Assessment advocacy

The focus of assessment to improve learning is on understanding – by diagnosing in detail – where learners are in their learning and monitoring learning progress over time, and using this understanding to inform the best next teaching steps to take to support that learning progress.

Networking/exemplary practices

ACER’s longstanding and ongoing support of assessment is evident in the range of assessment tools it develops that enable educators to monitor learning across the lifespan. ACER also develops a variety of professional learning courses, programs and research conferences, and publications.

Communicating student learning progress

ACER is investigating alternatives to the traditional ‘school report’ as a way of communicating the progress students make in their learning.

Assessment Reform and Innovation samples

This project chronicled different schools’ assessment reform experiences, presented in web-based interactive timelines.

Assessment of creativity

The purpose of this project was to investigate the assessment of creativity in schools.

Improvements to the described regions of the PAT scales

The focus of this project was on enhancing the descriptive elements of the PAT scales for two instruments:

• PAT Reading Comprehension, and
• PAT Maths

Assessment of general capabilities

The major activity under this project is to investigate ways of assessing ‘21st century’ skills, such as creativity and innovation, critical thinking, collaboration, research skills and communication skills.

Displaying and interrogating learning domains

ACER will investigate more effective ways of displaying and interrogating the structure of learning domains.

Computer Adaptive Testing

The goal of this project is to assess options, develop strategies and plans regarding research and use of adaptive methods in computer-based test delivery at ACER.

Using information from computer-based assessments to improve learning

The use of technology in assessment has become widespread. Initially, the gains in efficiency that result when scoring and reporting processes can be automated were seen as the primary advantage of this change of mode. It is increasingly being recognised, however, that an innovation of even greater importance is the potential of computer-delivered assessments to give previously inaccessible insights into learning processes.

Assessments in interactive digital learning environments

This project will investigate ways of using advances in technology to increase the information provided for learning and assessments in digital environments.