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Measuring non-academic outcomes of schooling One essential flaw in the way many schools and systems attempt to improve some non-academic outcomes of schooling is the assumption that simply providing students with the opportunity to demonstrate the outcomes will be enough for the students to develop them, according to a paper presented at the ACER Research Conference on 17 August. Authors ACER Senior Research Fellow Prue Anderson and Principal Research Fellow Julian Fraillon identify three main challenges in measuring non-academic outcomes of schooling: defining the outcome, measuring the outcome and improving outcomes. The academic outcomes of schooling are typically defined in curriculum documents and supporting materials both at a system and school level. By contrast, the non-academic outcomes of schooling are typically less well-described. Before devoting time and energy to measuring the non-academic outcomes of schooling, it is essential that the outcomes are clearly defined in a way that makes sense to all those who use them. Commonly used terms such as ‘well-being’ and ‘resilience’ often are poorly defined which can diminish their usefulness in schools. There are four main issues in measuring non-academic outcomes: Determining the most feasible, valid and reliable ways of collecting information about student outcomes as you have defined them. Providing sufficiently challenging and appropriate opportunities for students to demonstrate what they can do. Collecting evidence of student performance that can be used to support teaching. Taking into account the high level of context dependency in students’ demonstration of outcomes. It is not sufficient to assume that if a student can demonstrate proficiency in an outcome in a given context that they will naturally transfer this capacity to different contexts. Finally, schools should not assume that non-academic outcomes necessarily require less formal teaching of content, skills and applications across contexts than are typically devoted to teaching of academic outcomes. Experiential learning, such as group work and outdoor education programs, play a key role in students developing many non-academic outcomes. However, without a solid foundation of knowledge and skills and the opportunity to make informed self-reflection it is likely that the experience in itself may not be sufficient to facilitate lasting change in many students. The full paper is available from the Research Conference 2009 web page. « Back to eNews
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One essential flaw in the way many schools and systems attempt to improve some non-academic outcomes of schooling is the assumption that simply providing students with the opportunity to demonstrate the outcomes will be enough for the students to develop them, according to a paper presented at the ACER Research Conference on 17 August.

Authors ACER Senior Research Fellow Prue Anderson and Principal Research Fellow Julian Fraillon identify three main challenges in measuring non-academic outcomes of schooling: defining the outcome, measuring the outcome and improving outcomes.

The academic outcomes of schooling are typically defined in curriculum documents and supporting materials both at a system and school level. By contrast, the non-academic outcomes of schooling are typically less well-described. Before devoting time and energy to measuring the non-academic outcomes of schooling, it is essential that the outcomes are clearly defined in a way that makes sense to all those who use them. Commonly used terms such as ‘well-being’ and ‘resilience’ often are poorly defined which can diminish their usefulness in schools.

There are four main issues in measuring non-academic outcomes:

Determining the most feasible, valid and reliable ways of collecting information about student outcomes as you have defined them.
Providing sufficiently challenging and appropriate opportunities for students to demonstrate what they can do.
Collecting evidence of student performance that can be used to support teaching.
Taking into account the high level of context dependency in students’ demonstration of outcomes. It is not sufficient to assume that if a student can demonstrate proficiency in an outcome in a given context that they will naturally transfer this capacity to different contexts.

Finally, schools should not assume that non-academic outcomes necessarily require less formal teaching of content, skills and applications across contexts than are typically devoted to teaching of academic outcomes. Experiential learning, such as group work and outdoor education programs, play a key role in students developing many non-academic outcomes. However, without a solid foundation of knowledge and skills and the opportunity to make informed self-reflection it is likely that the experience in itself may not be sufficient to facilitate lasting change in many students.

The full paper is available from the Research Conference 2009 web page.

Measuring non-academic outcomes of schooling