Strengthening assessment and teaching practice in PNG

The Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) is supporting PNG as it prepares to roll out the National Education Standards Monitoring Assessment (NESMA), the country’s new national assessment program. 

In preparation of NESMA, ACER has been assisting PNG through a series of workshops. The fourth and latest workshop, ‘Preparing for PNG NESMA’, was held in Port Moresby from 16 – 19 June and aimed to support the National Department of Education to successfully deliver NESMA.    

ACER delivered the workshops in collaboration with: 

• The PNG National Department of Education (Measurement Services Division) 

• The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) 

• The World Bank 

ACER’s participation in the workshops was funded by DFAT’s Education Analytics, Research and Capability building (EdARC) program which aims to improve the quality of evidence and expertise used to inform education policies and programs in the Asia-Pacific region. 

What is NESMA?  

NESMA is PNG’s new national assessment program, that will initially focus on assessing literacy and numeracy in grades 3 and 5. It will improve education outcomes for students by ensuring PNG can produce education system data that is provincially representative, and able to provide feedback so it can continuously improve its education system. This includes updating curriculum, producing better teaching and learning resources, and shaping pre-and in-service teacher training and teaching standards. 

Preparing for the national assessment program 

The workshop was the latest in a series which is aimed at improving assessment, teaching quality and planning, ahead of the release of NESMA. It was designed to build participants’ knowledge and skills in developing quality assessments, items, and test forms.  

A total of 21 people took part, with topics including:  

• Principles of good assessment development and test design 

• Item review and quality assurance procedures, including item panelling 

• Review of existing PNG assessment items and stimulus materials 

• Review of NESMA trial results 

• Processes for development of new stimulus materials and assessment items. 

Participants also worked collaboratively to write, review and improve assessment items under the guidance of ACER assessment experts. 

ACER supporting PNG 

ACER’s Dr Dan Cloney said the workshops were a great opportunity to share skills and knowledge within the region.   

‘Our partnership with PNG is focused on supporting National Department of Education staff to build the skills and confidence they need to lead assessment development and deliver NESMA in the future. 

‘NESMA will play an important role in helping PNG monitor its education system and lay the groundwork for medium- and long-term reform.  

‘At the heart of these reforms is a simple goal: improving learning outcomes, especially for primary students.  

‘By using student learning data, PNG will be better placed to make informed decisions about where to invest and how to strengthen the education system,’ Dr Cloney said.   

Building capability in the region 

Education is critical to PNG’s future success, helping to build the skills, stability and resilience needed for long-term national development. DFAT’s support through programs such as EdARC, are helping to strengthen evidence, research and local capability so PNG can make informed decisions about how to improve learning outcomes in the region.  

As NESMA is implemented, this support will help PNG use student learning data to guide reform and build a stronger, more prosperous education system. 

Next steps 

A trial of NESMA will take place later in 2026. Following the data collection, ACER will support MSD to analyse the data and ensure everything is on track for the main study in 2027.