Queensland schools will receive the data on their students' Overall Position (OP) and QCS test results on December 22, and may be wondering how to do better said a Queensland University of Technology learning expert.
Judy Smeed, from QUT's School of Learning and Professional Studies, said schools needed to continually improve the percentage of their students who achieved high OPs and ensure those scores were maintained to attract good student enrolment numbers.
"Some parents use this data to make decisions about their children's schooling," Ms Smeed said.
"Poor OP scores could result in decreased student numbers."
Ms Smeed, who lectures in the use of educational data, said following the release of the Queensland Core Skill's performance data, some school leaders would be seeking better results.
"The way schools can improve their students' OP scores is to learn how to read their data which schools receive from the Queensland Studies Authority," she said.
"This will tell them the areas in which they need to improve."
Ms Smeed said that OPs were calculated by combining the Queensland Core Skills (QCS) test results achieved by the school as a whole with students' individual "achievement indicators", which ranks each student in the subjects that have studied during Years 11 and 12.
All students seeking an OP sit the QCS test, which assesses the 49 Common Curriculum Elements (CCEs) underpinning the Queensland senior syllabuses. CCEs cover abilities such as correct spelling, arithmetic, data analysis and interpreting the meaning of words and pictures. Different subjects are credited with addressing different combinations of CCEs.
Ms Smeed, who is also a university consultant to schools that request educational data analysis, said some schools employed external consultants to prepare students for the QCS test and assist with improving schools' data results.
"Some consultants take the 'bolt on' approach in preparing students for the QCS test by teaching them exam techniques and specific skills for the papers," she said.
"However, this knowledge is not passed onto teachers, leaving them in the dark, and does not improve the teaching of CCEs throughout the whole school's curriculum. For sustainable improvement, school data needs to be analysed and appropriate strategies identified to improve results.
"QUT consultants combine the 'bolt on' approach of preparing students for the test with the 'embedded' approach, which involves analysing school data with staff and setting goals for improvement."
Media contact: Rachael Wilson, QUT media officer, 07 3138 1150 or rachael.wilson@qut.edu.au.
**High res image of Judy Smeed available for media use
