Teach for Australia: Using Bespoke Selection Solutions
We caught up with Erie Lane, Selection Manager at Teach for Australia to find out a little more about the organisation, hear more about their use of TeachFit, a bespoke selection solution and their work with TSP. Written by Liz Maxwell.
Who are Teach for Australia?
Who are Teach for Australia?
Teach for Australia, an education charity, dedicates itself to creating a future of educational equity for Australian children. Since 2009, Teach for Australia has supported 650,000 young people with 1,800 new and developing teachers in 300 schools across Australia. By 2030, they aim to reach two million students through the growth of their programs. Their flagship leadership development program offers a 2-year Masters level program. Successful recipients teach from day one while receiving wrap-around mentoring and support from their school, Teach for Australia, and their university partner.
Partnership with TSP
In 2022, Erie Lane, Selection Manager at Teach for Australia, approached TSP about including a situational judgment test in their application process. Erie explained that they anticipated significant growth over the coming years and recognized the resource implications of assessing large numbers of written applications and conducting interviews. They hoped that including an SJT early in the selection process would assist in screening applicants. We agreed to develop and trial a bespoke version that gave applicants an idea of what life would be like on their flagship Leadership Development Program. The pilot 30-item version included a range of video and text scenarios across primary and secondary settings with Aboriginal and regional, rural, and remote test content. The SJT assesses a range of professional and interpersonal competencies that align with Teach for Australia’s key attributes such as communication, relationship building, and adaptability.
It takes applicants about 40 minutes to complete, and TSP’s platform immediately provides results. Custom integration with Teach for Australia’s platform eliminates the need for manual applicant invitations to complete the assessment. These features ensure selection staff deliver a seamless experience and make timely decisions.
In 2023, the selection team invited 1035 applicants to complete the SJT, and results informed their decisions. A further 1400 applicants completed the SJT in 2024, providing a large data set for analysis and review. Teach for Australia programs are highly competitive, with approximately 30% of applicants chosen for a place in one of their programs.
This year, we rebranded the SJT as TeachFit and included 25 validated scenarios. TeachFit is being used across two initiatives: the leadership development program and the new undergraduate program. Applicants now receive real-time feedback on their decision-making and judgment, presented as quartile scores. The score provides information about how test takers perform compared to their peers.
Impact on Teach for Australia
Teach for Australia has noted significant correlations between performance on the SJT and their program. It has proven to be an excellent predictor of success. Candidates in the top quartiles are more likely to receive an offer than those in the lower quartiles. When selection staff marked applicants as ‘borderline’ during the application stage, the results of TeachFit helped them decide whether to progress that applicant or not. Erie Lane, Selection Manager at Teach for Australia stated the following:
“TeachFit completely changed how we assess our candidates. The scenarios provide candidates a realistic depiction of what it is like working in classrooms in Australia. They are informed about the job they are applying for before they come to our final Assessment Centre. The test has also allowed us to improve the efficiency of our selection processes without compromising quality. TeachFit replaced our one-to-one interview and also helped us streamline our application review all while maintaining our same standards and benchmarks.
2025 User Feedback
“Brilliant and informative”
“Amazing content and relevance towards teaching expectations”
“I found the TeachFit assessment to be comprehensive and realistic”
“Extremely relevant and thought provoking”
Possible Next Steps for Teach for Australia
- Greater weighting for selection decisions
Teach for Australia predicts that they will give greater weighting to TeachFit results in their selection decisions and are likely to use it more widely across their programs. This will positively impact the efficiency and cost effectiveness of their selection process. - TeachFit results used at interview
Ongoing collaboration will involve discussing how TeachFit results can be used at interview for their brand new undergraduate program. For example, they could invite applicants to discuss one or two scenarios in much greater depth. Giving interviewers further insight into the applicants’ decision making and judgement. - New bespoke version for the Bachelor of Education program
Discussions are underway for a possible new bespoke version for the four-year Bachelor of Education, secondary program. This degree is suitable for applicants who are currently working in schools in a support role.
Find out more
Find out more
Find out more about how TSP works with you to develop bespoke content. Our bespoke solutions grant access to our extensive library of teaching scenarios. An ideal supplement to your existing assessments or scenario-based learning courses.