Assessing capability and suitability for future teachers Richard James Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic) Director Melbourne Centre for the Study of Higher Education

The broader context and the ideological struggles ‘Universal’ higher education participation and the subsequent trend towards more open entry and greater attention to graduate standards. Debate about the future of the demand-driven system (‘standards have dropped’, ‘attrition is too high’, ‘excessive unpaid debt’, ‘university is not for everyone’, ‘VET has been undermined’ etc.) The character of professional degrees in a universal, more open entry higher education system not at all clear, though there is a slow trend towards professional training being undertaken at graduate level.

A thumbnail sketch of ITE admissions … 1.ITE enrolments have grown rapidly in Victoria since the introduction of the demand-driven system. 2.Fewer than 25% of students enter via an ‘ATAR pathway’. 3.The ATARs have been dropping dramatically (for the group for which there is a recorded ATAR). Little is known about the nature of other admission criteria. 4.TEMAG called for more sophisticated selection into ITE 5.NSW expectation that ITE entrants will have achieved Band 5 results in at least three subjects one of which must English. 6.‘In the top 30%’ of the population has become the catch-cry. 7.An overall trend towards explicit professional standards.

Total commencing student numbers (domestic and international) by state, State ACT Multi-state1,1261,1461,4091,3651,4901,8011,9962,1452,1322,0172,543 NSW7,3018,0539,1349,1598,8089,0199,8979,2479,3719,4069,145 N/Territory ,047 Queensland5,1185,4214,6124,6334,0934,2474,4824,2954,0174,0754,649 South Australia 1,3021,4711,7841,7801,7141,6431,6941,8021,9262,0682,170 Tasmania Victoria3,9324,4814,2314,9264,5714,7445,2475,5505,9816,3286,495 WA TOTAL22,74524,50925,15326,15924,82526,29028,63628,20330,45729,59530,506

Total Domestic Commencing Students by ATAR bands by states, 2014 State ATAR n/a 1 Total 2 ACT New South Wales , Northern Territory Queensland< , South Australia< , Tasmania < Victoria , Western Australia , Multi-state< , TOTAL

THE TEMAG REPORT “Recommendation 10: Higher education providers select the best candidates into teaching using sophisticated approaches that ensure initial teacher education students possess the required academic skills and personal characteristics to become a successful teacher” (TEMAG, 2014, p. xiii). THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT RESPONSE The Government supports rigorous selection processes for entry into teacher education courses and will instruct AITSL to develop and set clear expectations of universities to make sure that those going into teaching have the right mix of academic and personal qualities that give them the best chance of becoming effective teachers. This will also help make sure university and school resources are directed to those best suited to a teaching career (Federal Government response to TEMAG, 2015).

What things matter in the preparation of effective teachers? What matters most? Entry standards for admission to ITE? The nature and quality of ITE programs? Literacy and numeracy testing? Early career mentoring, support and development? And what might offer public face-validity and credibility?

An admissions framework for Victoria? A complex set of considerations … The multiplicity of pathways into ITE; the autonomy of universities in the admission of candidates; institutional differentiation in admissions criteria; the potential impact of admissions thresholds on patterns of demand of ITE courses and patterns of supply of teachers; the psychometric validity and reliability of any measures used and the scalability of implementation for any measures/instruments; the potential effects in relation to equity and access to higher education for under-represented community groups; the likely costs of any new or alternative admissions criteria; and the ways in which alignment of ITE entry might be monitored through accreditation of ITE programs and the registration of teachers.

An admissions framework for Victoria? Based on the assumptions that: Capability and Suitability are both important. Capability and Suitability should have independent thresholds (ie. high abilities in one of these areas should not offset shortcomings in the other)

Pathways Admissions criteria for ITE Capability Suitability Course-specific criteria Year 12 Completed higher education course Incomplete higher education course Non-academic pathway International student pathway

Pathways Admissions criteria for ITE Capability Suitability Course-specific criteria Year 12ATAR threshold? or Study scores thresholds for English and, say, two other subjects? Completed higher education course Capability threshold is met once graduate status acquired? Incomplete higher education course GPA in some upper % of the cohort? Non-academic pathwaySuccessful completion of preparatory higher education program? International student pathway Equivalent Year 12 or GPA and English language requirements?

Pathways Admissions criteria for ITE Capability Suitability Course-specific criteria Year 12 ? Completed higher education course ? Incomplete higher education course ? Non-academic pathway ? International student pathway ?

Determining threshold suitability Should the same measures/thresholds apply across all pathways? What are the key dimensions/qualities to be assessed? What forms of ‘evidence’ might be appropriate? Can these be verified? What would be the costs?

Equity To what what extent and in what ways should equity considerations accommodated across Capability and Suitability?

Pathways Admissions criteria for ITE Capability Suitability Course-specific criteria Year 12 Completed higher education course Incomplete higher education course Non-academic pathway International student pathway