Insights From Australia's Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education Students: Comparing High and Low Achievers

• In Event: 67.067 - MTCC Roundtable Session 31
  In Roundtable Session: 67.067-2 - Where's the Lie? Policy, Discourse, and Equity

Abstract

In Australia, passing the Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education Students is a graduation requirement for students enrolled in teacher preparation programs. In this paper, we examine numeracy test data for 400 students from a prestigious Australian university: those in the top 5% and bottom 5% of the university’s dataset (n = 3,744). Our analysis of these high- and low-achieving students shows that these groups clearly have particular characteristics that contributed to their success or failure on the numeracy test. We raise concerns about inequities that may be perpetuated by the LANTITE test, and offer suggestions to support at-risk students.

Authors

• Simone Zmood

• Jennifer Hall, Monash University