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Week 44: The impact of assessment programs on policy
International and national testing programs can inform education policies to improve learning.
International and national assessments enable governments to evaluate their education systems, but little is known about how they are being used and what impact such assessments have on educational policies. Petra Lietz and Mollie Tobin, both in the Educational Monitoring and Research Division in ACER’s Adelaide office, together with Maura Best and Pat Knight from the Cunningham Library are investigating exactly that, through an AusAID-funded systematic review pioneered by Dita Nugroho from the International Development Division called The Impact of National and International Assessment Programs on Educational Policy in Developing Countries.
Working on a review of such huge scope, says Petra, a Principal Research Fellow, is intensely collaborative. ‘This systematic review really is groundbreaking in its focus, but we’re well placed to do it because of the expertise, resources and collaborative approach of ACER. Stakeholders in the project have frequently pointed out that ACER’s capacity to deliver a project like this successfully is second to none.’
Explains Mollie, a Research Officer, ‘We work with AusAID in terms of educational policy review, with the Evidence for Policy and Practice Information Coordinating Centre at the University of London in terms of review methodology; David Rutkowski from the University of Indiana in terms of the review content; and Craig Lockwood from the University of Adelaide, drawing on his specialist expertise in conducting systematic reviews.’
The team has now received feedback on the draft review to AusAID. While there’s more work to be done, can they report any findings?
‘Generally speaking,’ says Petra, ‘the closer the link between an assessment program and education policy makers, especially in the design phase, the greater the impact of assessment on educational policy making.’
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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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