A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM IN AUSTRALIA UNDER

1. A PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMIN 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

2. 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) • West Australia (Perth) • Northern Territory (Darwin) • Australian Capital Territory (Canberra) (60% population in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth & Adelaide (fertile plains of Eastern & SE coasts.)

3. 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.

4. Study of Australian System of School Education ( Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane & Sydney) Photo 3 Photo ACER Photo 1 Kerry Anne Photo 2 Photo 4 Photo 5 Photo 6

5. Meetings with educators, researchers and officials of Department of education in Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Sydney

6. 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.

7. 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

8. Visiting schools in AustraliaColorful 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.

9. 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.

10. Schools in Australia(approx.10,000) (Govt,Private and catholic (Private) Pre-Primary & primary Secondary College • 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 P-6 in NSW and Victoria P-7 in Queensland & South Australia P-12(prep to year 12) 6-12 or 7-12

11. 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 curriculumimplementation plan and submits it to the Departmentof 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.

12. 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.

13. AssessmentAssessment 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.

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. 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.

17. Sample report Card

18. Sample report Card

19. Sample report Card

20. Sample report Card

21. 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.

22. Reporting to parents An important feature of the reports is that they show achievement againsta single assessment scalethat covers 10 achievement bands from Year 3 to Year 9. This means that as a child does the NAPLAN tests every two years the parents will be able to compare the results with those from the previous test, and see his or her progress on the scale. Band 10 Band 9 Band 9 Band 8 Band 8 Band 8 Band 7 Band 7 Band 7 Band 6 Band 6 Band 6 Band 6 Band 5 Band 5 Band 5 Band 5 Band 4 Band 4 Band 4 Band 3 Band 3 Band 2 Band 1

23. Reporting to parents Each Year level Student Report will show 6 of the bands. Year 3 reports will show bands 1 to 6 Year 5 reports will show bands 3 to 8 Year 7 reports will show bands 4 to 9 Year 9 reports will show bands 5 to 10 Band 10 Band 9 Band 9 Band 8 Band 8 Band 8 Year 9 Band 7 Band 7 Band 7 Year 7 Band 6 Band 6 Band 6 Band 6 Year 5 Band 5 Band 5 Band 5 Band 5 Band 4 Band 4 Band 4 Year 3 Band 3 Band 3 Band 2 Band 1

24. 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.

25. Achievement Bands Band 10 Band 9 Band 9 Band 8 Band 8 Band 8 Band 7 Band 7 Band 7 Band 6 Band 6 Band 6 Band 5 Band 5 Band 4 Band 3 Band 10 Band 9 Band 8 Band 7 Band 6 Band 6 Band 5 Band 5 Band 5 Band 4 Band 4 Band 4 Students are above national minimum standard Band 3 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

26. 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.

27. 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.

28. 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).

29. 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 .

30. 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.