Standards and procedures

1. Program development, design and delivery are based on:
   1. a documented evidence-based rationale of how the program will develop effective teachers who:
      1. meet the Graduate Teacher Standards; and
      2. successfully demonstrate knowledge of and meet the Learning Outcomes of the core content in Schedule 2
   2. a coherent and sequenced delivery of program content including professional experience that facilitates achievement of the Graduate Teacher Standards.
2. Program development, design and delivery take account of:
   1. contemporary and emerging developments in education, curriculum requirements¹, community expectations and local, employer and national system needs, including workforce demands for teaching specialisations
   2. the perspectives of stakeholders such as employers, professional teacher bodies, practising teachers, educational researchers and relevant cultural and community experts.
3. The resourcing for the program and its teaching and assessment strategies is consistent with the program’s rationale and expected outcomes and:
   1. prepares pre-service teachers for contemporary school environments and early childhood education environments where relevant
   2. takes into account the learning and professional experience needs of pre-service teachers across all offered modes of delivery
   3. includes staff who have ongoing or recent school-based experience and early childhood experience where relevant.

    

¹ Curriculum refers to the Foundation to Year 12 Australian Curriculum, alternative curriculum frameworks that have been assessed by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) as meeting the requirements of the Australian Curriculum, any curriculum authorised by jurisdictional authorities, and the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia.

1. Providers describe and publish the rationale for their approach to program entry, the selection mechanisms used, threshold entry scores applied and any exemptions used.
2. Providers apply selection criteria for all entrants, which incorporate both academic and non-academic components that are consistent with engagement with a rigorous higher education program, the requirements of the particular program and subsequent success in professional teaching practice.
3. All information necessary to ensure transparent and justifiable selection processes for entry into initial teacher education programs, including student cohort data, is publicly available.
4. The program is designed to address the learning needs of all pre-service teachers admitted, including through provision of additional support to any cohort or individual who may be at risk of not being able to participate fully in the program or achieve its expected outcomes.
5. Initial teacher education graduates will possess levels of personal English language literacy and numeracy broadly equivalent to the top 30% of the population and/or possess high levels of Australian First Nations language proficiency.
   1. The Literacy and Numeracy Test for Initial Teacher Education Students (LANTITE) is the means of demonstrating that students have met the required standard of English language literacy and numeracy. In the case of First Nations language speakers, recognition of First Nations language proficiency by the relevant cultural authority is an acceptable alternative standard.
   2. Students who are required to undertake the LANTITE are expected to attempt it before the end of the first year of their initial teacher education qualification.
   3. Providers must support students’ access to the LANTITE and provide targeted assistance to those who need support to achieve the required standard before graduation. Providers must have an established process to confirm recognition of First Language proficiency.
   4. Providers are also required to support those students who meet the First Nations language proficiency to develop their English literacy and numeracy skills.
6. Program entrants must meet English language proficiency requirements for teacher registration in Australia², either on entry to or on graduation from the program.
7. Entrants to graduate entry programs have a discipline-specific bachelor or equivalent qualification relevant to the Australian Curriculum or other recognised areas of schooling provision including:
   1. for secondary teaching, at least a major study in one teaching area and, preferably, a second teaching area comprising at least a minor study, or
   2. for primary teaching, at least one year of full-time equivalent study relevant to one or more learning areas of the primary school curriculum.³

² Teacher registration is the responsibility of jurisdictional Authorities and the specifications for English Language requirements are set out under the relevant regulatory schemes. View the nationally agreed requirements for English language proficiency.

³ This entry requirement also applies to combined primary/early childhood programs.

