Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research Commons™

Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®

Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER)

Discipline
Keyword
Publication Year
Publication
Publication Type
File Type

Articles 91 - 120 of 686

Full-Text Articles in Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research

Reimagining The Purpose Of Assessment, Geoff N. Masters Aug 2022

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 …

Go to article

Research Conference 2022: Reimagining Assessment: Proceedings And Program, Kylie Burns (Ed.) Aug 2022

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.

Go to article

Building A World-Class Learning System, Geoff N. Masters Jun 2022

Building A World-Class Learning System, Geoff N. Masters

School and system improvement

This study sought to understand how five jurisdictions – British Columbia, Estonia, Finland, Hong Kong and South Korea, which have all performed unusually well in international achievement surveys over the past two decades – are approaching school education and its transformation. Geoff Masters describes key aspects of the learning systems these jurisdictions have established, comments on how they are now redesigning their learning systems for the future, and discusses insights into what may be required for any jurisdiction to perform well on measures of the kind currently used in international surveys.

Go to article

Learning Through Play At School: A Framework For Policy And Practice, Rachel Parker, Bo Stjerne Thomsen, Amy Berry Feb 2022

Learning Through Play At School: A Framework For Policy And Practice, Rachel Parker, Bo Stjerne Thomsen, Amy Berry

Student learning processes

Learning through play has emerged as an important strategy to promote student engagement, inclusion, and holistic skills development beyond the preschool years. Policy makers, researchers and educators have promoted the notion that learning though play is developmentally appropriate - as it leverages school-age children’s innate curiosity while easing the often difficult transition from preschool to school. However, there is a dearth of evidence and practical guidance on how learning through play can be employed effectively in the formal school context, and the conditions that support success. This paper addresses the disconnect between policy, research and practice by presenting a range …

Go to article

Iea International Civic And Citizenship Education Study 2022: Assessment Framework [Early Online Version], Wolfram Schulz, Julian Fraillon, John Ainley, Bruno Losito, Valeria Damiani, Tim Friedman Jan 2022

Iea International Civic And Citizenship Education Study 2022: Assessment Framework [Early Online Version], Wolfram Schulz, Julian Fraillon, John Ainley, Bruno Losito, Valeria Damiani, Tim Friedman

Civics and Citizenship Assessment

The International Civic and Citizenship Study (ICCS) 2022 continues IEA’s investigation into the ways in which young people understand and are prepared to be citizens in a world where contexts of democracy and civic participation continue to change. This assessment framework provides insight into the study’s conceptual background, cognitive, affective-behavioral and contextual content, and assessment design. It also describes content relevant for the measurement of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that is related to Global Citizenship Education (GCED) and Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). Countries that participated in ICCS 2009, ICCS 2016, and ICCS 2022 will be able …

Go to article

Ways Of Orienting Secondary Schools To Becoming Learning Communities, Jennifer Bryce Jan 2022

Ways Of Orienting Secondary Schools To Becoming Learning Communities, Jennifer Bryce

Lifelong learning

This paper focuses on work carried out over the past two years at the Australian Council for Educational Research for a project entitled: Improving the Foundations for Lifelong Learning in Secondary Schools. Lifelong learning at secondary school level in particular is concerned with keeping students engaged in learning at school and developing in students those characteristics that will make learning an integral part of their lives when they leave school. To a large extent this involves developing the idea of schools as learning communities. The research is underpinned by an exploration of issues through the extensive literature on lifelong learning …

Go to article

Acer 2019-2020 Annual Report, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer) Jan 2022

Acer 2019-2020 Annual Report, Australian Council For Educational Research (Acer)

ACER Annual Reports

No abstract provided.

Go to article

Learning Recovery And Addressing The Learning Crisis In The Asia Pacific: Policy Brief, Pina Tarricone, Kemran Mestan, Ian Teo, Yung Nietschke Jan 2022

Learning Recovery And Addressing The Learning Crisis In The Asia Pacific: Policy Brief, Pina Tarricone, Kemran Mestan, Ian Teo, Yung Nietschke

Global education monitoring

The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted education for approximately 1.2 billion students across the Asia-Pacific, and forced the closure of many schools, precipitating a transition towards remote learning, albeit with uneven access and quality (UNESCO, 2021; Global Education Evidence Advisory Panel, 2022), and threatening to deepen the ‘learning crisis’ that already existed, particularly for the most vulnerable learners. As education systems in the Asia-Pacific seek to recover the learning loss due to the pandemic and address the broader learning crisis, it is incumbent on governments to identify appropriate recovery strategies in the short term. Also, governments need to support education system …

