| Country or Region | Brunei Darussalam |
| Year | 2014 |
| Producer(s) | Ministry of Education - Government |
| Metadata |
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Created on
Jul 24, 2015
Last modified
Jul 24, 2015
Overview
Identification
Summary
Abstract
The National Assessment of Students Competencies (NASC) was first administered in 2014 by the Ministry of Education to grade 4 (ISCED 1) students in public and private schools. International schools are excluded from the NASC. Subject to funding being available, the NASC will be administered every two years to the same cohort of grade 4 students assessed in 2014. Grade 6 students will be assessed in 2016, grade 8 students in 2018, and grade 10 students in 2020. In 2020, a new cohort of grade 4 students will also be assessed.
The NASC is a low-stake assessment. It is a written assessment, administered face-to-face and delivered through paper-pencil tests. All test-takers are presented with tests which are aligned with the national curriculum.
The NASC serves the following purposes:
- designing individualised instructional plans
- supporting teachers (training, relevant materials, etc.)
- school or educator accountability
- monitoring education quality levels
- planning education policy reforms
In the near future, the NASC will become a high-stake assessment, and will serve the following additional purposes :
- improving students' performances in public examinations
- improving teaching and learning;
- preparing students for PISA (Program for International Student Assessment)
- benchmarking and standards
- policy review and refinement
Notes:
In 2008, the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) conducted the National Study of Student Competencies in Mathematics and English (NSSCME) in government schools. Grade 4 (ISCED 1), grade 6 (ISCED 1) and grade 8 (ISCED 2) students were assessed in Mathematics, Writing and Reading. Another assessment was also administered to grade 10 (ISCED 2) students in 2010. These assessments will not be conducted on a regular basis. The NASC pilot study, which is similar to NSSCME, was developed and implemented in 2013 by the Ministry of Education.
Kind of Data
Census (all students at the given grades or ages)Units of Analysis
Results are reported at the school, sub-national and national levels. Data are disaggregated by sex and type of schools (public and private).Results are published in reports, which are available in print.
Scope
Notes
The National Assessment of Students Competencies comprises three subjects administered in English. The subjects and the duration of each test are listed below: - Mathematics, 60 minutes
- Reading, 60 minutes
- Writing, 45 minutes
Description of test items: Test items consist of multiple choice questions with three or more response options, open-ended questions requiring short constructed responses and essay writing.
Description of stimuli: Test stimuli consist of continuous, non-continuous and mixed texts.
Reporting metrics: Student performance is reported by average score and proficiency levels. The minimum requirement to meet the national standard is a band 4.
The proficiency levels vary across subject.
There are 8 bands for the Mathematics test. The lowest achievement is band 1 (less than 80 points), and the highest achievement band 8 (more than 140 points). Band 4 ranges from 100 to 109 points. A student who reaches band 4 standard is able to add 100 to a five-digit number using regrouping; solve problems using repeated addition; use a protractor to measure a given angle; identify nets of simple 3D objects; identify patterns involving rotation, compare numbers in a simple 2-way table; and read a value from a bar graph.
There are 9 bands for the Reading test. The lowest achievement is band 1 (less than 90 points), and the highest achievement band 9 (more than 160 points). Band 4 ranges from 109 to 121 points. A student who reaches band 4 standard is able to make links across adjacent sentences or within tables to locate directly stated information and to interpret events in the presence of some competing information; apply simple instructions to new situations; generalise about a character's attributes; predict a character's actions and infer a speaker's overall attitude based on prominent clues; make simple inferences about familiar events; and support personal opinions about ideas.
There are 8 bands for the Writing test. The lowest achievement is band 1 (less than 50 points), and the highest achievement band 8 (more than 320 points). Band 4 ranges from 163 to 213 points. A student who reaches band 4 standard is able to write very simple story line that may end abruptly; writes mainly incorrect or incomplete sentences, with verb tenses and form errors and little or incorrect punctuation; uses few common words, and basic and limited descriptions.
Coverage
Geographic Coverage
NationalUniverse
Students enrolled in grade 4 (ISCED 1) in public and private schools.Producers and Sponsors
Primary Investigator(s)
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Ministry of Education | Government |
Other Producer(s)
| Name | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Ministry of Education | Government | Test development and administration; data processing and dissemination; programme development; financial support through ministerial budget |
Metadata Production
Metadata Produced By
| Name | Abbreviation | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ministry of Education | MOE | Government | Data collection |
| UNESCO Institute for Statistics | UIS | United Nations | Questionnaire design, metadata collection, review and publication |
DDI Document ID
BRN-NASC-2014