The PISA 2009 Technical Report describes those methodologies, along with other features that have enabled PISA to provide high quality data to support policy formation and review. The descriptions are provided at a level that will enable review and, potentially, replication of the implemented procedures and technical solutions to problems. This report contains a description of the theoretical underpinning of the complex techniques used to create the PISA 2009 Database, which …

Highlights From Timss & Pirls 2011 From Australia’S Perspective, Sue Thomson, Kylie Hillman, Nicole Wernert, Marina Schmid, Sarah Buckley, Ann Munene

TIMSS 2011 and PIRLS 2011

The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) are international studies directed by the IEA (International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement), an independent international cooperative of national research institutions and government agencies that has been conducting studies of crossnational achievement in a wide range of subjects since 1959. In Australia, TIMSS and PIRLS are implemented by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER), which is Australia’s representative to the IEA. In Australia, TIMSS is part of the National Assessment Program.

TIMSS has been conducted at Year 4 and …

Australian Core Skills Framework (Acsf), Philippa Mclean, Kate Perkins, David Tout, Kath Brewer, Linda Wyse

Vocational, adult and professional education research

The Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF) provides a rich, detailed picture of real life performance in the five core skills of: Learning, Reading, Writing, Oral Communication and Numeracy.

These skills are essential for individuals to participate effectively in our society. They are inextricably interwoven into all parts of our lives, being directly or indirectly linked to the physical, social and economic wellbeing of individuals, workplace productivity and safety, community interaction and capacity, and ultimately to Australia’s economic and community wellbeing. The ACSF reflects contemporary use of English in Australia.

The ACSF has been developed to facilitate a consistent national approach …