Go to article

What Australian Students Say About Transition To Secondary School. Final Report, Shani Sniedze, Rachel Felgate, Elizabeth O'Grady, Sarah Buckley, Petra Lietz Nov 2021

What Australian Students Say About Transition To Secondary School. Final Report, Shani Sniedze, Rachel Felgate, Elizabeth O'Grady, Sarah Buckley, Petra Lietz

Wellbeing

Life Education Australia's Being Healthy Being Active project involved the collection of student voice related to the concept of school transition and the move from primary to secondary school. Students from around Australia participated in 82 focus groups, or student forums, to discuss their own positive experiences, as well as perceived needs and challenges related to their move to secondary school. Section One of this report is a literature review and environmental scan on student transition from primary to secondary school. Section Two describes the methods used to design and administer the Student Forums. This includes a description of the …

Go to article

Online Training On Formative Assessment For Early Language, Literacy, And Numeracy (Elln) In The Philippines: Final Report, Rti International Nov 2021

Online Training On Formative Assessment For Early Language, Literacy, And Numeracy (Elln) In The Philippines: Final Report, Rti International

Initial Teacher education

This report describes findings and lessons learned from an online teacher training course in the Philippines. "Becoming a Learning Detective" is a 5-day online course that focuses on the design and use of formative assessment to improve literacy and numeracy outcomes in Kindergarten to Grade 3 (K–3) classrooms. The emphasis is on classroom-based assessment strategies that are embedded within daily teaching and learning experiences, involving an active partnership between teacher and students. The course brings together asynchronous and synchronous elements, as well as whole group, small group, and individual learning experiences. The course was implemented for the first time among …

Go to article

Teachers Report Card 2021: Teachers’ Perceptions Of Education And Their Profession, Australian College Of Educators Oct 2021

Teachers Report Card 2021: Teachers’ Perceptions Of Education And Their Profession, Australian College Of Educators

Australian College of Educators - National

Teachers play a central role in the development of Australia’s young people. It is essential that their voices are heard by those who make and decide policy, and by others who influence their learning and development. The NEiTA-ACE Teachers Report Card 2021is based on a survey of amplifying the voices of teachers on the state of education and on their profession.

Go to article

2018 Australian Talis-Pisa Link Report, Kylie Hillman, Sue Thomson Sep 2021

2018 Australian Talis-Pisa Link Report, Kylie Hillman, Sue Thomson

OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS)

Australia was one of nine countries and economies to participate in the 2018 TALIS-PISA link study, together with Cuidad Autónoma de Buenos Aires (Argentina), Colombia, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Georgia, Malta, Turkey and Viet Nam. This study involved coordinating the samples of schools that participated in the Program of International Student Assessment (PISA, a study of the performance of 15-year-old students) and the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS, a study that surveys teachers and principals in lower secondary schools) in 2018. A sample of teachers from schools that were selected to participate in PISA were invited to respond to …

Go to article

Reporting Student Progress: What Might It Look Like?, Hilary Hollingsworth, Jonathan Heard, Anthony Hockey, Tegan Knuckey Aug 2021

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.

Go to article

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 Aug 2021

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 …

Go to article

Leading System Transformation: A Work In Progress, Greg Whitby, Maura Manning, Gavin Hays Aug 2021

Leading System Transformation: A Work In Progress, Greg Whitby, Maura Manning, Gavin Hays

2021-2030 ACER Research Conferences

Internationally, the COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly disrupted the education sector. While NSW has avoided the longer periods of remote learning that our colleagues in Victoria and other countries have experienced, we have nonetheless been provoked to reflect on the nature of schooling and the systemic support we provide to transform the learning of each student and enrich the professional lives of staff within our Catholic learning community. At Catholic Education Diocese of Parramatta (CEDP), a key pillar of our approach is to create conditions that enable everyone to be a leader. Following the initial lockdown period in 2020 when students …

Go to article

Applying Empirical Learning Progressions For A Holistic Approach To Evidence-Based Education: Swans/Ables, Emily White Aug 2021

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 …

Go to article

How Education Gets In The Way Of Learning, Geoff N. Masters Aug 2021

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 …

Go to article

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

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 …

Go to article

What Sources Of Data Did Teachers Use To Inform Remote Teaching Under Covid-19?, Anne-Marie Chase, Kathryn Richardson, Nathanael Reinertsen Aug 2021

What Sources Of Data Did Teachers Use To Inform Remote Teaching Under Covid-19?, Anne-Marie Chase, Kathryn Richardson, Nathanael Reinertsen

