What can videogame design grammar teach us about high-stakes standardised assessment?

Initial Teacher Education (ITE) students are required to demonstrate that their literacy and numeracy skills are within the top 30% of the Australian adult population by completing the Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education (LANTITE). In 2011, Australian Ministers of Education agreed to the development and implementation of LANTITE to focus on improving students’ literacy and numeracy achievement, as measured by the National Assessment Program for Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN). The Ministers focused on LANTITE to ensure the quality of teachers’ literacy and numeracy skills and improve the educational achievements of school students. The LANTITE framework and pool of questions were developed by the Australian Council of Educational Research (ACER) and were first implemented in 2016. Since its development, LANTITE has been a requirement of ITE for the past 10 years.

ITE students are required to attempt LANTITE in their first year of full-time study. Academic research reports that ITE students experience: test anxiety, frustration with the time it takes to receive their LANTITE results, and a need for more specific assessment feedback. Moreover, Australian news sites report ITE students experience concerns such as how the test is administered, the cost of registration and private tutoring for preparation, and the impact on their course progression and graduation.