Educational Measurement Branch
The Educational Measurement Branch is responsible for the implementation in Western Australian of all local, national and international population and sample assessment programs for both the public and private school sectors. These assessment programs currently include:
- the National Assessment Program – Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) for Years 3, 5, 7 and 9,
- the On-Entry Assessment Program for pre-primary
- the Western Australian Monitoring Standards in Education(WAMSE) assessment program in Science and Society and Environment for Years 5, 7 and 9.
- the National Assessment Program which assesses Science, Civics and Citizenship and ICT Literacy for Years 6 and 10.
- the international sample programs – PISA, TIMSS and PIRLS.
The key responsibilities for the population assessments include the production of a variety of publications, test distribution, collection, data management, marking, analysis and reporting. Other responsibilities include:
- research and analysis on student performance;
- the provision of advice and support on assessment related matters;
- the evaluation of assessment instruments;
- the provision of a school liaison service associated with the NAP triennial sample assessments and the PISA and TIMMS international sample assessments; and
- the development, maintenance and review of school resources related to current and previous assessment programs;