October 2, 2009
Embargoed 11.30am (AEST)
71/2009
Popular ABS online learning resource - CensusAtSchool - goes annual
Following the success of the CensusAtSchool project in 2006 and 2008, the Australian Bureau of
Statistics (ABS) has announced today that it will be running it on an annual basis.
From next year, primary and secondary students in Australia will have an ongoing opportunity to
participate in CensusAtSchool.
Participation has also been streamlined to make it easier for teachers to get their students
and the CensusAtSchool questionnaire will be available for students to use from January 27, 2010.
"The ABS has responded to the needs of teachers to make participation even easier," says Paul
Taylor, Director of ABS Education Services.
"By becoming an annual activity, CensusAtSchool enables more students to participate and make
it a regular feature in classrooms across Australia.
"It's part of an international project to improve statistical literacy and has been designed for use
across a number of curriculum areas such as maths, geography, science and information
technology.
"It also helps students understand the purpose of the population census, by engaging them in a
data collection process that's relevant to them."
The project sees Years 5 to 12 students from all over Australia collect real data about themselves
by completing an online questionnaire (similar to the population census).
From 2010 the questionnaire will open annually during Terms 1 and 2, with 30 questions designed
to collect information on students' lifestyle, personal characteristics and opinions on environmental
and social issues. There are also interactive questions to test reaction time and concentration.
"Over 100,000 students have already participated in CensusAtSchool and now the project is
annual, there is no better time to get involved," Paul Taylor said.
The CensusAtSchool project is being provided for educational purposes only and the ABS employs
security techniques that ensure participants' anonymity. Taking part in and using data from
CensusAtSchool is free and voluntary.
For more information on how to get involved or to create an account, visit the ABS
Media Note: When reporting ABS data you must attribute the Australian Bureau of Statistics (or the
ABS) as the source.
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