Geoff Masters

In his first Teacher column of 2024, Professor Geoff Masters AO discusses assessment reforms proposed in New Zealand to reverse that country’s declining student performance.

Our latest Teacher’s Bookshelf features Building a World-Class Learning System: Insights from some top-performing school systems, by Professor Geoff Masters. It explores what British Columbia, Estonia, Finland, Hong Kong and South Korea have in common, the strategies they employ, and the decisions they are making to support students now and in the future.

‘A parent who is now told that their child’s reading is "developing" in each of years 3, 5, 7 and 9 is never likely to know what that means.’ Professor Geoff Masters AO says recent changes to NAPLAN reporting won’t help teachers and parents, and are ‘bewildering’.

‘Schools everywhere face ongoing challenges in better preparing young people for their future and ensuring that every student learns successfully and meets high expectations.’ Professor Geoff Masters AO argues addressing these challenges will require fundamental reform of the framework within which schools operate.

‘Underpinning PAT is recognition that every student is at some point in their long-term progress and is capable of further progress given learning opportunities at an appropriate level of stretch challenge.’ In his latest Teacher column, Professor Geoff Masters AO explores what makes ACER’s progressive achievement (PAT) resources special.

‘Every student should be on the same (inclusive) path of learning, [and] every student should make excellent ongoing progress and eventually achieve the same high standards,’ Professor Geoff Masters AO writes in his latest Teacher column, adding that the challenge is in creating the conditions to enable this to happen.

‘Computer adaptive tests offer a glimpse into the future of learning, the curriculum and assessment.’ In his new column for Teacher, Professor Geoff Masters AO discusses the role of adaptive tests in challenging traditional achievement tests, and why they provide a more accurate estimate of the point an individual has reached in their learning, regardless of their age or year level.

‘Grades do not assist parents to see and monitor their children’s growth in an area of learning across the years of school.’ In his new Teacher column, Professor Geoff Masters AO explores why there is such a mismatch between parents’ beliefs in their child’s learning, and how ready the child is for the year’s curriculum.

Professor Geoff Masters AO shares details of a special ACER five-webinar series, where expert practitioners, researchers and policymakers will revisit the major challenges in school education he wrote of six years ago, and ask what progress has been made on each, and what needs to happen next.

‘Equity demands a curriculum responsive to individual needs, not blind equality.’ In his new Teacher column, Professor Geoff Masters AO highlights the important difference between equality and equity in education.