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52 stories
Week 37: Improving language learning
ACER’s Assessment of Language Competence testing program is all about improving language learning.
The annual Assessment of Language Competence (ALC) testing program – for Chinese, French, German, Indonesian, Italian and Japanese, with a Spanish test in the pipeline – supports best practice in language teaching and improved learning outcomes for students.
As ALC project director Bernadette Brouwers explains, ‘The ALC testing program allows languages teachers to profile languages, and to acknowledge excellence and celebrate success by presenting certificates in public forums such as school assemblies. Because the ALC is the only national languages test in Australia and New Zealand and because of our detailed reports, schools are able to evaluate their programs and compare outcomes by cohort, in terms of the languages offered within the school and in relation to other schools.’
The project team develops 26 ALC tests, each with a new bank of items, every year. ‘Our test item developers are highly skilled in their particular language, and have expertise in language teaching and language assessment,’ says Bernadette.
‘We provide writer training and a writer manual, and work closely with our item developers as well as with our team of vetters and language-specific proofreaders. Annie Brown, Louise Courtney and Karin Hohlfeld in Assessment and Reporting and Leanne Eames in Policy Analysis and Program Evaluation play a significant role in the process.’
‘The value of the ALC,’ says ALC project officer Jaclyn Bates, ‘is that it enables languages students to experience success and lets them see how they’re performing in relation to other students.’
‘The ALC testing program,’ adds Bernadette, ‘is all about improving language learning, enabling language teachers to deliver the most appropriate learning opportunities for their students, using reliable data for program evaluation in schools and promoting language learning in our global society. It addresses all of ACER’s goals.’
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Week 52: State of the art psychometric and statistical analysis
Week 51: Assessing civics and citizenship
Week 50: International research into teaching and learning
GOAL 1
Learners and their needs
every learner engaged in challenging learning opportunities appropriate to their readiness and needs
GOAL 2
The Learning Profession
every learning professional highly skilled, knowledgeable and engaged in excellent practice
GOAL 3
Places of learning
every learning community well resourced and passionately committed to improving outcomes for all learners
GOAL 4
A Learning Society
a society in which every learner experiences success and has an opportunity to achieve their potential
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Pursuing Quality and Equity through Evidence
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