A professional Develop Programe in Australia

							A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM
             IN AUSTRALIA
                 UNDER

2008 Endeavour Executive Scholarship
(Sponsored by Department of Education,
Science & Training, Australia)

Customized Study of Australian Education
focusing on school based curriculum,
Assessment & reporting methods
          AUSTRALIA
     (a country in Southern
          Hemisphere)
     Population – 22 million

   Democratic Govt.
   World’s smallest continent
   Capital : Canberra
   6 states and 2 territories
       New South Wales (Sydney)
       Queensland (Brisbane)
       Victoria (Melbourne)
       Tasmania (Hobart)
       South Australia (Adelaide)           (60% population in Sydney,
       West Australia (Perth)         Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth & Adelaide
       Northern Territory (Darwin)    (fertile plains of Eastern & SE coasts.)
       Australian Capital Territory
        (Canberra)
Australian council for Educational Research
        (ACER) (Host organization )


   Non government, non profit organization.

   Undertakes major educational research & development
    programs at national & state level in Australia.

   Provides reliable support to educational policy makers.

   Prepares National & International basic skill tests.

   Conducts National & International surveys based on
    National & International benchmarking tests.
Study of Australian System of School Education
  ( Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane & Sydney)



                                      Photo 3
  Photo ACER       Kerry Anne
    Photo 1         Photo 2




    Photo 4          Photo 5         Photo 6
Meetings with educators, researchers and officials of Department
of education in Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Sydney
Role of Department of Education & Boards of studies

  Pivotal in providing & maintaining quality in education
   in each state
  Extensive support & guidance to teaches for
   implementing curriculum, constructing assessments,
   measuring performance and reporting results
  Resources for children with special learning needs(
   funding )& well performing children (opportunity class)
  Recognize the role of school heads and teachers as
   crucial in improving student learning and provide
   resources for their Professional Development.
  Conducts regular performance audits for schools and
   teachers.
   Govt. schools required to submit a Strategic plan (for
    four years) and Annual implementation plan focusing
    student performance and achievement to the
    department of education.

    Schools submit a comprehensive self evaluation
    report every year.

    Teachers required to submit a portfolio mentioning
    their performance and professional development
    (After every three years) to department of education
            Visiting schools in Australia
Colorful and smart classrooms, full of resource materials,1:25 (teacher
student ratio), Differentiated teaching, Teacher acts like a felicitator of
learning, focus on developing thinking and creative skills of students.
     Australian System of Education
   Ranked one of the best in the world
   Relevant, reliable and skill based
   State & territory responsibility
   Free for students studying in govt. schools
   Higher education contribution Allowance for higher education
   Govt. schools funded by state & territory govt. funds from
    federal govt.
   Private schools funded by fees + federal Govt. grant.
   Catholic (Private) schools funded by grants from church.
   66.8% students attend government schools in Australia
   Year 1 to 10 are compulsory schooling year.
   No formal prescription of text books by the state Govt. Boards of
    studies provide resources for implementing the curriculum.
                 Schools in Australia(approx.10,000)
                 (Govt,Private and catholic (Private)

              Pre-Primary &            Secondary College
                 primary


          P-6 in NSW and Victoria       P-12 (prep to year
          P-7 in Queensland &           12) 6-12 or 7-12
          South Australia
   Primary Schools:
   One generalist teacher for each year
     Supplemented by Special teacher for Music, Physical Education &
      Information Technology and Language Other Than English.
     More than 50% instructional time spent on English and Maths.

   Secondary Schools:
     Specialist teacher for each subject
     Emphasis is on skill based learning
     Vocational Education & Training programs available after year 10
         Curriculum in schools
 Each state has own curriculum for its schools
  developed by its boards of studies and curriculum
  authorities.
 National curriculum Framework underdevelopment in
  collaboration with state educational authorities.
 Each school develops its own curriculum
  implementation plan and submits it to the
  Department of Education .
 Curriculum of the schools contains essential
  standards which define what students should know
  and be to do at different years. It recognizes that
  learning is a continuum and different students
  develop at different rates.
         Key Learning Areas in schools
              English
              Mathematics
              Health and physical education
              Science
              Study of Society and environment
              Language Other Than English
              (LOTE)
              Technology
              Arts


In some schools LOTE is introduced in Primary years (Character language or sign
language)
In Most schools LOTE is introduced in secondary years: (Japanese, Italian, French,
Chinese)
  In some schools Information Technology is taught under Technology
  And in some states this KLA requires students to design something like a model
  or a tool.
                          Assessment
      Assessment in school years is more developmental
          (formative) than judgmental (summative)


   Developmental Assessment
     Believes “Learning is a continuum where
        the process is more important than the product”.
     Assessment for learning & not Assessment of learning.
     Shifts focus from emphasis on comparing individual’s to emphasis
      on individual student’s progress along developmental continuum.
     Integral part of teaching & learning process.
     Reliable as a variety of assessment methods is employed.
    Assessment methods in common
     practice in Australian schools
   Port folio:




 It is a student progress folder containing collection of student
    work over a period of time.
 Performances:



    Performance like oral presentation dance, gymnastics &
    Music are either observed & assessed or audiotaped or
    videotaped for assessment.
Projects:


Collection & analysis of data & the preparation a report.
Products:




Pieces of artwork, articles made of wood, metal or plastic.
Paper & pen assessments:




Short answer, essays & multiple choice questions.
                   Reporting
   Twice a year to parents
   Comprehensive, diagnostic & qualitative
   Grades on the basis of a clear criteria for
    different levels of achievement
   On balance judgment of student’s level of
    achievement based on available evidence for
    various standards of learning.
Sample report Card
Sample report Card
Sample report Card
Sample report Card
      Ensuring Accountability through
          external assessment
From year 2008, introduction of NAPLAN (National Program
on Literacy and Numeracy)at year 3, 5, 7 & 9.

