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News bulletins from the Australian Council for Educational Research published October 2005 3134 subscribers Subscribe Now In this issue: What outcomes do we want? A balanced approach needed for students with learning difficulties The first year experience of tertiary students Revised Progressive Achievement Tests in Mathematics released Science Education Assessment Resource (SEAR) now available 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. Continue reading » 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. Continue reading » 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. Continue reading » 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. Continue reading » 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. Continue reading »
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

News bulletins from the Australian Council for Educational Research published October 2005
3134 subscribers
Subscribe Now

In this issue:

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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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