Research Developments - Articles online
Australian Certificate of Education: Exploring a way forward
Geoff Masters explains why Australia needs greater national consistency in senior school certificates and how an Australian Certificate of Education would likely benefit all Australian students.
Q. Your Year 12 son tells you he received a final mark of 19 for English. How should you respond?
A. It all depends on where you live. In New South Wales, marks are reported out of 100, making 19 a very low score. In Victoria, the maximum score is 50, making 19 a slightly better result. But in South Australia, where marks are reported out of 20, a score of 19 is worth celebrating .Most other states do not report marks at all, and use A to E grades or achievement levels such as ‘sound’ and ‘commendable’.
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Pathways to literacy
Alison Elliott discusses how all children, including the most vulnerable, can be given the best chance to be ready to read.
Most children are well on their way to reading independently by the end of the first year of school. How well children progress depends on their pre-requisite understandings and skills – or ‘readiness’ at school entry. The concept of ‘readiness’, although not currently popular in Australia, is central to reading.
Standards for school leadership
ACER has examined national and international developments in school leadership standards and assessment for prospective and established school leaders to assist in identifying options for a national system for assessment. Lawrence Ingvarson explains.
In recent years, school leaders' work has been characterised by increasing complexity in expectations and greater demands for accountability. The introduction of self managing schools has entailed the devolution or decentralisation of a number of new responsibilities to school leaders.
Improving science learning
Science education experts have called for an urgent re-thinking of the way science is taught in Australia arguing that a greater focus on enquiry and reasoning is needed to boost students’ waning interest in science as John Ainley explains.
The recent ACER conference Boosting science learning: what will it take? concluded with a session led by a panel of experts developing a three-point proposal for science education.
