Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and reporting Authority
Section 1: Agency overview and resources	163
1.1	Strategic Direction Statement	163
1.2	Agency Resource Statement	164
1.3	Budget Measures	165
Section 2: Outcomes and planned performance	166
2.1	Outcomes and performance information	166
Section 3: Explanatory tables and budgeted financial statements	173
3.1	Explanatory tables	173
3.2	Budgeted Financial Statements	174

Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority
Section 1: Agency overview and resources
1.1	Strategic Direction Statement
The Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) was established under the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority Act 2008 (ACARA Act) of the Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia. The legislation was assented to on 8th December, 2008.
The primary function of the ACARA is to execute the policy directions that are determined by the Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs (MCEECDYA) regarding curriculum, assessment, data collection and reporting at a national level. 
ACARA is responsible for delivering:
•	an Australian curriculum from Kindergarten to Year 12 in specified learning areas
•	a national assessment program aligned to the national curriculum that measures students’ progress
•	a national data collection and reporting program that supports:
o	analysis, evaluation, research and resource allocation
o	accountability and reporting on schools and broader national achievement.
ACARA’s work in developing the Australian curriculum is guided by the 2008 Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young Australians (the Melbourne Declaration). The Melbourne Declaration commits "to supporting all young Australians to become successful learners, confident and creative individuals, and active and informed citizens",’ and to promoting equity and excellence in education. The Australian curriculum will "equip all young Australians with the essential skills, knowledge and capabilities to thrive and compete in a globalised world and information rich workplaces of the current century." The curriculum will be accessible to all young Australians, regardless of their social or economic background or the school they attend.

The first phase of development of the Australian curriculum for English, mathematics, science and history is well under way, with consultation on a draft curriculum for Kindergarten to Year 10 (K-10) concluding in late May 2010. A second phase of work has begun to develop the Australian curriculum for languages, geography and the arts. As a third phase of Australian curriculum development, ACARA has been asked by MCEECDYA to provide advice on how the remaining learning areas and subjects listed in the Melbourne Declaration.
The National Assessment Program (NAP) encompasses tests endorsed by MCEECDYA including the National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN) and three-yearly sample assessments in science literacy, civics and citizenship, and Information and Communication Technology (ICT) literacy. From 2010, ACARA has been responsible for managing the development and overseeing the delivery of tests for NAPLAN and NAP. ACARA also publishes the NAPLAN National Report annually.
ACARA is also responsible for collecting, managing, analysing, evaluating and reporting statistical and related information about educational outcomes. This includes the development of national performance measures, performance standards and national definitions. ACARA provides information about the specific key performance measures against which student performance is assessed. 
ACARA will publish the National Report on Schooling in Australia for the 2009 calendar year onward. This report informs the Australian people on progress against the national goals for schooling and agreed national performance measures. 
ACARA is also responsible for collecting data from schools for the purpose of accountability and reporting, research and analysis, and resource allocation. Information on individual schools was published for the first time on a new national school performance website called My School which was launched in early 2010.
1.2	Agency resource statement
Table 1.1 shows the total resources from all sources. The table summarises how resources will be applied by outcome and by administered and departmental classification.

Table 1.1: Australian Learning and Teaching Council Limited resource statement for 2010‑11 as at Budget May 2010

All figures are GST exclusive. CRF - Consolidated Revenue Fund. ACARA is not directly appropriated as it is a CAC Act body.  Appropriations are made to DEEWR which are then paid to the ACARA and are considered 'departmental' for all purposes. 
1 Appropriation Bill (No.1) 2010-1.	²Appropriation Bill (No.2) 2010-11.
3 Funding provided by a Government body that is not specified within the annual appropriation bills as a
payment to the CAC Act body (for example, a fee for service from an FMA Act agency paid to a CAC Act 
body would appear here and may be explained within this footnote, as would a payment from a third
agency's special appropriation).

1.3	Budget measures
ACARA does not have any new measures since the 2009‑10 Budget. For this reason Table 1.2 is not presented. 

Section 2: Outcomes and planned performance
2.1	Outcomes and performance information
Government outcomes are the intended results, impacts or consequences of actions by the Government on the Australian community. Commonwealth programs are the primary vehicle by which government agencies achieve the intended results of their outcome statements. Agencies are required to identify the programs which contribute to Government outcomes over the Budget and forward years.
Each outcome is described below together with its related programs, specifying the performance indicators and targets used to assess and monitor the performance of the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority in achieving government outcomes.
Outcome 1: Improved quality and consistency of school education in Australia through a national curriculum, national assessment, data collection and performance reporting system.	
Outcome 1 Strategy
ACARA will continue to work collaboratively with a wide range of stakeholders including teachers, principals, government, state and territory education authorities, professional education associations, business/industry, community groups and the broader public.
Curriculum
•	To establish the Kindergarten to Year 12 (K‑12) Australian Curriculum and to complete developmental work on content, content elaborations, achievement standards and annotated work samples for all learning areas of the Melbourne Declaration.
•	To ensure that the Australian Curriculum caters for and engages all learners, including students with disabilities and those for whom English is an additional language/dialect.
•	To ensure that the Australian Curriculum gives due emphasis to general capabilities and to the cross-curricular dimensions of Indigenous history and culture, Asia and sustainability.
•	To develop and implement a rigorous approach to benchmarking the Australian Curriculum with curricula of leading nations.
•	To enhance public understanding and awareness of the Australian Curriculum.

