Record
W E S T E R N A U S T R A L I A’ S A WA R D - W I N N I N G C AT H O L I C N E W S P A P E R S I N C E 1 8 7 4
the the
We d n e s d a y, A u g u s t 7 , 2 0 1 3
Parish.
the
N at i o n .
the
World.
The PM and the students
Time for a
St Norbert’s students asked the tough questions during Mr Rudd’s visit - Page 5
Visiting Zimbabwean priest, talks about his country’s tortured sufferings - Pages 8-9
$2.00
therecord.com.au
CHANGE
As Sr Dolores retires, Indigenous lose a champion...
Mercy Sister Dolores Coffey, director of the Dawdawn Advocacy Centre since 2007, was feted at a celebration in the meeting room of St Mary’s Cathedral last week for her work among local Indigenous people, promoting individual rights, inclusion and participation in wider Australian society. Full story - page 4. PHOTO: JUANITA SHEPHERD
Students at Catholic schools throughout the state complete
Tests for Catholic literacy By Matthew Biddle CATHOLIC students around Western Australia completed the annual Bishops Religious Literacy Assessment last week. Students from Years 3, 5 and 9 at Catholic schools throughout the State took part in the assessment, which is developed by the Catholic Education Office of WA and was introduced in 2006. The test examines students’ ability to recall content about the Catholic faith and assesses their knowledge and understanding of Religious Education. Diana Alteri from the Catholic Education Office said the test is an important part of establishing what improvements can be made
to Religious Education. “It’s meant to be a diagnostic tool for the teachers,” she said. Ms Alteri said the tests are based on the Religious Education curriculum taught at Catholic schools, and are aimed at seeing how much knowledge and understanding students are gaining. She said previous years’ results have shown Catholic students in WA are “achieving to quite a high standard”. The religious literacy assessment operates in the same way as NAPLAN testing does around Australia. This allows for easy comparison, according to Ms Alteri. “We can actually compare how they’re going in RE against how they’re going in literacy and numer-
acy and science and other things,” she said. Year 9 students were given 100 minutes to complete the test, which consisted of multiple choice and short and extended answer questions. Each section contained questions on four topics – Jesus, the Bible, Sacraments and Prayer, and the Church. Teachers, principals and students are all asked to complete a survey about the assessment, which is used for development purposes. Parents will receive their child’s test report at the end of the school year, while teachers and bishops will also receive a report of the assessment results. Bishop Elliott on Melbourne’s new digital frontier - Page 6