Online future for university placement tests
Research 4 Sep 2012 3 minute readA report on teenagers’ ability to read, understand and use digital texts, released by ACER in May 2012, has revealed that Australian students perform more strongly in digital reading literacy than they do in print reading literacy.
The report, Preparing Australian Students for the Digital World: Results from the PISA 2009 Digital Reading Literacy Assessment, by ACER Head of Educational Monitoring and Research Dr Sue Thomson and ACER Research Fellow Ms Lisa De Bortoli, also revealed that that 95 per cent of Australian students reported having a computer connected to the Internet in their home, and 99 per cent reported having access to Internet-connected computers at school.
As students are increasingly doing much of their learning and exploring digitally, ACER now offers universities and students the option of sitting uniTEST and the Aptitude for Engineering Assessment (AEA) online.
uniTEST is an aptitude test that has been designed to assess the kinds of generic reasoning and thinking skills that underpin studies at higher education, and that are needed for students to be successful. uniTEST assesses this reasoning and thinking across the broad domains of mathematics, science, humanities and social sciences. AEA assesses the aptitude to think scientifically, solve quantitative problems, critically analyse information and display interpersonal understanding, and assists universities to select students into courses offered by the faculties of engineering.
ACER’s project director for uniTEST and AEA, Ms Joyce Hong, explains that the online version of these tests comprises the same content as the printed version. However, the online delivery offers universities more flexibility with testing date, time, and venue.
‘The advantages don’t stop there,’ said Ms Hong. ‘As the tests are administered entirely online, large numbers of students can be assessed quickly and simultaneously and, with results generated almost instantly, universities can access interactive online test reports in a much shorter timeframe than before.’
Both uniTEST and AEA are delivered on the secure ACER Online Assessment and Reporting System. No new software needs to be installed on the user’s computer.
The move to online delivery follows recommendations made in an evaluation of the government funded Student Aptitude Test for Tertiary Admission (SATTA) pilot program, of which uniTEST was a part. In addition to recommending flexible delivery modes, the evaluation recommended that uniTEST be universally endorsed, with candidates sitting the test during their senior secondary study.
The evaluation found that uniTEST and Year 12 results, when used in combination, provide a more powerful means of predicting success in first-year performance at university than either measure on its own.
‘Wider use of aptitude testing programs such as uniTEST help ensure that senior secondary students with the capacity to do well at university are able to gain admission,’ said Ms Hong.
Find out more:
For information on ACER's assessment services for universities visit
Further reading:
Hamish Coates, Daniel Edwards & Tim Friedman (2010). Evaluation Report on the Student Aptitude Test for Tertiary Admission (SATTA) Pilot Program. Canberra: Department of Education, Employment and Workpalce Relations.
Sue Thomson & Lisa De Bortoli (2012). Preparing Australian Students for the Digital World: Results from the PISA 2009 Digital Reading Literacy Assessment. Canberra: Department of Education, Employment and Workpalce Relations.