   The purpose of the National Assessment
    Program –Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) is
    to assess the literacy and numeracy learning of
    students in all Australian schools at years 3, 5, 7
    and 9.
   Skill based test not dominated by content of
    course.
   Diagnostic test.
          Reporting to parents
Band 10   An important feature of the reports is
Band 9    that they show achievement against a
          single assessment scale that covers 10
Band 8
          achievement bands from Year 3 to
Band 7    Year 9.
Band 6
Band 5    This means that as a child does the
Band 4    NAPLAN tests every two years the
          parents will be able to compare the
Band 3
          results with those from the previous
Band 2    test, and see his or her progress on
Band 1    the scale.
            Reporting to parents
Band 10                Each Year level Student Report will show
                       6 of the bands.
Band 9
Band 8
Band 7
          Year 9      Year 3 reports will show bands 1 to 6
          Year 7
Band 6
Band 5
          Year 5
                      Year 5 reports will show bands 3 to 8
Band 4
Band 3
          Year 3
                      Year 7 reports will show bands 4 to 9
Band 2
Band 1                Year 9 reports will show bands 5 to 10
                      These are names of the tests



                The Language conventions
                     test has 2 parts:
                          •spelling
                •grammar and punctuation.




        These circles show your
       child’s results for each test

These comments describe some
of the skills and understandings
 which students were asked to
    demonstrate in the tests.
Achievement Bands

Band 10                                                  Band 10
Band 9                                 Band 9            Band 9
Band 8               Band 8            Band 8            Band 8
Band 7               Band 7            Band 7            Band 7
Band 6    Band 6     Band 6            Band 6            Band 6
Band 5    Band 5     Band 5            Band 5            Band 5
Band 4    Band 4     Band 4            Band 4
Band 3    Band 3   Students are above national minimum standard
                      Band 3
Band 2    Band 2
                     Students are at the national minimum standard
Band 1    Band 1
                    Students are below the national minimum standard

          Year 3      Year 5            Year 7              Year 9
         Final Year School Certificate
Victoria
   Victorian curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) issues Victorian
    certificate of Education (VCE) at year 12. 50%external assessment to
    moderate school based assessment.
New South Wales
   Final school certificate issued by NSW board of studies at year 10 & year 12
    50% External assessment at year 12
South Australia
   South Australian certificate of Education (SACE) available after year 12
    Issued by Senior Secondary Assessment Board of South Australia.
   30% external assessment at year 12.
Queensland
   Leader in school based assessment
   No external exam even at year 12
   Queensland studies Authority issues QCE based in school assessment.
    skill test: A basic skill test based on 18 well defined curriculum items.
   Moderates school based assessment of year 12 by matching school based
    score to QCS test score obtain Overall Position & guides entry to
    universities & other vocational courses.
            Moderation of Scores

   School-based assessment is done by teachers in
    schools using a variety of assessment methods. The
    marks from this assessment process are moderated
    by various factors including the school group’s
    performance at external exams or advice from outside
    experts. The reason for doing this is so that direct
    comparisons can be made between assessment
    marks awarded by different schools and marks placed
    on the same scale.

   Moderation also guides admission to universities and
    other tertiary institutes.
       Pathways available to
    Australian students after year
           10 and year 12
    After year 10 and year 12 the students can join Tertiary and further
     education institutes (like polytechnics in India)
    After year 12, to seek admission in universities, students are
     provided an Enter score (moderated to National Comparisons) by
     Universities and Tertiary Admission Centres (UTAC), based on their
     score in year 12 certificate
    Universities may use Enter score in conjunction with other factors
     like work experience, interviews, presentations and assessment of
     portfolios.
    Admission in Medicine is based on Enter score + Undergraduate
     Medical Aptitude Test (UMAT) score and an interview. UMAT
     (developed by ACER consists of logical reasoning, nonverbal
     reasoning and understanding People)
    Students can take admission in Medicine after even doing
     graduation in any field but they have to sit in admission test
     (GAMSAT).
    Personal & Professional benefits
   Establishments of sound international links
   Gained an insight into the education system at
    school level.
   Planning to an make improvement in methods of
    administration ,assessment & reporting in my
    school:
   (i) Identifying Essential Learning Standards in
    English ,Hindi and Mathematics.
   (ii) Adding Thinking Tasks in routine
    curriculum.
   (iii) Planning and conducting academic and
    performance audits .
     Other topics of interest to be
    explored for paper presentation

   Developmental assessment
   Inquiry based learning (Thinking
    Curriculum)
   Moderation of school based assessment
    with external assessment.