This study aims to assess the validity of the Online Multiliteracy Assessment for students in Years 5 and 6. The Online Multiliteracy Assessment measures students' abilities in making and creating meaning, using a variety of different modes of communication, such as text, audio and video. The study involved selecting two groups of students: the…

Although the teaching of children's oral language is critical to both their social development and academic success, the assessment of oral language development poses many challenges for classroom teachers. The aim of the study is to develop an approach that: (i) enables teachers to assess oral language in a reliable, valid and comparable manner…

This article reports on ways in which one Australian independent school seeks to develop and sustain best practice and academic integrity in its programs through a system of ongoing program evaluation, involving a systematic, cyclical appraisal of the school's suite of six faculties. A number of different evaluation methods have been and continue…

This is a mixed methods investigation of consistency in PhD examination. At its core is the quantification of the content and conceptual analysis of examiner reports for 804 Australian theses. First, the level of consistency between what examiners say in their reports and the recommendation they provide for a thesis is explored, followed by an…

In their interactions with international students, either at home or abroad, teachers often find themselves speaking on behalf of the nation. Overseas students arrive with expectations created in the international education marketplace, expectations that depend more on a nationalist than on an internationalist outlook. Students also have ideas of…

This study examined a model of assessment that could be applied nationally for Year Twelve Vocational Education and Training (VET) subjects and which could yield both a differentiating score and recognition of competence. More than fifty colleges across all states and territories of Australia field-tested the approach over one school year. Results…

The need to extend systematic assessment procedures for Australia's high school juniors and seniors to a broader range of learning outcomes, develop better reporting methods, and provide results that can be compared reasonably are discussed.Several approaches to achieving these objectives are compared. (MSE)

Higher education performance indicators are being increasingly used in the United Kingdom, United States, and Australia. A model of performance indicators was applied to departments of education in 17 Australian universities, ranking departments on inputs, processes, and outputs. Implications of various weighting schemes are discussed. Tables…

The process and criteria by which the Humanities and Social Sciences panel of the Australian Research Council evaluates research proposals are described and discussed. Peer review is the primary method of evaluation, and the primary criteria are the potential of a given proposal for significant conceptual advance and research/researcher quality.…

Critically examines use of student opinion surveys (SOSs) at eight Australian universities. Finds that current SOSs are neither designed nor structured according to sound questionnaire technique and, used as part of a teaching evaluation system, they have serious flaws. Deficiencies include their use as the sole measure of teaching effectiveness…

Two student evaluation surveys of "best" and "worst" teaching were administered to a sample of Australian university students. Separate factor analyses of the two surveys revealed the same factors that had been identified in American settings, demonstrating the feasibility of transferring American surveys to an Australian…

Two approaches to student evaluation in Australian postsecondary technical and further education (TAFE), both vocational and academic, are discussed and their relative merits considered. One approach addresses the cognitive processes and interpersonal attributes of the graduate, and the other focuses on prespecified, observable skills. (Author/MSE)

An innovative instructional program designed to improve children's skills in referential communication, especially in communicating descriptions and instructions, is evaluated. Insights gained into classroom organization and the teacher's level of adoption of the innovation are discussed. (MSE)

This paper argues that evaluation of advanced skills in teaching should be based on pedagogical content knowledge that good teachers should have but nonteachers in the discipline might not. Several schemes used in Victoria (Australia) for appraisal of advanced teaching skills are examined, and an alternative to competency-based approaches is…

Gender differences in participation and performance at "high stakes" examinations have received much public attention, which has often focused on mathematics and science subjects. This paper describes the innovative forms of assessment introduced into mathematics and science subjects within the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE)…