Assessment Research Centre
Encyclopedia
The Assessment Research Centre (ARC) is a research centre based in the Melbourne Graduate School of Education, at the University of Melbourne
University of Melbourne
The University of Melbourne is a public university located in Melbourne, Victoria. Founded in 1853, it is the second oldest university in Australia and the oldest in Victoria...

. The Centre was founded in 1989 by Professor Patrick Griffin. The Centre is active in educational measurement and evaluation projects locally, nationallyand internationally.

Mission

The Centre focuses on improving assessment and reporting through a four-step process of research
Research
Research can be defined as the scientific search for knowledge, or as any systematic investigation, to establish novel facts, solve new or existing problems, prove new ideas, or develop new theories, usually using a scientific method...

, publication
Academic publishing
Academic publishing describes the subfield of publishing which distributes academic research and scholarship. Most academic work is published in journal article, book or thesis form. The part of academic written output that is not formally published but merely printed up or posted is often called...

, development and training
Training
The term training refers to the acquisition of knowledge, skills, and competencies as a result of the teaching of vocational or practical skills and knowledge that relate to specific useful competencies. It forms the core of apprenticeships and provides the backbone of content at institutes of...

. These processes provide the framework for strategic planning by the Centre and guide the Centre's core business as well as its link to the University's mission. Research that leads to change, strategically affects change, or sets up the basis for change and improvement in assessment, forms the focus of the Centre's work.
  • Research
The Centre focuses on research either in or using assessment. All activities and projects have a research focus and emphasise assessment or evaluation models based on assessment. The Centre's research program is its basic tool for educational change. Assessment research is regarded as a way of testing ideas, of checking the theoretical and practical nature of theories, new approaches and ideas.

  • Publications
Through publishing the research outcomes in a variety of media to cater for a wide variety of audiences, the Centre is able to disseminate its ideas and procedures to assess the change process.

  • Development
The development strategies employed by the Centre translate research outcomes into materials that practitioners can evaluate and use. The end user is one who can judge the practicality of research outcomes and their application potential. This is the basis of the change and improvement practices. Therefore, the development of materials is also given priority in each project.

  • Training
Each project at the development stage incorporates plans for a series of seminars, workshops, publications and other means of dissemination. The Centre conducts a series of short course training programs in assessment research and related fields. Graduate supervision and teaching of award and non-award courses complements the Centre’s research program by having graduates actively participating in components of the Centre’s research agenda.

Projects

  • The ARC previously worked on evaluating the Regional Network system in the Victorian education system.
  • The ARC currently operates an online testing facility, The Assessment Research Centre Online Testing System (ARCOTS)
  • The ARC is involved in an ongoing Literacy Assessment Project.

Completed Projects

The ARC has completed a large number of projects, including:
  • Problem Solving ARC Linkage
    Australian Research Council
    The Australian Research Council is the Australian Government’s main agency for allocating research funding to academics and researchers in Australian universities. Its mission is to advance Australia’s capacity to undertake research that brings economic, social and cultural benefit to the...

  • Sydney University Multiple Mini-Interviews (MMI)
  • Vietnam
    Vietnam
    Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...

     Major Data Analysis Project
  • Leadership
    Leadership
    Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task". Other in-depth definitions of leadership have also emerged.-Theories:...

     Development Framework
  • Vietnamese Secondary
    Education in Vietnam
    Giáo Dục Việt Nam chia làm 5 cấp học: pre-primary, primary, intermediate, secondary, and higher education. Giáo dục chính qui gồm 12 năm học cơ bản. Giáo dục cơ bản bao gồm 5 năm Giáo dục tiểu học, 4 năm Giáo dục Trung học cơ sở và 3 năm Trung học Phổ thông...

     Teacher Project
  • Determinants of Literacy and Numeracy among Primary School Children in Vietnam
  • Review of the Australian Qualifications Framework
    Australian Qualifications Framework
    The Australian Qualifications Framework provides the hierarchy of educational qualifications in Australia. It is administered nationally by the Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. Few qualifications outside the system are accepted by employers or for...

     Guidelines for Certificates I-IV, Diploma and Advanced Diploma Qualifications
  • Profiling Literacy and Numeracy for Indigenous
    Indigenous Australians
    Indigenous Australians are the original inhabitants of the Australian continent and nearby islands. The Aboriginal Indigenous Australians migrated from the Indian continent around 75,000 to 100,000 years ago....

    Preschool Children


External links

  • http://www.edfac.unimelb.edu.au/arc/
  • http://www.edfac.unimelb.edu.au/aboutus/structure/centres.html
  • http://www.edfac.unimelb.edu.au/
  • http://www.unimelb.edu.au/
  • http://www.arc-alp.com/alp/welcome.php
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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