Faculty of Education

Specialisation: Educational Assessment, Measurement and Evaluation

This course enables teachers and school administrators to become accomplished users of performance information and, where necessary, to develop high quality assessments to form the basis for evidence-based improvement.

Course outline

This course is suited to teachers at primary school, secondary school, college and university levels and currently is available only through face-to-face teaching.

It articulates with the Master of Education (Assessment, Measurement and Evaluation) - Coursework and the Master of Education - Coursework.

Areas of practical application include:

• interpretation and analysis of state standardised assessments for the purpose of evidence-based decision making and improving learning outcomes
• use of assessment information for in depth evaluation of the learning of individual students and groups, including program evaluation
• development of assessment strategies, processes and programs to meet particular school needs
• critical evaluation of the strengths and limitations of different assessments and approaches to assessment, including those which employ outcomes frameworks

Areas of research include:

• conceptualising learning in any given domain as a developmental continuum
• applying principles of measurement to explicitly characterise developmental continua, and to understand the nature of student development
• translating measurement principles into practices that allow educators to collect and evaluate evidence of progress and growth
• clarifying key issues in ongoing debates on formative and summative assessment, criterion and norm referenced assessment, and other commonly used concepts.

The course consists of eight units to a total value of 48 credit points comprising:

• EDUC8636 Assessment and Measurement
• EDUC8637 Measurement and Evaluation

Plus select one of:

• EDUC8633 Quantitative Inquiry
• EDUC8634 Qualitative Inquiry

Plus 5 options units selected from:

• EDUC8606 Advanced Rasch Measurement of Modern Test Theory
• EDUC8608 E-Learning
• EDUC8610 Human Resource Development in Education
• EDUC8612 Leadership for Learning
• EDUC8616 International and Comparative Education
• EDUC8620 Master’s Major Paper
• EDUC8633 Quantitative Inquiry
• EDUC8634 Qualitative Inquiry
• EDUC8636 Assessment and Measurement
• EDUC8637 Measurement and Evaluation
• EDUC8638 Introduction to Rasch Measurement of Modern Test Theory
• EDUC8639 Developmental Aspects of Exceptionality
• EDUC8641 History of Education
• EDUC8658 Education Policy Trends: Global to Local
• EDUC8660 Education Studies
• EDUC8661 Education Studies
• EDUC8662 Action Research and Curriculum Innovation
• EDUC8678 Curriculum Context, Development and Innovation

Note: Students who wish to apply for entry to a relevant master's course of the Faculty by way of thesis and coursework must take EDUC8631 Approaches to Research and achieve a minimum mark of 65% for the unit and an average of at least 65% for the coursework units.

Admission requirements

Domestic students

A relevant bachelor's degree requiring at least three years of full-time study and either two years of full-time professional experience in the field of education or demonstrated research capacity acceptable to the Faculty.

All UWA coursework programs: English Language Competence

International students

All UWA coursework programs: English Language Competence

Course enquiries