National Formative Assessment Resource Bank (NFARB) project

Australian state and territory education ministers agreed in December 2022 to explore the development of a national formative assessment resource bank to provide all Australian teachers with access to online assessment resources that are aligned with the Australian Curriculum, Version 9.0.

Existing assessment material created by the departments of education in New South Wales and Queensland and the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority (VCAA) will be used.

Some activities will be undertaken with schools to help with the development of the resource bank, and this includes a pilot to align the assessments to the Australian Curriculum, Version 9.0 and consideration of cost and efficacy.

The pilot (August 2023) includes approximately 18 schools. Participating schools are asked to access and administer a selection of English and Mathematics assessments with students in Years 4, 6 and 8. No personal student information or data is collected in the pilot. School participation is voluntary and funded. Participation is contained to a short window.

Teachers from participating schools will contribute to evaluation processes during the pilot.

This project is led by ACARA, working with a Steering Committee including representatives from Education Services Australia, the Australian Government Department of Education, departments of education in NSW, QLD, SA, and the VCAA, Independent Schools Australia and the National Catholic Education Commission.

Advice on project findings and the establishment of a national formative assessment resource bank will be provided to Australian state and territory education ministers when the project concludes in December 2024.

Schools interested in participating in pilot activities can contact the project team at: [email protected].

Previous initiatives

The project team will draw on the extensive and high-quality work undertaken in previous formative assessment initiatives. More information about previous initiatives is available on the Online Formative Assessment Initiative website.