Contextual information
AEDC Multiple Strengths Indicator
Highly developed, well developed and emerging strengths
Dashboard snapshot: The data below are the most recent at the time of preparing the July 2023 report. Please go to the dashboard to access the current data.
Measure
AEDC Multiple Strengths Indicator (highly developed, well developed and emerging strengths)
Nationally in 2021, 37.7 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children commencing school were assessed in the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) as having highly developed strengths, 23.7 per cent were assessed as having well developed strengths and 38.6 per cent were assessed as having emerging strengths (figure SE4d.1).
Since the 2018 baseline, the assessments of developmental strengths for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children has seen a decrease in the proportion assessed as having highly developed strengths (down 1.3 percentage points) and an increase in the proportion assessed as having emerging strengths (up 1.0 percentage points). The proportion assessed as having well developed strengths increased 0.4 percentage points.
![Figure SE4d.1 shows the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the first year of full time schooling assessed in the Australian Early Development Census as having highly developed, well developed and emerging strengths, by year. More details can be found within the text near this image.](https://www.pc.gov.au/closing-the-gap-data/annual-data-report/2023/report/tabvizpngs/FigureSE4d.1.png)
Description5 | 2018 | 2021 |
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Emerging strengths | 37.6 | 38.6 |
Well developed strengths | 23.3 | 23.7 |
Highly developed strengths | 39.0 | 37.7 |
Indicator data specifications
Related outcome: | Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children thrive in their early years. |
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Related target: | By 2031, increase the proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children assessed as developmentally on track in all five domains of the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) to 55 per cent. |
Indicator: | AEDC Multiple Strengths Indicator (highly developed, well developed and emerging strengths) |
Measure | The measure is defined as: Numerator — number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the first year of full time schooling assessed in the AEDC as having highly developed, well developed and emerging strengths Denominator — total number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the first year of full time schooling and is presented as a percentage. |
Indicator established: | National Agreement on Closing the Gap July 2020 |
Latest dashboard update for the indicator: | 15 June 2023 |
Indicator type: | Contextual information |
Interpretation of change: | A high or increasing proportion of children with highly developed or well developed strengths is desirable. |
Data source: | Name: AEDC microdata file. Frequency: Three-yearly Documentation (links): https://www.aedc.gov.au |
Data provider: | Provider name: Australian Government Department of Education Provider area: Australian Early Development Census |
Baseline year: | 2018 |
Latest reporting period: | 2021 |
Disaggregations: | State and territory and Australia, by Indigenous status. |
Computation: | Numerator divided by Denominator multiplied by 100 Counting rules The MSI is a strength-based measure that provides information on children’s developmental strengths as they commence full time school. The MSI uses responses to the Australian version of the Early Development Instrument (AvEDI), the Instrument used in the AEDC. Responses primarily from the social and emotional maturity domains are used, although responses from all five domains of child development are drawn upon. The 39 items/questions used to calculate the MSI are AvEDI questions that focus on the more advanced skills, competencies and dispositions children have at school entry. Children receive a score between 0 and 39 on the MSI, with higher scores indicating that a child has strengths in more of the 39 items. There are three MSI categories, which are based on cut-offs established using 2009 data.
Geographical variables are based on the location in which the child resides. As age is a factor contributing to children’s development, the published AEDC results control for age. Excludes (both numerator and denominator)
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Data quality considerations: | See http://www.aedc.gov.au for further information. The AEDC is a national population measure on how children have developed by the time they start their first year of full time school. Information is collected through a teacher-completed instrument in children’s first year of full time schooling. For 2021, AEDC data were collected for 305,015 children, equating to an estimated 95.5 per cent of first year school enrolments based on ABS schools data. Of the 305,015 children with data collected for the AEDC, 20,646 children (6.8 per cent) were Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander children. Based on ABS estimates, this equates to an estimated 96.2 per cent of first year school enrolments for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. Research conducted in 2007 validated the AEDC for use for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children (AEDC Indigenous Adaptation Study). The MSI was developed after the AEDC Indigenous Adaptation Study and therefore the MSI was not part of this validation process. MSI results can be compared over cycles however it is not possible to determine if changes are significant as the critical difference has not yet been developed for MSI. |
Future reporting: | Additional disaggregations required for future reporting:
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