Assessment and reporting
•	To align national assessments with the Australian Curriculum and ensure that they validly, reliably and fairly capture achievement across a wide range of learning areas and valued outcomes, particularly those capabilities of special importance in the 21st century.
•	To develop with key stakeholders and strategic partners options for national consistency in senior secondary assessment and certification.
•	To ensure that national assessments enable accurate monitoring of student and school performance and progress while promoting good pedagogical practices.
•	To provide a richer array of information on Australian schools and on student achievement, progress and participation.
•	To extend and improve ways of enabling schools to benchmark their performance against other schools with similar characteristics and similar student backgrounds and academic starting points.
•	To further develop national key performance measures, including measures of student engagement and stakeholder satisfaction.
Supporting improvement
•	To establish productive partnerships with jurisdictions, agencies and professional associations to provide tools and resources to support schools, teachers and the public in understanding, implementing and interacting with the Australian Curriculum.
•	To coordinate a cooperative, national approach to supporting teachers in using assessments and standards to obtain feedback to improve teaching and learning.
•	To provide analyses and reports on performance to facilitate more informed curriculum and teaching decision-making.
Building capacity
•	To align governance and operations within ACARA and create a high performance organisation that can fully meet client expectations.
•	To strengthen connections between ACARA’s stakeholders and strategic partners.
•	To leverage international knowledge and practice in curriculum, assessment and reporting to ensure leading edge practice.
•	To work with the Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership, Education Services Australia and jurisdictions in developing and delivering professional learning and training in curriculum and assessment.

Outcome Expense and Resource Statement
Table 2.1 provides an overview of the total expenses for Outcome 1 by program.
Table 2.1: Budgeted Expenses and Resources for Outcome 1

Note: Departmental appropriation splits and totals are indicative estimates and may change in the course of the budget year as government priorities change.

Contributions to Outcome 1
Program 1.1: National Curriculum	

Program 1.1 objective
•	To establish the K‑12 Australian Curriculum and to complete developmental work on content, content elaborations, achievement standards and annotated work samples for all learning areas of the Melbourne Declaration.
•	To ensure that the Australian Curriculum caters for and engages all learners, including students with disabilities and those for whom English is an additional language/dialect.
•	To ensure that the Australian Curriculum gives due emphasis to general capabilities and to the cross-curricular dimensions of Indigenous history and culture, Asia and sustainability.
•	To develop and implement a rigorous approach to benchmarking the Australian Curriculum with curricula of leading nations.
•	To enhance public understanding and awareness of the Australian Curriculum.	

Program 1.1 expenses
ACARA has not identified any significant trends, changes or variances in program expenses over the forward years.	

Program 1.1 Deliverables  
•	Development of an Australian curriculum from K‑12 in specified learning areas. 
•	Australian Curriculum for English, mathematics, science and history (K-12) published in the second half of 2010.
•	Implementation of these first four learning areas (K-10) to be well underway in 2013 across the country.
•	All phases of K–10 curriculum development will be completed by the end of 2012.	

Program 1.1 Key Performance Indicators  
•	Each phase of the Australian Curriculum is delivered within the timeframes outlined by MCEECDYA.
•	The Australian Curriculum caters for and engages all learners, including students with disabilities and those for whom English is an additional language/dialect.
•	The Australian Curriculum gives due emphasis to general capabilities and to the cross-curricular dimensions of Indigenous history and culture, Asia and sustainability.	

Program 1.2: National Data Collection and Reporting	

Program 1.2 objectives
•	To provide a richer array of information on Australian schools and on student achievement, progress and participation.
•	To extend and improve ways of enabling schools to benchmark their performance against other schools with similar characteristics and similar student backgrounds and academic starting points.
•	To further develop national key performance measures, including measures of student engagement and stakeholder satisfaction.	

Program 1.2 expenses
ACARA has not identified any significant trends, changes or variances in program expenses over the forward years.	

Program 1.2 Deliverables  
•	A national data collection and reporting program that supports:
o	analysis, evaluation, research and resource allocation
o	accountability and reporting on schools and broader national achievement.
•	Publication of school financial data on the My School website before 2011.
•	Conducting and reporting on parent, teacher and student surveys by end of 2011. 
•	Publication of an Annual National Report on schools commencing in 2010 for 2009 school year. 	

