Staff Directory

Mr Doug McCurry

Position:

Senior Research Fellow 

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Division:

Assessment and Reporting: Humanities and Social Sciences 

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Location:

Melbourne 

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Qualifications:

BA (Hons), DipEd La T, PhD Monash

 

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Dr Doug McCurry is a Senior Research Fellow at the Australian Council for Educational Research in the Assessment and Reporting research program.

He heads the team of test developers working on the development of senior humanities, social sciences and written expression tests. In this role, Dr McCurry and his team make a key contribution to the development of both multiple choice and writing tests including the Australian Scaling Test (formerly the Australian Scholastic Aptitude Test), the Victorian General Achievement Test (GAT), the Graduate Australian Medical School Admissions Test (GAMSAT), the Special Tertiary Admissions Test (STAT), the Cooperative Scholarship Testing Program (CSTP), and a range of other tests used at secondary and tertiary level.

Additionally, he has been a consultant to the Board of Senior Secondary School Studies in Queensland in the development of its Queensland Core Skills Test which is used at the end of secondary education.

In 1996, Dr McCurry wrote a review of assessment of the Key Competencies for the Department of Employment, Education, Training and Youth Affairs (DEETYA) and the Victorian Board of Studies. In 1997 he directed a DEETYA funded project on school based assessment of the Key Competencies, and in 1998 directed the development of an assessment regime and a computer package for teachers to conduct portfolio assessment of the Key Competencies. This was part of a DEETYA funded project by the National Industry and Education Forum.

Dr McCurry has extensive experience in the assessment of verbal and humanities tests, in the training and management of test development teams, and in the development and analysis of multiple-choice, short answer and essay tests. He has demonstrated skills in conceptualising and executing assessment projects for student selection and for standards monitoring, along with a particular interest in the assessment of writing and a research interest in the theory and practice of generic or cross-curricular skills assessment.

He has completed contract research and policy analysis on generic skills issues and programs, and has written analytical and evaluative research reports for State and Federal governments on the assessment of generic skills.

Prior to joining ACER he was as a senior teacher in humanities in Victorian schools and had been the Chief Examiner in VCE English Literature.

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