Digital learning research

The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted education systems worldwide, forcing teachers to find new ways to teach students when physical attendance at school was not possible. Our study investigated how teachers gathered and used data to understand and cater for the diverse educational needs of students in remote learning. We surveyed teachers to understand the challenges faced by emergency remote teaching (ERT) and how they gathered and used existing data to meet their students’ needs. While some teachers had experienced online learning as students, few had taught remotely or online. This meant that teachers had limited experience on which to draw when …

Go to article

Developing A Teachers’ Assessment Literacy And Design Competence Framework, Anit Girgla, Laura Good, Sladana Krstic, Brendan Mcginley, Sarah Richardson, Shani Sniedze, Jennifer Star Jul 2021

Developing A Teachers’ Assessment Literacy And Design Competence Framework, Anit Girgla, Laura Good, Sladana Krstic, Brendan Mcginley, Sarah Richardson, Shani Sniedze, Jennifer Star

Assessment and Reporting

Within International Baccalaureate (IB) programmes, teachers play a central role in facilitating learning and empowering learners. One of the key competencies required by teachers to be able to support high quality learning is for assessment, teaching and learning in their classrooms to work collectively. Teachers must possess a high level of assessment literacy to properly fulfil their role of supporting teaching and learning. Teachers’ assessment literacy can have an impact on the quality of educational provision. The aim of this study was to develop an assessment literacy and design competency framework for use across IB programmes and professional learning resources.

Go to article

Remote Education Responses To Covid-19 In The Indo-Pacific Region. Document Review, Anna Dabrowski, Yung Nietschke Jun 2021

Remote Education Responses To Covid-19 In The Indo-Pacific Region. Document Review, Anna Dabrowski, Yung Nietschke

International Education Research

Many countries have shifted to remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, much of the existing research focuses on fully online learning in high income contexts, with very few studies considering the mechanisms that support remote learning in low- and middle-income countries. A document review of the grey literature provides some insights into the ways that countries outside the OECD are ensuring continuity in the supply of education services. Online education, International education, Teaching effectiveness, Organisational effectivenessThe review reveals a diversity of mechanisms have been used to provide educational access. In some contexts, existing online content has been provided free, …

Go to article

Professional Learning Modes. Literature Review, Anna Dabrowski, Pru Mitchell Jun 2021

Professional Learning Modes. Literature Review, Anna Dabrowski, Pru Mitchell

Professional learning for teachers and school leaders

This literature review summarises evidence from education research to describe and compare different modes of professional learning. It applies the findings to the question: ‘what works best, and for whom’ in terms of modes of professional learning for Australian teachers, with particular focus on early childhood teachers, casual relief teachers and teachers in rural and remote teaching contexts. A key professional learning challenge common to these teachers is isolation – which can be physical, pedagogical, technological and/or social isolation. The review sought to identify research on modes of professional learning and in particular any studies that compared different modes of …

Go to article

International Developments (No.10) 2021 May 2021

International Developments (No.10) 2021

International Developments

This issue of International Developments summarises the research evidence gathered through the work of the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and the impact of specific projects around the globe.

Go to article

Timss 2019 Australia. Volume Ii: School And Classroom Contexts For Learning, Sue Thomson, Nicole Wernert, Sarah Buckley, Sima Rodrigues, Elizabeth O'Grady, Marina Schmid May 2021

Timss 2019 Australia. Volume Ii: School And Classroom Contexts For Learning, Sue Thomson, Nicole Wernert, Sarah Buckley, Sima Rodrigues, Elizabeth O'Grady, Marina Schmid

TIMSS 2019

This is the second of two reports that look at the results of TIMSS 2019 and Australia’s performance. Volume I focuses specifically on the achievement results, detailing Australia’s results within the international context, and presents results for the Australian jurisdictions, and for the different demographic groups within Australia, including male and female students. This report, Volume II, presents the results from the contextual questionnaires, and examines the contexts in which learning and achievement occur, including home, school, and classroom contexts, as well as student attitudes. Each chapter focuses on different indicators that cover the school community, the school learning environment, …

Go to article

Public Enquiry: Adult Literacy And Its Importance, Australian Council For Educational Research Mar 2021

Public Enquiry: Adult Literacy And Its Importance, Australian Council For Educational Research

Vocational, adult and professional education research

The Australian Council for Educational Research’s submission to the Australian Government Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training's Public Enquiry into Adult literacy and its importance highlights the importance of these skills to Australia’s well-being and economy, and calls on the government to continue participation in an international assessment to monitor outcomes and improve adult education.

