ACER eNews


National civics and citizenship assessment ACER has been contracted by the Performance Measurement and Reporting Taskforce of MCEETYA to conduct the assessments and prepare a report showing the national results in the second phase of the National Year 6 and Year 10 Civics and Citizenship Sample Assessment. ACER also worked on the developmental first phase of the assessment project. In Phase 1, undertaken during 2003 and completed in March 2004, ACER was responsible for the development of the Civics and Citizenship Assessment Domain and the writing and trialling of test items in consultation with jurisdictional and expert stakeholders. The assessment will take place in October 2004 involving a randomly selected sample of Year 6 primary students and Year 10 secondary students from approximately 600 schools across Australia. Students will be asked to complete a written assessment that examines civic knowledge and understanding and the skills and values needed for active citizenship. ACER will administer the test, analyse the data and prepare the national report, which will provide analysis of nationally comparative state and territory data and overall trends. The main purpose of the national Year 6 and Year 10 civics and citizenship assessment is to monitor and report on the overall progress that is being made towards achieving the national goals related to civics and citizenship. This assessment of civics and citizenship is part of a national plan that is progressively being put in place to monitor and report on student achievement against the National Goals for Schooling in the Twenty-first Century . All state, territory and federal education ministers agreed to the national goals and the importance of monitoring student achievements in relation to the goals in 1999. The monitoring and reporting program is being implemented by the Performance Measurement and Reporting Taskforce, a nationally representative taskforce established by the nation's education ministers. Aspects of civics and citizenship have been identified from the national goals of schooling in Australia. The goals state that when students leave school they should 'be active and informed citizens with an understanding and appreciation of Australia's system of government and civic life'. Moreover, students should 'have the capacity to exercise judgement and responsibility in matters of morality, ethics and social justice, and the capacity to make sense of their world, to think about how things got the way they are, to make rational and informed decisions about their lives and to accept responsibility for their own actions'. Schools involved in the study will receive student reports in December this year while ACER will prepare a full report to MCEETYA by May 2005. Additional contextual information regarding the administration of the assessment, the Assessment Domain and examples of trialled assessment items, along with examples of the marking keys that will be used to score students' responses, can be found on the MCEETYA website. « Back to eNews
Copyright © Australian Council for Educational Research 2013 All rights reserved. Except under the conditions described in the Copyright Act 1968 of Australia and subsequent amendments, no part of this electronic publication may be reproduced, stored in retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without written permission. Please address any requests to reproduce information to communications@acer.edu.au Subscribe Unsubscribe Australian Council for Educational Research Private Bag 55, Camberwell, Victoria Australia 3124 Tel: + 61 3 9277 5555 Fax: + 61 3 9277 5500 Web: www.acer.edu.au

ACER has been contracted by the Performance Measurement and Reporting Taskforce of MCEETYA to conduct the assessments and prepare a report showing the national results in the second phase of the National Year 6 and Year 10 Civics and Citizenship Sample Assessment.

ACER also worked on the developmental first phase of the assessment project. In Phase 1, undertaken during 2003 and completed in March 2004, ACER was responsible for the development of the Civics and Citizenship Assessment Domain and the writing and trialling of test items in consultation with jurisdictional and expert stakeholders.

The assessment will take place in October 2004 involving a randomly selected sample of Year 6 primary students and Year 10 secondary students from approximately 600 schools across Australia. Students will be asked to complete a written assessment that examines civic knowledge and understanding and the skills and values needed for active citizenship.

ACER will administer the test, analyse the data and prepare the national report, which will provide analysis of nationally comparative state and territory data and overall trends.

The main purpose of the national Year 6 and Year 10 civics and citizenship assessment is to monitor and report on the overall progress that is being made towards achieving the national goals related to civics and citizenship.

This assessment of civics and citizenship is part of a national plan that is progressively being put in place to monitor and report on student achievement against the National Goals for Schooling in the Twenty-first Century . All state, territory and federal education ministers agreed to the national goals and the importance of monitoring student achievements in relation to the goals in 1999. The monitoring and reporting program is being implemented by the Performance Measurement and Reporting Taskforce, a nationally representative taskforce established by the nation's education ministers.

Aspects of civics and citizenship have been identified from the national goals of schooling in Australia. The goals state that when students leave school they should 'be active and informed citizens with an understanding and appreciation of Australia's system of government and civic life'. Moreover, students should 'have the capacity to exercise judgement and responsibility in matters of morality, ethics and social justice, and the capacity to make sense of their world, to think about how things got the way they are, to make rational and informed decisions about their lives and to accept responsibility for their own actions'.

Schools involved in the study will receive student reports in December this year while ACER will prepare a full report to MCEETYA by May 2005.

Additional contextual information regarding the administration of the assessment, the Assessment Domain and examples of trialled assessment items, along with examples of the marking keys that will be used to score students' responses, can be found on the MCEETYA website.

National civics and citizenship assessment