Breaching the standardised assessment boundary: Assessment for learning as a field of exchange

The introduction of the Australian curriculum, the use of standardised testing (e.g. NAPLAN) and the My School website are couched in a context of accountability. This circumstance has stimulated and in some cases renewed a range of boundaries in Australian Education. The consequences that arise from standardised testing have accentuated the boundaries produced by social reproduction in education which has led to an increase in the numbers of students disengaging from mainstream education and applying for enrolment at the Edmund Rice Education Australia Flexible Learning Centre Network (EREAFLCN). Boundaries are created for many young people who are denied access to credentials and certification as a result of being excluded from or in some way disengaging from standardised education and testing. Young people who participate at the EREAFLCN arrive with a variety of forms of cultural capital that are not valued in current education and employment fields. This is not to say that these young people’s different forms of cultural capital have no value, but rather that such funds of knowledge, repertoires and cultural capital are not valued by the majority of powerful agents in educational and employment fields. How then can the qualitative value of traditionally unorthodox - yet often intricate, ingenious, and astute - versions of cultural capital evident in the habitus of many young people be made to count, be recognised, be valuated? Can a process of educational assessment be a field of capital exchange and a space which breaches boundaries through a valuating process? This paper reports on the development of an innovative approach to assessment in an alternative education institution designed for the re-engagement of ‘at risk’ youth who have left formal schooling. A case study approach has been used to document the engagement of six young people, with an educational approach described as assessment for learning as a field of exchange across two sites in the EREAFLCN. In order to capture the broad range of students’ cultural and social capital, an electronic portfolio system (EPS) is under trial. The model draws on categories from sociological models of capital and reconceptualises the eportfolio as a sociocultural zone of learning and development. Results from the trial show a general tendency towards engagement with the EPS and potential for the attainment of socially valued cultural capital in the form of school credentials. In this way restrictive boundaries can be breached and a more equitable outcome achieved for many young Australians

Enacting dialogue: the impact of promoting Philosophy for Children on the literate thinking of identified poor readers, aged 10.

The Philosophy for Children in Schools Project (P4CISP) is a research project to monitor and evaluate the impact of Philosophy for Children (P4C) on classroom practices. In this paper the impact of P4C on the thinking skills of you children aged 10 is examined. Standardised tests indicated the children had below-average reading ages. The pupils were video recorded while engaged in discussion of questions they had formulated themselves in response to a series of texts in preparation for a community of philosophical enquire. Group discussions were analysed, paying attention to verbal and non-verbal communication. We argue that reading scores do not necessarily indicate inability to engage in literate thinking. When dialogic approaches are used and pupils are given opportunities to work in small group to formulate their own questions and evaluate their potential for generating enquiry, they demonstrate their ability to use higher-order language skills. Dialogic approaches can challenge the hegemonic impact of standardised testing that dominates modern schooling A dialogic approach to teaching listens to pupil voice and has the potential to change how adults view children and contribute to an epistemological paradigm shift away from positivism towards dialogism

Comparison of standardised versus non-standardised methods for testing the in vitro potency of oxytetracycline against mannheimia haemolytica and pasteurella multocida

The in vitro pharmacodynamics of oxytetracycline was established for six isolates of each of the calf pneumonia pathogens Mannheimia haemolytica and Pasteurella multocida. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC), minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) and bacterial time-kill curves were determined in two matrices, Mueller Hinton broth (MHB) and calf serum. Geometric mean MIC ratios, serum:MHB, were 25.2:1 (M. haemolytica) and 27.4:1 (P. multocida). The degree of binding of oxytetracycline to serum protein was 52.4%. Differences between serum and broth MICs could not be accounted for by oxytetracycline binding to serum protein. In vitro time-kill data suggested a co-dependent killing action of oxytetracycline. The in vitro data indicate inhibition of the killing action of oxytetracycline by serum factor(s). The nature of the inhibition requires further study. The outcome of treatment with oxytetracycline of respiratory tract infections in calves caused by M. haemolytica and P. multocida may not be related solely to a direct killing action

Psychological Processes Mediate the Impact of Familial Risk, Social Circumstances and Life Events on Mental Health

<p>Results of a structural equation model testing the mediating effects of the psychological processes of response style and self-blame on the contribution of familial mental health history, relationship status, income and education, social inclusion and life events on mental health problems and well-being, with S-B χ² (3,199, N = 27,397) = 126,654·8, p<·001; RCFI = ·97; RMSEA = ·04 (·038–·039). The path diagram shows completely standardised robust parameter estimates which represent the relative contribution of each latent factor to the model. All coefficients are statistically significant, p<·001. Latent factors are represented by ovals. The double headed arrow between mental health problems and well-being represents the correlations between these latent constructs.</p

Trends in HIV prevalence and risk behaviours among men who have sex with men from 2013 to 2017 in Nanjing, China: a consecutive cross-sectional survey.

