ACER offers a wide range of professional learning and training options to support you in making a real difference in students' learning.
If you would like to discuss any of the following options, please contact us at school.engagement@acer.org
Video conferences and school visits
Aimed at educators who are keen to develop and further their knowledge and understanding of PAT or other ACER school assessments. Ideally suited to staff responsible for administering or reporting on assessments, or for implementing teaching and learning strategies informed by assessment results.
Initial consultation (20-minute video conferences)
- Chat about PAT
- Chat about other ACER assessments
Cost: Nil
Extended consultation (90-minute video conference)
- PAT overview
- Understanding PAT Adaptive
- Interrogating PAT reports
- Monitoring PAT learning growth
Cost: $680.00 inc. GST
Workshops
The half-day and full-day workshops are tailored to your school's needs. Staff can ask questions and discuss with colleagues while looking at your school data in real time, with an ACER presenter available to answer any questions or assist in identifying areas of development.
Cost:
$1350.00 inc. GST per ACER presenter for half-day workshop (3 hours)
$2680.00 inc. GST per ACER presenter for full-day workshop (6 hours)
Note that all face-to-face school visits will incur travel and accommodation costs in addition to the initial registration fees. For workshop sessions of more than 25 attendees, two ACER presenters are required.
These sessions are priced for individual schools, for more information about group, system, network, or multiple school bookings, please contact the school.engagement@acer.org team.
Understanding PAT workshop
This workshop is designed for educators who want to develop their knowledge and understanding of PAT and the Progressive Achievement approach. It provides an overview of PAT implementation in the Maths and Reading domains, from accessing student data to identifying students’ next steps in their learning, in a range of school environments.
See a list of upcoming workshop dates here.
In this highly practical workshop, you will learn how to analyse student assessment data effectively to determine their understanding of key skills and concepts and identify their teaching and learning needs. It is highly recommended that you arrange access to the data in your school’s online account for use in this session to make the learning as relevant and realistic as possible.
Every step of the PAT assessment process will be covered, from tutorials and investigation tasks demonstrating how to access student data, to case studies illustrating simple reporting and data interrogation methods that will help you link data with teaching practice.
The evidence-based, holistic Progressive Achievement approach helps educators monitor student growth and target teaching where it is needed most, and the Understanding PAT workshop will show you how to get the most from your PAT data.
Cost: $440.00 incl. GST (per attendee)
Free webinars
Click the titles below to register your attendance.
All webinars are recorded and are available for registrants following the session, regardless of whether you are able to attend.
Q&A - All about PAT
Wednesday, 23 October| 4 pm AEDT
In this session, ACER’s expert team will answer questions and discuss effective practice on all things PAT. Join to see how different schools are using the assessment and allow us to expand on some of the more frequently asked questions.
Tracking the growth of student achievement
Wednesday, 6 November | 4 pm AEDT
This presentation will look at distinct types of growth and how to identify these within the PAT reports. We will also discuss and show different comparisons that can be made between your students and the norm data.
Unpacking the ACER Scholarship Tests
Tuesday, 12 November | 4pm AEDT
his session offers a comprehensive introduction to the ACER Scholarship Tests for educators and school leaders considering the program. The webinar will cover the tests and reports, programs and test packages and the administration process.
Understanding and interpreting data from assessments measuring abstract, kinetic, conceptual and critical reasoning skills
Wednesday, 4 December | 4pm AEDT
Join to explore what an assessment of critical reasoning skills can tell educators and to find out the benefits of understanding about student proficiency in a range of reasoning skills. We will explore how to unpack and effectively use this information.
Analysing data using ACER's Data Explorer (Adaptive tests)
Wednesday, 18 September | 4 pm AEST
This webinar will highlight the ACER Data Explorer including the Achievement, Student, Item Performance and Progress reports used to report results from our PAT Maths Adaptive and PAT Reading Adaptive assessments. Teachers can identify starting points, key trends and how to use data and resources to inform classroom decisions.
Analysing data using ACER's Bands, Group and Student reports (Linear Tests)
Tuesday, 17 September | 4 pm AEST
In this session we will highlight the PAT Bands, Group, Individual and Longitudinal reports used to report results from our linear assessments (PAT Maths 4th Edition, PAT Reading 5th Edition, etc.). These reports can be used to understand students’ achievement and observe learning progress. Teachers can identify starting points, key trends and how to use data and resources to inform classroom decisions.
The session will cover how to identify strengths, weaknesses and/or gaps across a class, cohort, or whole school level and how trends can appear within these diverse groups.
Q&A with John Munro - How schools can identify and provide for high-ability students
Friday, 6 September | 4.15 pm AEST
This session will draw from John Munro’s new handbook for school leadership, Leading improvement for gifted and talented students. Focusing on offering practical insights into how gifted and high-ability students learn, what forms a high-ability learning profile and the next steps your school can take to better meet the needs of these students.
To order a copy of Leading improvement for gifted and talented students go to: https://acer.ac/giftedandtalented
Coping, resilience and fortitude: Supporting adolescents in schools
Thursday, 29 August | 4 pm AEST
This presentation will address the relationship between coping, resilience, and fortitude and how these concepts can be readily translated to provide a resource for educational leaders, teachers, and students to contribute to the wellbeing and thriving of individuals and the community at large.
Unpacking ACER’s Adolescent Coping Scale for Schools
Wednesday, 12 June | 4 pm AEST
This session will outline the key features of ACER’s updated online Adolescent Coping Scale for Schools. The session aims to help educators understand how adolescents rate the usage and helpfulness of 20 evidence-based coping strategies and gain insight into student’s coping profiles.
Using PAT data to target, group and identify student learning
Wednesday, 29 May | 4 pm AEST
Interrogating your PAT data is a staple of our Progressive Achievement Approach. In this session we will outline how to target the needs of students by identifying their strengths, weaknesses and gaps within the PAT results data. We will present best practice advice and recommendations on how to interpret the results to inform teaching and learning.
Preparing staff and students for assessments
Wednesday, 22 May | 4 pm AEST
This session is going to give general assessment advice and recommendations for both staff and students. This advice will focus on the preparation tasks and communication required and how to set up an effective assessment policy to prepare staff and students for any assessment. We will discuss different recommendations throughout the entire testing process including prior to testing, during the testing period and post testing.