ACER eNews
What outcomes do we want?
Over recent months we have seen an attack on learning ‘outcomes’.
What are we to make of this? Can anybody really be
opposed to attempts to specify what we want children
to learn in our schools? Is there another agenda? ACER
chief executive Professor Geoff Masters explores these
issues.
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A balanced approach needed for students with learning difficulties
A new review of research into the teaching of literacy and numeracy skills to
students with learning difficulties asserts that there is no one single instructional
method that deserves sole claim to being ‘best practice.’ Instead,
the common wisdom of research points to the need for balanced approaches to accommodate
the diverse needs of students. The latest Australian Education Review, Balancing
approaches: Revisiting the educational psychology research on teaching students
with learning difficulties, examines what contemporary research, largely meta-analyses
from the field of educational psychology, says about the often controversial
and much debated field of how best to teach basic literacy and numeracy skills
to students with learning difficulties.
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The first year experience of tertiary students
The first year of tertiary study is a largely positive experience according to
a group of just over 4000 young Australians who took part in an ACER study into
their transition from secondary to tertiary education. The first year experience
of students can have a major impact on later study options and participation.
The current study posed a range of questions pertaining to first year experience
including reasons for any changes to initial enrolments. Background variables,
including gender, earlier school achievement, depth of curiosity and attitudes
to school were considered.
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Revised Progressive Achievement Tests in Mathematics released
The ACER Progressive Achievement Tests (PAT) in Mathematics
Third Edition is a thoroughly revised and updated edition of
ACER Press's widely used test of achievement in mathematics.
The eight tests that make up PAT Maths Third Edition have been
normed on over 12,000 students in 134 schools across Australia.
Teachers can use the tests to generate normative and descriptive
reports on the achievement of students in mathematics from
year 2 to year 10 in NSW, Victoria, ACT and Tasmania and year
3 to year 11 in WA, NT, SA and Queensland.
Read
More
Science Education Assessment Resource (SEAR) now available
The Science Education Assessment Resource (SEAR) is now available
to teachers free of charge via the Curriculum Corporation website.
SEAR provides a wide range of assessment materials suitable
for use across the compulsory years of schooling. The resource
includes assessment tasks and items that can be used for diagnostic,
formative and summative purposes. A key feature of the
resource is rich marking keys to support teachers.
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More
ACER UPDATE
Professor Gabrielle Matters joins ACER
ACER is pleased to announce the appointment of Professor Gabrielle Matters to the position of Principal Research Fellow based in Brisbane. Prior to joining ACER in October Gabrielle Matters held several senior roles in Queensland, including a number of years as Deputy Director (Testing and Publishing) at the Board of Senior Secondary School Studies and, most recently, as Director, Assessment & New Basics Branch with the Queensland Department of Education and the Arts. Prior to entering educational administration, Professor Matters taught Chemistry and Physics for 20 years in independent, state and Catholic schools, including five years as a deputy principal. She is the author of journal articles, books and conference papers on a wide range of topics including test design and marking, test-taking behaviour, assessment/testing formats, the underachievement of boys, relationships between pedagogy and assessment, school reform and standard based assessment. Professor Matters will work to establish a greater presence for ACER in Queensland and will also work on projects within ACER's Assessment and Reporting research program.
PISA National Managers meet in Mildura
National Project Managers from 57 countries participating in the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) will join ACER staff for a week long meeting in Mildura from 24 to 28 October.
An international team led by ACER staff will conduct a range of briefings and training activities. The purpose of the week's activities is to prepare the key staff from participating countries for the next round of PISA testing, which will take place during 2006. Topics to be covered include a review of the results of the recently completed field trial, sampling of the schools and students to be tested in each country next year, review of the test items to be used, procedures for translation of items into the various national languages involved, test administration procedures, data capture procedures and data processing, and general project administration.
Award winning conference presentation
ACER Research Fellow Dr Njora Hungi was awarded a Gold Medal for one of two presentations he delivered to the IIEP-UNESCO International Invitational Educational Policy Research Conference in Paris in late September. Only 25 of 58 papers that were submitted for consideration were eventually selected to be delivered at the conference. Dr Njora Hungi’s paper entitled Explaining differences in mathematics and reading achievement among primary school pupils was awarded a gold international research medal by a panel of experts on the basis of the paper's academic merit, potential for educational policy impact and quality of presentation.
National PISA and TIMSS websites
New look Australian national PISA 2006 and TIMSS 2006/07 websites have been launched. In addition to general access to more information, sample items, reports and key findings, participating teachers and schools can login to these websites to access specific information and resources for participating schools. Please visit the websites at:
TIMSS: www.timss.acer.edu.au
PISA: www.ozpisa.acer.edu.au
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