National Benchmarks

This page is part of the transcript of a presentation given by Glenn Rowley, General Manager Policy Measurement and Research, of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority on Monday 15 September, 2003. The presentation was delivered to central and regional personnel with responsibilities in curriculum and school improvement. Government schools, Catholic Education Officers and personnel from the Association of Independent Schools were represented.

The full presentation is also available as a PowerPoint file if you wish to download it:

• National Benchmarks: Reporting To Parents 2003 (PowerPoint - 1.5MB)
  this file may take up to 4 Minutes 15seconds via a 56KB modem.

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What are National Benchmarks?

Benchmarks are a set of indicators or descriptors that represent nationally agreed minimum acceptable standards for literacy and numeracy at a particular year level.

'Minimum acceptable standard' means a critical level of literacy and numeracy without which a student will have difficulty making sufficient progress at school.

Benchmarks represent only the essential elements of literacy and numeracy and not the full range of the curriculum at a particular year level.

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Why have benchmarks?

All Education Ministers have agreed that the purpose of the literacy and numeracy benchmarks is to:

"describe nationally agreed minimum acceptable standards for literacy and numeracy for a particular year level, and enable State and Territory reporting of aggregate student achievement data against these common standards to the Australian community through the Annual National Report on Schooling".

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Where did benchmarks come from?

In March 1997 Education Ministers agreed on a new National Goal:

'that every child leaving primary school should be numerate, and be able to read, write and spell at an appropriate level.'

They also agreed on a sub-goal that:

'every child commencing school from 1998 will achieve a minimum acceptable literacy and numeracy standard within four years',

recognising that a very small percentage of students suffering from severe disabilities may be unable to achieve the minimum standards.

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National Literacy and Numeracy Plan

The National Literacy and Numeracy Plan consisted of the following key elements:

• comprehensive assessment of all students as early as possible, to identify students at risk of not making adequate progress
• intervening as early as possible to address the needs of students identified as at risk
• the development of agreed national benchmarks in literacy and numeracy, against which all students' achievement can be measured
• professional development for teachers to support its key elements.
  

The plan called for:

• assessment of students against the national benchmarks using rigorous state-based assessment procedures
  
• progress towards national reporting by systems on student achievement against the benchmarks.

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How is benchmarking data collected?

State and Territory school authorities conduct their own literacy and numeracy tests annually, to monitor student performance against the local curriculum, across the full range of student ability.

National benchmark achievement data is later derived from these results.

Comparability of results obtained through the different state-based assessment programs is being achieved using an equating process.

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How is benchmarking data reported?

Under the National Literacy and Numeracy Plan, all States and Territories have agreed to report student achievement data against the benchmarks to the Australian community through the Ministerial Council on Education, Employment, Training and Youth Affairs (MCEETYA) Annual National Report on Schooling in Australia.

Reporting is in terms of achievement or non-achievement of the benchmark standards.

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How are benchmarks arrived at?

Benchmark descriptions are generated, including:

• professional elaborations that provide a more detailed description of student achievement at the benchmarking level, needed by teachers and other educationists
• examples of student work that illustrate a level of achievement at, not above or below, the minimum acceptable benchmark standard.

Benchmarks are not tests. National benchmark data is gained from the tests that are conducted by educational authorities in the States and Territories.

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Defining Benchmarks

Writing Benchmark: Year 3

At the benchmark standard, students compose simple pieces of writing that make sense to the reader and show a basic understanding of the writing task.

The pieces of writing contain a few ideas related to the task and topic. The ideas are usually briefly expressed.

The pieces of writing show evidence of some organisation of the subject matter (for example, a simple beginning, middle and end in a story).

They may also include irrelevant details, or ideas not well tied into the writing.

Reading Benchmark: Year 5

At the benchmark standard, students read and understand a range of texts suitable for this year level, for example chapter books, junior novels, junior reference material, magazines, newspapers and the electronic media. Texts that these students are able to read may have:

• varied sentence beginnings
• a significant amount of new vocabulary, as long as this is explained by text and illustrations
• some long groups of words (for example, the largest planet so far discovered)
• some use of figurative language (for example, his legs were turning to rubber).

When students read and understand texts like these, they can:

• identify the main purpose of a text (for example, choose a title for a text to highlight its purpose
• identify the main idea in a text
• identify the order of ideas and information in factual texts
• find directly stated information in the written text and/or illustrations
• make links between ideas in a text (for example, link information from a heading and written text)
• work out the meaning of unfamiliar phrases and words (for example, her face was as white as a sheet).

Numeracy Benchmarks: Year 3

Year 3 students are expected to:

• read and write whole numbers up to 999
• compare and order numbers up to 99
• demonstrate their knowledge of place value (for example, know that 86 can be written as 8 tens and 6 ones)
• recognise and show one-half of an object (for example, half a biscuit) and one-half of a group of objects (for example, half of 20 pencils)
• count forwards to and backwards from 99
• identify and continue simple patterns involving numbers up to 99 (for example, continue counting patterns such as 3, 6, 9, 12, ...)
• remember, or work out, basic addition facts to 10 + 10, the matching subtraction facts and extensions of those facts (for example, 23 – 9 = 14)
• add and subtract whole numbers (to 99) by using mental and written methods or by using a calculator
• use real objects in solving simple multiplication and division problems (for example, share 6 biscuits equally with a friend)
• solve simple problems set in familiar situations (for example,. how many of 26 children are left if 12 go to the library)
• check that answers are reasonable given the context
• add up coins (up to $5.00) and know whether they have enough to buy a particular item.

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How does each State measure performance against the benchmarks?

Victoria administers AIM tests of literacy and numeracy every year.

'Experts' have estimated the scores on the 1999 AIM tests that correspond to minimal (benchmark) performance. Scores from each new AIM test are mapped onto the same scale (defined by the 1999 AIM test score scale). 'Benchmark' scores are generated on the new AIM tests.

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Margin for Error

There was uncertainty in:

• determining what would be regarded as benchmark performance
• translating benchmark performance into scores on the 1999 AIM tests.

There is a margin for error:

• when 2003 AIM test performance is equated to the 1999 scale in assessing the achievement of every student.

Thus judgments about benchmark performance are made with less than 100 per cent confidence.

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Minister's Statement on improved educational outcomes

"Parents/carers have a right to know exactly how their child's progress and learning performance compares with Victorian and national standards. This should be communicated to parents in clear ways and schools need to respond with revised learning strategies, where necessary."

The Hon. Lynne Kosky, MP
Minister for Education and Training
Improved Educational Outcomes: A Better Reporting and Accountability System for Schools, October 2002 (www.education.vic.gov.au).