Go to article

Developing Strategic Plans For An Aligned Approach To 21st Century Skills Integration, Claire Scoular, Ian Teo Mar 2021

Developing Strategic Plans For An Aligned Approach To 21st Century Skills Integration, Claire Scoular, Ian Teo

Assessment and Reporting

This report describes an online course developed to support education systems to build an aligned and sustainable approach to integration of 21st Century Skills (21CS). 21CS are those skills that are considered particularly important to succeed in today’s knowledge-based society in which innovation and technology are predominant. Prominent examples include critical thinking, creative thinking, and collaboration, and such skills need to be better understood in order for them to be integrated. While different countries may have their own frameworks or priorities surrounding 21CS, a consistent approach to integration can still be achieved with a shared understanding from all stakeholders within …

Go to article

A Man Of Measure And More: John P. Keeves 1924-2020, Petra Lietz (Ed), Katherine Dix (Ed), Juliet Young-Thornton (Ed) Jan 2021

A Man Of Measure And More: John P. Keeves 1924-2020, Petra Lietz (Ed), Katherine Dix (Ed), Juliet Young-Thornton (Ed)

ACER historical documents

John Philip Keeves was an eminent researcher with a lifelong quest to improve teaching and learning by being a researcher, teacher, supervisor and mentor. He produced a myriad of scholarly publications, many on topics of research design, comparative research and educational measurement. In 1962, John was recruited to the Australian Council for Educational Research and he moved to Melbourne, later becoming Associate Director from 1972 to 1977 and then Director until his retirement in 1984. During this time, he also undertook research fellowships at the Australian National University and the Institute of International Education in the University of Stockholm. After …

Go to article

A Man Of Measure And More: John P. Keeves 1924-2020, Petra Lietz Ed., Katherine Dix Ed., Juliet Young-Thornton Ed. Jan 2021

A Man Of Measure And More: John P. Keeves 1924-2020, Petra Lietz Ed., Katherine Dix Ed., Juliet Young-Thornton Ed.

Shannon Research Press

John Philip Keeves was an eminent researcher with a lifelong quest to improve teaching and learning by being a researcher, teacher, supervisor and mentor. He produced a myriad of scholarly publications, many on topics of research design, comparative research and educational measurement. In 1962, John was recruited to the Australian Council for Educational Research and he moved to Melbourne, later becoming Associate Director from 1972 to 1977 and then Director until his retirement in 1984. During this time, he also undertook research fellowships at the Australian National University and the Institute of International Education in the University of Stockholm. After …

Go to article

Flexible Strategies For Ensuring Quality Learning Outcomes In Education In Emergencies, Pina Tarricone, Ian Teo, Kemran Mestan, Kris Sundarsagar, Ashtamurthy Killimangalam, Nordin Abd Razak Jan 2021

Flexible Strategies For Ensuring Quality Learning Outcomes In Education In Emergencies, Pina Tarricone, Ian Teo, Kemran Mestan, Kris Sundarsagar, Ashtamurthy Killimangalam, Nordin Abd Razak

International Education Research

The COVID-19 pandemic has interrupted schooling for students globally and challenged how policy-makers might respond and recover from this protracted emergency. In collaboration with NEQMAP, the GEM Centre has conducted a rapid review of policy and practice documents for 14 countries, and an online survey with policy-makers in 7 of them to identify the types of flexible learning strategies that were implemented over the course of this pandemic. An education in emergencies Policy Monitoring Framework was used both to guide the analysis of documents and survey data, and to provide the basis for reporting findings. The range of flexible learning …

Go to article

Assessment Of Oral Language And Early Literacy In Early Childhood Education And Care: Literature Review, Danielle Anzai, Sandra Knowles, Dan Cloney, Pam Munro-Smith, Pru Mitchell Jan 2021

Assessment Of Oral Language And Early Literacy In Early Childhood Education And Care: Literature Review, Danielle Anzai, Sandra Knowles, Dan Cloney, Pam Munro-Smith, Pru Mitchell

Early Childhood Education

This literature review is one of a series of reviews to support Victorian early childhood professionals to assess children's learning and development in relation to the five Learning and Development Outcomes in the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF). This review focuses on the Outcome: Children are effective communicators, and specifically on children as effective oral communicators. Focusing on the development of oral language and early literacy in the early years, this literature review sets out to provide a resource that will equip early childhood professionals with the knowledge to identify and assess children's progress in oral language …

Go to article

First Prev Next Last