The Australasian Schools Science Competition is an assessment developed for primary and secondary students to science diagnostic information about student abilities in core skills areas of curricula. This assessment can help identify students with particular talents. It also identifies the individual student’s areas of strength and weakness. In addition, the competition measures and rewards students’ achievement with the awarding of medals and certificates.

The competitions were introduced in Australia in 1981 and due to their national success were established internationally in 1994. They now attract more than 1.7 million entries annually.

The international competition for schools has been operated in Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Hong Kong, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh, China and the Middle East.

This year, through the leadership of Dr. Simon L. Chua, the organizer of Educational Assessment Australia (EAA) which is a leading National and International Educational Assessment Organization invited and appointed the MTG President as the National Competition Manager for Philippines of this prestigious correspondence International Science Competition.

The SCIENCE Contest Assessed the following:
l observing and measuring
l interpreting data
l inferring, predicting, concluding
l investigating
l reasoning and problem solving

Critical thinking, comprehension, creativity, reasoning and problem solving are higher order skills essential for success in school and in the wider community. The Australasian Schools Science Competition provides an opportunity for students to perform a range of tasks to demonstrate these sciences.

The Competition caters for a wide range of student abilities using contexts that are designed to engage students’ attention. The competition assesses skills relevant to curriculum outcomes at appropriate levels. The Competition reports provide valuable diagnostic information that can be used to supplement school reports.

Here are the steps to participate:

1. Pay the registration entry fee amounting to US$6 at the designated bank address at the letter.
2. Write the name of your child and school at the deposit slip.
3. Endorse the deposit slip to the nearest MTG Center Coordinator. Ask for a receipt.
4. The Science coordinator will summarize the number of participats per level and he/she must submit the summary list via fax number (062) 992-3045.
5. The official registration form will send to your school to fill up the complete list of names of the participants.
6. The contest date will be announced later and that will be either in Last or middle of May.
7. The Australasia Contest will be conducted into different MTG Centers across the country.
8. Deadline for entries will be on or before March 15, 2005.

WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF THE SCIENCE COMPETITION?

STUDENTS

Each student receives:
a question booklet
a detailed diagnostic Student Report
a Certificate indicating the level of success.

The diagnostic Student Report provides valuable feedback to the student, parents and teachers. It indicates which questions the student has answered correctly, the skills demonstrated and the comparative difficulty of each question.

For each question, the Student Report shows:
the student’s answer
the correct answer
the skill that the question assesses
the percentage of students who have answered the question correctly in the state/country/region.

The Student Report enables students to:

identify their strengths and weaknesses compare their achievement with the rest of their state monitor their progress from year to year.

The Student Report is particularly valuable for providing independent feedback on performance in specific Key Learning Areas.

By participating in the Competition, students are better prepared for state-based tests. Students can monitor their progress from year to year and gain valuable experience in sitting external tests.

The Student Report and Certificate can be used when applying for scholarships and jobs and when transferring to new schools.

SCHOOLS

Each school receives a School Report, which contains a set of detailed statistics.

The information from the School Report enables teachers to:

monitor and compare student performance in the school identify areas for growth and revision w/in the school identify students with particular talents who are underachieving at school.
compare students’ performance with that of other students in the state or country.
School data is confidential and is not made available to other schools, parents or government departments.


TEACHERS

Teachers can use the School and Student Reports to:

monitor individual student progress modify their classroom activities to cater for the individual and/or group needs of their students.

PARENTS

Parents can use the diagnostic Student Report to discuss their child’s performance with teachers and contribute to the development of an individual learning program for their child.


AWARDS

CERTIFICATES

All students who enter the Australasian School Science Competition shall receive a Certificate. Certificates are awarded on the following basis criteria:

High Distinction: the top 1% of entrants in each Year Level in the state/country/region

Distinction: the next 10% of entrants in each Year Level in the state/country/region

Credit: the next 20% of entrants in each Year Level in the state/country/region

Participation: all other participating students

MEDALS

Prestigious medals with the UNSW crest are awarded in Science subject in each state/country/region to students who achieve the highest score in their Year Level. The student’s name, year level, subject and the year of the Competition are engraved on the medal.