What is PIPS?
Assessing the progress of students in literacy, numeracy and phonological awareness Diagnosing individual student work and providing data to indicate areas where students are achieving or underachieving Predicting future performance for identifying individuals who might benefit from early intervention |
Effective Early Literacy Assessment
PIPS Symposium
In this symposium, Professor of Education at Durham University, and developer of the Performance Indicators in Primary Schools (PIPS), Peter Tymms, discussed the role of effective early literacy assessment in primary schools.
He was joined by Professor Helen Wildy,
Dean of Education at the University of Western
Australia, who introduced PIPS to education
authorities and schools across Australia in
2001.
Introducing the symposium, Dr Gary Robinson, lead evaluator of the National Accelerated Literacy Program (NALP) in the Northern Territory, explained the need to compliment current Accelerated Literacy assessment tools with another tool to better gauge emergent skills.
He was followed by Ellen Herden, Manager Assessment and Reporting of the NT Department of Education and Training, who highlighted the Department's interest in assessment tools that are effective, easy to use, and can inform teacher practice.
Also during the symposium, Prof Wildy gave a PIPS demonstration, and discussed Australian Indigenous performance at PIPS assessments, while Prof Tymms used international PIPS data to demonstrate student progress throughout schooling, and outlined some hindrances to learning.
Keynote presentations
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Prof Helen Wildy Professor Helen Wildy is the Director of PIPS Australia. She has extensive experience as a secondary and tertiary teacher and researcher in the fields of leadership and professional performance standards. She has authored or co-authored publications on professional standards, curriculum change, school reform, principals’ leadership and the use of literacy and numeracy assessment data. Title: Performance of Indigenous students on the PIPS Baseline Assessment powerpoint | listen (31 minutes, mp3) Selected highlights:
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Prof Peter Tymms Professor Peter Tymms is Director of the Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring, the largest educational research group in a UK university. He is responsible for projects monitoring the progress and attitudes of pupils in thousands of schools across the UK and beyond. Dr Tymms’ main research interests include monitoring, assessment, ADHD, reading and research methodology. Title: How children vary in their starting points at school and how they progress powerpoint | listen (42 minutes, mp3) Selected highlights:
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Additional links
PIPS research in the Northern Territory
Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring
