PAT Essentials Second Edition

Based on decades of research and evidence, ACER’s PAT Progressive Achievement approach supports teachers, school leaders and system leaders to monitor their students’ learning progressions over time, to improve their students’ learning, and to deepen their teaching and learning expertise.

Within the PAT Progressive Achievement approach, three tools work to support educators in this process.

• PAT assessments allow teachers to collect evidence of student learning; to identify where students are at in their learning at a given point in time; to monitor growth over time and to reflect on student attainment.
• The PAT Teaching Resources Centre connects assessment data with teaching practice to inform teaching and learning. Teachers can access targeted resources, providing the next steps for all students; from support for students who are consolidating skills to stretch targets for students who are ready to move to the next stage of their learning journey.
• PAT Progressive Achievement professional learning supports educators and schools to enhance their professional understanding and capabilities around analysing data, action research and informed teaching and learning.

PAT Essentials is a collection of six booklets to assist educators in making the most of the PAT Progressive Achievement approach in their schools.

• Understanding the Progressive Achievement Approach: Essays and articles gives an overview of the rationale for the Progressive Achievement approach, describing the ways that schools can reframe their perception of assessment in order to help each student achieve their full learning potential, regardless of their starting point.
• Using the PAT Progressive Achievement Approach: Informing pedagogical practices gives schools a comprehensive grounding in the foundations of the Progressive Achievement approach and presents meaningful examples of how professional learning can be an integral part of whole-school improvement.
• Understanding PAT Assessments: What they are and how they work explains the principles, purpose and practice of PAT assessments, to assist schools in getting the most out of their PAT assessment data.
• Understanding the PAT Teaching Resources Centre: Reading comprehension examples presents a selection of reading comprehension resources, as a snapshot of the ways in which schools can use the Teaching Resources Centre to meaningfully inform teaching and improve student learning.
• Understanding the PAT Teaching Resources Centre: Number and Algebra examples presents a selection of mathematics resources, as a snapshot of the ways in which schools can use the Teaching Resources Centre to meaningfully inform teaching and improve student learning.
• Understanding PAT Adaptive Assessments: Maximising achievement with personalised pathways explains the test design, delivery and data exploration of these new PAT Adaptive assessments, so that educators can guide students’ individual learning journeys and ensure that each student makes progress over time, regardless of their stating point.

Whether completely new to the Progressive Achievement approach, or experienced in the use of assessments, teaching resources and professional learning, every PAT user will find valuable content in PAT Essentials that can inform their teaching and learning strategies and improve learning outcomes for their students.