scholarly journals Assessment Resource Banks for School-Based and National Assessment

Author(s):  
Cedric Croft

The New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER) is developing assessment resource banks (ARBs) in mathematics and science. The ARBs are broader than traditional item banks, as they contain assessment resources varying from selected-response items to practical tasks. They reflect current New Zealand curriculum statements in mathematics and science, and are presented as computerised databases with classification and retrieval systems which enable users to select assessment material to match teaching objectives. The ARBs are available via the Internet for school-based uses within New Zealand. Their possible role in national assessment policy is also being considered. This article outlines the development and structure of the ARBs, summarises an evaluation of school-based and national uses undertaken in 1996, and discusses the future possibilities of ARBs for school-based and national assessment purposes.

Author(s):  
Cedric Croft

The Assessment Resource Banks (ARBs) in English, mathematics and science have been designed to reflect current New Zealand curriculum statements and provide schools with an ever-increasing range of valid and reliable assessment material. They are available on the Internet and are now established as the main source of school-based assessment material for New Zealand schools. During their early development phase, national and school-based uses were seen as dual elements, but they now function exclusively within a school-based environment. This article outlines the development and present structure of the ARBs, discusses their consolidation as a school-based resource, and suggests future directions.


2012 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 374-385 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carol Mutch

In line with international trends, assessment policies and practices have increased in importance in New Zealand over the last two decades. The focus in this article is on examining the contested nature of the development of an assessment culture in New Zealand — one that meets the needs of the government by providing information on school accountability and yet maintains the autonomy of schools to continue school-based decision-making. The article begins by providing background to the New Zealand context and a brief description of current policies. The main emphasis, however, is on three companion themes in the development of assessment policy — assessment and improvement, assessment and accountability, and assessment and sustainability. These themes were drawn from an analysis of key documents and aligned with a conceptual framework drawn from the schooling effectiveness literature to provide a lens to examine the past, present and possible future of assessment policy and practice in New Zealand.


2017 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 282-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darius Fagan

As technology continues to improve and become more intertwined with our everyday activities, more and more opportunities present themselves for using technology to enhance the work that we do. This article outlines the introduction of Samsung smartphones to a large number of the Department of Corrections’ workforce, as well as giving details on two applications that are being used to improve the day-to-day operations and safety of our community corrections staff in New Zealand. In early 2014, The New Zealand Department of Corrections rolled out Samsung smartphones to over 3000 staff, to aid them with their day-to-day work operations. The idea behind providing staff with smartphones was to allow staff to use their work email and calendar on-the-go, as well as to access the internet when out of the office. The introduction of smartphones represented a marked leap forward in staff mobility and productivity.


Author(s):  
Ferri Susanto

The students' reading comprehension is very lowat the pandemic era, Theyare difficult to understand  the text, they don’t haveEnough English vocabulary, Many teachers/lecturer used  techniques that wereless precise in teaching reading, and the students got reading comprehension scores below the minimum completion criteria (KKM). This research aims to determine whether using Reading, Encoding, Annotating, and Pondering techhnique as Learning process in pandemic era to improve reading comprehension stability for students.This research is conducted by using descriptive qualitative method, which describe of students’s problem at pandemic era by zoom in the Internet after that, analyze the data which used percentage.The researcher also has done pre-assesment for supporting accurate data.The subjects of this research were 20 students, consisted 11 females and 9 males. The subject Instrument used in this research is reading comprehension test, researcher observation cheklits and field notes, student observation Cheklist and field notes, interview and documentation by zoom at the Internet. According to avarage results, the increasing for  students' reading comprehension ability on the pre-assessment  is the average student reaches, (55.14%), learning 1  (62.15%), learning 2  (70.14%), and learning 3 (75.65%)  avarage students’ score increase and got standardization of school. Based on the result in each levels which  there is  indeed REAP technique could increasing students’ reading comprehension text.


2021 ◽  
pp. 510-526
Author(s):  
Donna Cross ◽  
Amy Barnes ◽  
Melanie Epstein ◽  
Natasha Pearce ◽  
Kevin Runions ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Zwelithini Bongani Dhlamini

In the study reported on here I evaluated the alignment between the Annual National Assessment (ANA) and Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS). Theoretical perspectives were drawn from the Survey Enacted Curriculum (SEC), while quantitative correlational methods were used to determine the alignment between ANA and TIMSS using 2 variables in the assessments, topics and cognitive levels. The research design was the correlational prediction design. The evaluation revealed that the Porter’s alignment index between ANA and TIMSS was 0.657 in 2012, 0.728 in 2013 and 0.681 in 2014. Statistically, this was significantly low at the Alpha level of 0.05, in accordance with Fulmer’s critical values at 20, 60 and 120 standard points. The low statistical significance of the alignment indices justifies discrepancies in topics and cognitive levels for ANA and TIMSS, justifying misalignment in what was tested in the two assessments. It is recommended that alignment studies be sanctioned frequently by the ANA developers as one of many measures to gauge the performance of the curriculum both in a national and international context.


2005 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 90-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lincoln Dahlberg

Much communications research is in agreement about the failure of mass media to adequately facilitate a public sphere of open and reflexive debate necessary for strong democratic culture. In contrast , the internet's decentralised, two-way communication is seen by many commentators to be extending such debate. However, there is some ambivalence among critical theorists as to the future role of the internet in advancing the public sphere. On the one hand, the internet is providing the means fot the voicing of positions and identities excluded from the mass media. On the other hand, a number of problem are limiting the extensiveness and effetivness of this voicing. One of the most significant problems is the corporate colonisation of cyberspace, and subsequent marginalisation rational-critical communication. It is this problem that i will focus on in this article, with reference to examples from what I refer to as the 'New Zealand online public sphere'. I show how online corporate portals and media sites are gaining the most attention orientated to public communication, including news, information, and discussion. These sites generally support conservative discourse and consumer practices. The result is a marginalisation online of the very voices marginalised offline, and also of the critical-reflexive form of communication that makes for a strong public sphere. I conclude by noting that corporate colonisation is as yet only partial, and control of attention and media is highly contested by multiple 'alternative' discursive spaces online.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Gregor James Fountain

<p>This case study takes an historical perspective to explore the curriculum decision-making of History teachers in New Zealand. It is argued that between 1986 and 2005, Year 12 History teachers were caught in-between curriculum reform on one hand, which encouraged teacher autonomy, and on the other hand, assessment reform which reduced teacher autonomy. While teachers in this study utilised the autonomy provided by internal assessment to develop engaging class and assessment activities, they largely avoided topics in Māori, Pasifika and Women’s history which were promoted through the syllabus. Factors which contributed to teachers' decisions concerning curriculum topics included teachers' perceptions of the nature of disciplinary History, personal interest and resource availability. The primary focus on this thesis is an assessment of the impact of changes to national assessment for qualifications on Year 12 History programmes. It argues that mandated assessment for qualifications is the single-most determining factor on classroom practice. It is also argued that the assessment style which emerged for Year 12 History through the National Certificate of Educational Achievement disconnected History assessment from the intentions of its written curriculum which emphasised disciplinary History's underlying and interconnected process of gathering, analysing and presenting historical information. In some cases, the NCEA hindered rather than enhanced the development of a school-based curriculum at this level.</p>


2003 ◽  
Vol 105 (1/2) ◽  
pp. 96-110 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Barton
Keyword(s):  

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