User:AlanaSmith2115/draftarticle

This is my draft article

=The Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education (LANTITE)= The Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education (LANTITE) was introduced by the Australian Government in 2016, and has been designed, conducted and measured by The Australian Council for Education Research (ACER). As of January 1st 2019, all students enrolled in teaching qualification in Australia are required to pass the LANTITE test in order to complete teacher registration.

The test was introduced to measure the competency of personal literacy and numeracy skills of pre-service Australian teachers to a standard that is broadly equivalent to the top 30% of the Australian adult population. Pre-service teachers have a total of three attempts to complete this, with an additional two attempts given for extenuating circumstances.

There are separate tests for literacy and numeracy, with 65 questions in each. Students have a total of 120 minutes to complete each test. These tests can be sat consecutively, or on separate days and test window options.

Due to the recent introduction of the LANTITE test, there is controversy surrounding its relevance, processes , and cost.

Aim
The aim of the LANTITE test is an assessment of the literacy and numeracy proficiency of pre-service student teachers. This is in order to meet the goal that graduates of teacher training degrees demonstrate literacy and numeracy proficiency according to the National Program Standards. This standard is set by an expectation that student teachers can demonstrate personal literacy and numeracy skills in the top 30% of the Australian adult population. This was empirically validated in 2017 with reference to the OECD Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies. ACER maintain that this standard is indicative of the level of professional experience that is expected of teachers, and beyond what would generally be expected of school students.

Timeline of development
Beginning in 2011, all Australian Education Ministers agreed to a national approach to the accreditation of initial teacher education programs. By 2015, the Education Ministers agreed that a test would be used as the means to demonstrate students having achieved this standard, starting from 1st of July 2016.

The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) commissioned the development of an online test to assess the personal literacy and numeracy skills of initial teacher education students prior to graduation. Development of the assessment began with drafting of the framework, with reference to relevant international and national programs and assessment literature. Two programs were core to the development of the LANTITE test - the Australian Core Skills Framework (ACSF), and the Programme for International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC). These were both extensively drawn upon to underpin the concepts and constructs to be assessed by the LANTITE test. This is due to their relevance to general adult literacy and numeracy in Australia.

The creation of the LANTITE test was completed in consultation with teacher educators from the higher education sector. ACER convened these teachers as an expert advisory group in order to bring expertise and high quality for both literacy and numeracy test construction.

A field trial of the literacy and numeracy items was conducted in universities across Australia in the second half of 2014 and early 2015. The field trial results instigated the revision of the assessment framework to ensure its quality and integrity.

In 2016, all pre-service education students were expected to meet the standard of the test prior to graduation. Some states and territories have also made a successful result in the test a requirement for registration or employment as a teacher. As of 2016, pre-service teachers began sitting the LANTITE test.

Since the LANTITE test’s introduction
Between 2016 and 2018, over 59,000 individuals have attempted one or both components of the test. In 2016, 13 083 candidates sat the literacy test with 95.2% meeting the standard. This is opposed to 22,066 candidates sitting the literacy test in 2019, with only 90.4% meeting the standard. Similarly, in 2016, 13,084 candidates sat the numeracy test, with 94.2% meeting the standard. Compared to 22,011 test candidates sitting the 2018 numeracy test, with only 90.0% meeting the standard. This equates to one in 10 failing the literacy and numeracy tests.

Test windows and sessions
There are four test windows each year in which students can register through ACER to sit one or both of the tests. There is a test centre in each capital city, with an additional 19 test centres located across regional locations in New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland.

Due to security issues, the test centre addresses are unavailable until one week prior to the start of the relevant test window, with full test centre addresses only being displayed on the student’s test admission ticket.

A list of available test session times can be viewed on the test registration site, as various test centres operate to a staggered schedule and many do not operate on every day of the test window. Students are able to select their preferred test centre, date, and session time during the online registration process for the test. In some cases, a high demand will result in added test sessions during the relevant test window registration period.

It is possible to register to sit the literacy and numeracy tests on the same day, across multiple days, or separately during different test windows. Test centres use a first-come, first-served process.

Cost
In 2019, the fee for each single test component is $98.00, and for both is $196.00. The student must pay these fees in full by credit card at the time of registration. It cannot be paid by cheque, cash, or added to HECS debt. However, some course providers, such as the University of Queensland, cover the payment of these fees. The fee must be paid each time a student registers and attempts a test, including all failed attempts.

Reasonable adjustments
Students can apply for reasonable adjustments on the basis of a diagnosed disability or health-related need that may interfere with their ability to sit the test in the standard manner. The application for reasonable adjustments must be supported with documentation, including: a clear diagnosis and information about the disability or health-related need, details about the effect of the disability or health-related need on their ability to sit the test under standard testing conditions, and specifications of what reasonable adjustments the health practitioner regards as appropriate.

This application must be filled out by a registered health practitioner, with documentation that is no more than one year old.

Remote proctoring
Remote proctoring is provided as an alternative to sitting the test at one of the specified test centres. This involves students using their own computers to sit the test under live supervision via the webcam. Remote proctoring can be completed at the student’s home, or another suitable location, provided they have access to internet connectivity.