OBJECTIVE:To examine the trends of HIV prevalence, risk behaviours and HIV testing among men who have sex with men (MSM) in Nanjing. DESIGN:Five consecutive cross-sectional surveys. SETTING:Nanjing, China. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES:HIV and syphilis prevalence, HIV testing rate and factors associated with HIV infection; demographic characteristics and behaviours. RESULTS:649, 669, 577, 633, 503 MSM were recruited from 2013 to 2017. HIV prevalence was 9.9%, 12.3%, 12.5%, 9.8% and 10.1%, respectively. Syphilis prevalence decreased with a range from 10.6% to 5.6%. Risk behaviours like unprotected anal intercourse (UAI) and unprotected virginal sex in the past 6 months decreased, but multiple sex partners and ever used rush popper rose significantly. MSM tested for HIV in the previous year remained stable from 57.0% to 64.1% (P=0.633). Multivariate analysis showed that tested for HIV in the past year was protective factor against HIV infection. MSM who had UAI in the past 6 months, sex role as receptive and dual, diagnosed with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in the past year and currently syphilis infected were risk factors for HIV infection. CONCLUSIONS:We observed stable high HIV prevalence, a steady HIV testing rate, decreasing syphilis prevalence and UAI among MSM in Nanjing. However, rush popper use rose dramatically. The HIV preventive strategies for MSM including condom promotion, HIV testing expansion and reduction of rush popper use, STDs screening and standardised treatment should be strengthened

Trends in on-farm performance testing of cattle and sheep in sub-Saharan Africa

Summarises past and present experiences with livestock performance testing in sub-Saharan Africa and outlines the role of networks in improving on-farm testing through the use of standardised testing methods and rapid data handling and feedback. Includes data on the distribution of cattle and sheep populations by ecological zone in sub-Saharan Africa. Presents current programmes for on-farm and on-station performance recording

The Impact of Standardised Testing on Later High Stakes Test Outcomes

Standardised tests are a common, yet contentious, feature of many countries’ schooling systems. In May 2010, over one-quarter of English primary schools boycotted that year’s mandatory age eleven standardised tests (colloquially known as SATs tests). This paper investigates the plausibly causal effect of participation in standardised testing on later end-of-schooling qualification (GCSE) attainment. After controlling for non-random boycott participation, and relying on a selection-on-observables argument, evidence is found of a statistically significant negative effect of boycott participation on various measures of GCSE attainment. Amongst other findings, pupils are estimated to be 0.7 per-cent less likely to achieve five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C due to not sitting their age eleven SATs tests. Thus, evidence is found that individual pupils’ subsequent attainment benefits from their own prior participation in standardised tests

Standards-based accountability : reification, responsibility and the ethical subject

Over the last two decades, teachers in Australia have witnessed multiple incarnations of the idea of &lsquo;educational accountability&rsquo; and its enactment. Research into this phenomenon of educational policy and practice has revealed various layers of the concept, particularly its professional, bureaucratic, political and cultural dimensions that are central to the restructuring of educational governance and the reorganization of teachers&rsquo; work. Today, accountability constitutes a core concept of neoliberal policy-making in education, both fashioning and normalizing what counts as teacher professionalism in the &lsquo;audit society.&rsquo; This article focuses specifically on the recent introduction by the Australian Federal Government of standardised literacy testing in&nbsp;all states across Australia, and raises questions about the impact of this reform on the work practices of English literacy teachers in primary and secondary schools. We draw on data collected as part of a major research project funded by the Australian Research Council, involving interviews with teachers about their experiences of implementing standardised testing. The article traces the ways in which teachers&rsquo; work is increasingly being mediated by standardised literacy testing to show how these teachers grapple with the tensions between state-wide mandates and a sense of their professional responsibility for their students

The Impact of Standardised Testing on Later High Stakes Test Outcomes

Standardised tests are a common, yet contentious, feature of many countries’ schooling systems. In May 2010, over one-quarter of English primary schools boycotted that year’s mandatory age eleven standardised tests (colloquially known as SATs tests). This paper investigates the plausibly causal effect of participation in standardised testing on later end-of-schooling qualification (GCSE) attainment. After controlling for non-random boycott participation, and relying on a selection-on-observables argument, evidence is found of a statistically significant negative effect of boycott participation on various measures of GCSE attainment. Amongst other findings, pupils are estimated to be 0.7 per-cent less likely to achieve five or more GCSEs at grades A* to C due to not sitting their age eleven SATs tests. Thus, evidence is found that individual pupils’ subsequent attainment benefits from their own prior participation in standardised tests