1. Programs comprise at least two years of full-time equivalent professional studies⁴ in education and are structured so that a graduate has undertaken a four-year or longer full-time equivalent program(s) that leads to a higher education qualification(s) in one of the following configurations:
   1. a three-year undergraduate degree providing the required discipline knowledge, plus a two-year graduate entry professional qualification
   2. an integrated degree of at least four years comprising discipline studies and professional studies
   3. combined degrees of at least four years comprising discipline studies and professional studies
   4. other combinations of qualifications proposed by the provider and approved by the Authority in consultation with AITSL as equivalent to the above that enable alternative or flexible pathways into the teaching profession.
2. Initial teacher education programs prepare pre-service teachers for the school curriculum⁵ and learning areas of their chosen discipline and/or stage of schooling in accordance with Schedule 1.⁶ Discipline-specific curriculum and pedagogical studies must be consistent with the core content outlined in Schedule 2.
3. Combined programs: Some programs prepare graduates for teaching across multiple educational settings, for example early childhood/primary school and primary school/secondary school (‘middle school’):
   1. Programs that prepare graduates to teach in both early childhood settings and primary schools prepare teachers for teaching the curriculum across both contexts.
   2. Programs that prepare graduates for primary and secondary school teaching must fully address the requirements for primary teaching and for secondary teaching in at least one major study or two minor studies in secondary teaching areas. However, programs may have a stronger emphasis on teaching particular year levels (e.g. Years 5 to 9).
   3. Programs that prepare graduates for teaching in other specialised teaching roles in schools and other educational settings must address the specific content and pedagogy of the specialisation.
4. In addition to study in each of the learning areas of the primary school curriculum sufficient to equip teachers to teach across the years of primary schooling, programs provide all primary graduates with a subject specialisation through:
   1. clearly defined pathways into and/or within a program that lead to specialisations, that are in demand, with a focus on subject/curriculum areas
   2. assessment within the program requiring graduates to demonstrate expert content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge and highly effective classroom teaching in their area of specialisation
   3. publishing the specialisations available, and numbers of graduates per specialisation through their annual reports.

    

⁴ Professional studies in education covers discipline-specific curriculum and pedagogical studies, general education studies and professional experience.

⁵ Curriculum refers to the Foundation to Year 12 Australian Curriculum or alternative curriculum frameworks that have been assessed by the Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority (ACARA) as meeting the requirements of the Australian Curriculum, any curriculum authorised by jurisdictional authorities, and the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia.

⁶ This Standard applies equally to those entrants admitted under recognition of prior learning or credit transfer arrangements.

1. Providers have processes in place for the ongoing collection, analysis and evaluation of data to inform program improvements and periodic formal evaluation of the program, including participation in national and jurisdictional data collections⁷ to support local and national teacher workforce supply reporting, program and provider benchmarking, and to build a cumulative database of evidence relating to the quality of teacher education in Australia.
2. At the beginning of each accreditation period, providers develop and then implement a plan for demonstrating program outcomes in relation to pre-service teacher performance and graduate outcomes, including program impact. The plan will identify how providers will select, use and analyse evidence that is relevant to assessing the delivery of the program, including the mandatory evidence required by Program Standard 6.3.
3. Evidence of outcomes, including impact, is provided⁸, evaluated and interpreted for the program at the end of each accreditation period. The interpretation of evidence encompasses identified strengths, program changes and planned improvements. The evidence requirements include at a minimum:
   1. aggregated assessment data from the teaching performance assessment for all pre-service teachers (Program Standards 1.2 and 1.3)
   2. aggregated assessment data from any other assessments identified in a plan for impact as contributing to evidence in relation to pre-service teacher performance and impact (Program Standards 1.1 and 1.3)
   3. aggregated assessment and outcomes data linked to individuals and/or cohorts of interest, including selection cohorts (Program Standard 3.3)
   4. data and evidence from participation in national and jurisdictional data collections (Program Standard 6.1)
   5. evidence of the outcomes of graduates and/or graduate cohorts (Program Standard 1.4).
4. Providers report annually to the Authority including reporting on:
   1. data as identified in the plan for impact (Program Standard 6.2)
   2. changes to the program
   3. nationally required data to contribute to national and/or jurisdictional collections and for compliance and accountability purposes
   4. additional data/information requested by the Authority.

    

⁷ Such as the Quality Indicators for Learning and Teaching survey (QILT).

⁸ Evidence will be reported annually as part of the annual reporting requirements in Program Standard 6.4.