BSc (Hons) La T, DipEd Monash, GradDip (AppSci) Victoria College

Ms O'Connor is a Senior Research Fellow in the Assessment and Reporting Research Division, where she is a member of the Assessment Design Specialist team. She is the former Science team leader, a position she held for four years. Her special interests include science learning and assessment, from the early years to the end of the compulsory years of schooling, with a focus on inquiry skills; and the use of innovative assessment formats. Ms O'Connor is a team member working on the PISA Innovative Assessment, Learning in the Digital world, to be administered in 2025.

Ms O'Connor previously worked in the e-learning space, where she conceptualised, and was responsible for overseeing, the development of digital assessment tasks targeting specific learning outcomes for Science, Mathematics and English across Years P – 10. She also reviewed and aligned digital curriculum and assessment resources to the Australian Curriculum F – 10 available to teachers throughout Australia via the Scootle (scootle.edu.au) website.

In her previous role at ACER (1996 – 2004), Ms O’Connor managed and monitored ACER’s science item development for PISA and managed test development for the first Primary Science Assessment Program, 2003 (later cycles renamed as NAP_SL).

Ms O'Connor previously taught Senior Biology, General Science and Mathematics in Victorian secondary schools.