Improving learning means improving teaching - how can you use the data you gather for a teaching inquiry to improve teaching? After all, even though you may have a lot of teaching going on in your school, education is about learning and if there is no learning going on then there is no education.
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NZCER Blogs
A number of NZCER staff contribute to our blogs and we link to and draw on external expertise. We hope it is a useful source of information, ideas and support about NZCER's work and wider educational and assessment issues. We welcome your questions and comments.
Please refer to the NZCER community guidelines for participation on NZCER blog posts.
Meet the research team...
Welcome to the first update blog for NZCER's games for learning project. We're well into the scoping phase of the project and here's what we've been working on:
Read rest of post: Games for learning research project update #1
Date posted: 7 September 2015
As Term 3 starts, you are probably getting ready to start gathering student achievement data. Not only will you want to use this data to measure the impact of the changes to teaching and learning you’ve made this year, but you may also want it to become the basis for your next focused inquiry.
Read rest of post: Using data as the basis for your focused inquiry
Date posted: 28 July 2015
When I was a principal I confess we only ever assessed using the recommended test for each year group and we measured progress by the stanine. We had no idea the tests were designed to give teachers rich, descriptive information about the level of the curriculum each student is working in, and, what their next steps should be.
Read rest of post: New, improved ways to use the PATs
Date posted: 18 November 2014
I was working with a school recently and left them feeling good about using STAR because they had found out about a whole lot of new ways to use the data. As one teacher said, ‘You don’t know what you don’t know’. They suggested I get this information out there, so here goes.
Question #1: Did you know you can choose any test for any child?
Read rest of post: Education adviser on ways to use STAR
Date posted: 6 November 2014
The PAT scale score is very useful when describing achievement and progress.
Read rest of post: More about scale scores
Date posted: 4 June 2014
You’ve tested with the PATs. You have the results. Exactly how much progress have your students made over the year and is this average, below average or accelerated for their year group?
Some questions for you:
- how well have they done since the last assessment?
- is their progress average, below average, or accelerated?
Read rest of post: Real progress from the PATS
Date posted: 29 May 2014
Teachers making decisions about their students’ achievements based on a range of sources of evidence is the cornerstone of an effective cycle of inquiry in any school. The evidence-based cycle of inquiry is the engine that drives improvement to teaching and learning in classrooms and in school-wide initiatives (Timperley et al, 2010). Research says this is how you make a difference.
Read rest of post: Trusting the evidence
Date posted: 5 March 2014
On TKI Assessment Online, under ‘New Zealand's Approach to National Standards’, one of the reasons outlined for the introduction of the National Standards is to "affirm your ( the teacher) role as the professional who knows the most about your students’ achievement rather than relying on national tests."
Read rest of post: Gathering the evidence
Date posted: 18 February 2014
Schools often ask when they should use standardised testing. Twice a year? Once a year ? There is no definitive answer, just a few questions, which, when answered by the school, will make choosing the time of year to assess more logical.
Read rest of post: Planning when to assess
Date posted: 10 December 2013