This process is provided by an external site to ACER, named ProctorU. This is based in the United States and requires the student to provide personal information to an overseas entity.

Remote proctoring is available to all students, irrespective of living in a remote location. The remote proctoring test period ends 3 days prior to the conclusion of the relevant test window.

Test sections
The test content is designed to reflect specific contexts in which pre-service teachers are most likely to exercise personal literacy and numeracy skills in their future roles. These include: personal and community, schools and teaching, and further education and professional learning. Each test must be completed within 120 minutes, and contains a total of 65 questions.

Literacy:
The literacy test comprises two-thirds based on reading texts, and one-third of questions related to assessing technical skills of writing. The reading component is structured around three processes: access and identify, integrate and interpret, and evaluate and reflect. The text types used as stimulus in the test reflect text structures that are taught within the Australian curriculum. These include: procedural, regulatory, technical, descriptive, informative, persuasive, and narrative. Within the technical skills of writing component, the assessment comprises four areas: syntax and grammar, spelling, word usage, and text organisation.

Numeracy:
The numeracy test is broken into the same three content areas of mathematics as the Australian curriculum: number and algebra, measurement and geometry, and statistics and probability. Of the 65 questions in total, a calculator is available on screen for the first 52 questions. The remaining 13 questions make up the non-calculator portion of the test. Three numeracy processes are used and assessed throughout the test. First, identifying mathematical information and meaning in activities and texts. Subsequently, using and applying mathematical knowledge and problem solving processes. Finally, interpreting, evaluating, communicating and representing mathematics.

Published results
LANTITE results are released approximately one month after the testing window finishes, with no set date given. Students receive an email from ACER with a notification for when the results are available to download from their online candidate account. The report indicates if the student has met the minimum standard of personal literacy and numeracy expected of a graduate teacher. Candidates will not be able to view specific questions in order to ensure the integrity of the test. However, candidates will receive a score for each element of the literacy and numeracy tests within one of three bands. Band 3 indicates that the student has scored clearly above the test standard. Band 2 indicates that the student is at and above the test standard. Finally, band 1 indicates that the student is below the test standard. A student will only fail the test if their overall score is in band 1, irrespective of 1 or more elements of their test score being below the standard.

Re-sitting the test
Students have the opportunity to re-sit the LANTITE test upon failure up to 3 times, with argument that this is reasonable opportunity to demonstrate that they are within the standard of the top 30% of the adult population. A student is only required to re-sit the specific test that is failed. For example, if a student passes literacy but fails numeracy, they are only required to re-sit the numeracy test. In the case of having to re-sit the test, the student is required to pay the cost again.

If the pre-service teacher does not meet the standard after their second attempt, they are advised to consult with higher education to request support before registering to sit for their final attempt.

In extenuating circumstances, institutions may allow individual students to use an additional two attempts – reaching a maximum of five attempts.

Arguments about relevance
Some education experts have labelled LANTITE as ‘irrelevant’, arguing that the test proves little as trainee teachers can sit it multiple times. As well as it being heavily concerned with keeping people out, rather than encouraging the best to enter the profession. They maintain that instead the ATAR level should be set higher, in the wake of an AITSL report revealing that almost 40% of recent teaching graduates scored a tertiary admission rank of less than 70. Federal opposition education spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek also maintained that in 2005, about a third of teaching entrants had an ATAR above 80, however by 2015 it had dropped to only one in five, arguing that completing a teaching degree is a waste of students' time and money if they are unsuitable to teach. However, the current Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan argues that the LANTITE test is fulfilling its purpose in recognising the difference that high-quality teacher makes to a child’s education. He has defended the latest test results, arguing that the test ensures that teaching graduates have a high standard of essential skills needed to teach children, and rejecting a need to introduce minimum ATARs for entry into teaching degrees.

Release of results
On the 13th of June 2019, the Department of Education made the unprecedented decision to withhold pre-service teacher LANTITE data as a protection measure against university scrutiny. This is due to reports showing a decline in results for a third year running, and 10% of teaching students failing the test. As a result, unlike previous years, the department declined to provide a breakdown of state and territory results or pass and fail rates for each university.

Cancellation of Classroom teachers registration
In Victoria, pre-service teachers who were to graduate when the test was introduced in 2016 were given provisional registrations, allowing them to teach with the provision that they must sit the test within two years and three months. Upon the conclusion of this time period, one in 50 of those teachers had failed and were removed from their classrooms as a result. Education Minister James Merlino argued that this was part of the government's commitment to increasing the supply of high-quality teachers for Victoria’s schools.

Fee disputes
There is also controversy surrounding the expensive fees students are required to pay for each test. With 20,000 students graduating from teacher education annually, it is argued that LANTITE generates up to $3.7 million in revenue each year for ACER, with those who pay for the test (students and those working in teacher education), having no input into how this money will be spent. However, ACER maintain that this surplus will be reinvested into further test research and development.