Memorandum to Schools 99/2009
15 September 2009
On Demand Testing New Items Trial Resend - October/November 2009
New Items Trial
The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) is developing new items for the On Demand Assessment program that will assist teachers to monitor their students’ development against the Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS) to Level 6. To ensure the validity of the new items and to determine their difficulty level, the VCAA will be conducting online item trials between 19 October and 19 November 2009.
The VCAA is seeking the participation of schools which are active users of the On Demand testing program to trial the new items online via the On Demand Linear Test function. Trial Linear Tests, each containing approximately 30 new items, will be available online from early October.
Participation in this trial is voluntary
Trial tests will be available for English and Mathematics and will cover VELS Standard Level 3 to working beyond Level 6, with the majority of new items targeting VELS Standard Levels 5, 6 and beyond 6.
As with current On Demand tests, teachers will need to download the Trial Linear Tests and set up sessions for their students to sit the tests.
Please note that as the trial is to determine the difficulty of items rather than a student’s ability, the VCAA recommends that teachers do not use the On Demand report outputs for the Trial Linear Tests. On completion of the trial the VCAA will provide schools with a program patch to remove the trial data from students’ records.
Participation in the Trials
Please register your participation by the new extended date of 16 October 2009
When registering to participate, schools must nominate a School Contact Person responsible for administering the New Items Trial at the school and for management of data extraction. Schools that have already registered need not re-register.
On Demand Item Level Data and Data Collection
As part of the new item trials, the VCAA will need to collect the On Demand item level data of students’ responses. This will enable calibration and integration of the new items into the On Demand system. Also, the VCAA will use the item level data for a system wide review of On Demand items.
The VCAA will provide the school contact with step-by-step instructions on extraction of the On Demand item level data from the school On Demand program and its return to the VCAA P-10 Assessment Unit.
If you have any queries regarding the New Items Trial please contact the project manager, Fran O’Mara, by phone on (03) 9225 2369 or by email: o'mara.frances.f@edumail.vic.gov.au
Attachements
- Agreement to participate form (DOC - 50KB)