Program 1.2 Key Performance Indicators  
•	The data ACARA reports in the Annual National Report is materially accurate. 
•	The Annual National Report is published annually, with the publication of each report being undertaken prior to the end of the following school year.
•	Update of data on My School website, including NAPLAN performance data in the year the testing is undertaken from 2009; school financial data for the previous calendar year from 2010; survey data from 2011.	

Program 1.3: National Assessment	

Program 1.3 objectives
•	To align national assessments with the Australian Curriculum and ensure that they validly, reliably and fairly capture achievement across a wide range of learning areas and valued outcomes, particularly those capabilities of special importance in the 21st century.
•	To develop with key stakeholders and strategic partners options for national consistency in senior secondary assessment and certification.
•	To ensure that national assessments enable accurate monitoring of student and school performance and progress while promoting good pedagogical practices.	

Program 1.3 expenses
ACARA has not identified any significant trends, changes or variances in program expenses over the forward years.	

Program 1.3 Deliverables  
•	Conducting a national assessment program aligned to the national curriculum that measures students’ progress.
•	Conducting annual literacy and numeracy assessment program.
•	Undertaking sample national assessments every three years for identified areas (currently civics and citizenship, information and communication technology literacy and science literacy).	

Program 1.3 Key Performance Indicators  
•	That NAPLAN tests are conducted annually.
•	To produce an accurate and meaningful annual report on the tests by the end of the year the tests are conducted.
•	That National assessment is aligned with the Australian Curriculum as it commences the implementation phase.	

Section 3: Explanatory tables and budgeted financial statements
Section 3 presents explanatory tables and budgeted financial statements which provide a comprehensive snapshot of agency finances for the 2010‑11 budget year. It explains how budget plans are incorporated into the financial statements and provides further details of the reconciliation between appropriations and program expenses, movements in administered funds, special accounts and government Indigenous expenditure.
3.1	Explanatory tables
3.1.1	Movement of administered funds between years
ACARA has no administered funds. For this reason Table 3.1.1 is not presented.
3.1.2	Special Accounts
ACARA has no special accounts. For this reason Table 3.1.2 is not presented.
3.1.3	Australian Government Indigenous Expenditure
The 2010‑11 Australian Government Indigenous Statement is not applicable as ACARA has no Indigenous specific expenses. For this reason Table 3.1.3 is not presented. 

3.2	Budgeted financial statements
3.2.1	Differences in agency resourcing and financial statements
There are no differences in agency resourcing and the financial statements.
3.2.2	Analysis of budgeted financial statements
The Commonwealth has allocated funding for ACARA of up to $49.2 million from 2008–09 to 2011–12.
In June 2009 Ministers agreed to ACARA’s total budget of $97 million over four years being equally shared between the Commonwealth and the states and territories based on the current MCEETYA funding formula.

3.2.3	Budgeted financial statements tables
Table 3.2.1 Comprehensive Income Statement (Showing Net Cost of Services)
(for the period ended 30 June)

Prepared on Australian Accounting Standards basis.

Table 3.2.2: Budgeted departmental balance sheet(as at 30 June)

Prepared on Australian Accounting Standards basis.

Table 3.2.2: Budgeted departmental balance sheet (as at 30 June) (continued)

*	'Equity' is the residual interest in assets after deduction of liabilities.
Prepared on Australian Accounting Standards basis.

Table 3.2.3: Departmental statement of changes in equity — summary of movement (Budget year 2010-11)

Prepared on Australian Accounting Standards basis.

Table 3.2.4: Budgeted departmental statement of cash flows
(for the period ended 30 June)

Prepared on Australian Accounting Standards basis.

Table 3.2.4: Budgeted departmental statement of cash flows
(for the period ended 30 June) (continued)

Prepared on Australian Accounting Standards basis.
Table 3.2.5: Capital Budget Statement
ACARA does not have a departmental capital budget. For this reason Table 3.2.5 is not presented.

Table 3.2.6: Statement of Asset Movements (2010-11)

# Proceeds may be returned to the OPA
Prepared on Australian Accounting Standards basis.

Table 3.2.7: Schedule of budgeted income and expenses administered on behalf of Government (for the period ended 30 June)
ACARA has no income and expenses administered on behalf of government. For this reason Table 3.2.7 is not presented.
Table 3.2.8: Schedule of budgeted assets and liabilities administered on behalf of Government (as at 30 June)
ACARA has no assets and liabilities administered on behalf of government. For this reason Table 3.2.8 is not presented.
Table 3.2.9: Schedule of budgeted administered cash flows (for the period ended 30 June)
ACARA has no administered cash flows. For this reason Table 3.2.9 is not presented.
Table 3.2.10: Schedule of Asset Movements – Administered Capital Budget
ACARA has no administered capital budget. For this reason Table 3.2.10 is not presented.
3.2.4	Notes to the financial statements
The budgeted financial statements for ACARA are prepared for the current year, the 2010‑11 budget year and three forward years. The accounting policies used in preparing these financial statements are consistent with those used in the 2008‑09 Annual Report.