What are some of the common assessments used?
Running Records
Running records are used in most New Zealand schools to help teachers assess your child’s oral reading ability. They were developed in 1993 by Marie Clay to provide a tool for analysing young reader’s strategies and fluency.
When taking a running record the teacher sits next to your child and as your child reads they will keep track of accuracy and errors on a separate sheet of paper. Errors are tallied during the reading whenever a child substitutes one word for another in the text, misses a word out, adds in an extra word or has to be told a word. An error is not recorded if a child self-corrects, but the child has to read independently (with little or no teacher support). The data gathered from running records can be used to give an accuracy percentage (number of correct words as a percentage of the total words) and this can help the teacher decide if a student needs to be reading easier or more challenging books. If it is below 90 % the child needs an easier text, if it is above 94 % the child needs a harder text. During a running record, teachers also look at how well the reader uses the following: Meaning (whether a child’s attempt at a word makes sense), Sentence structure (whether a child’s attempt at a word is grammatically correct) and Visual cues (whether a child’s attempt looks right for given clusters of letters).
At the end of the story the teacher will also check for comprehension by asking the child to re-tell as much of the story as they can remember. A good reader will be able to tell the teacher not just the series of events in the story but other details like where it was set and about the relationships between the characters. The teacher may also note other behaviours in the child reading such as pauses and whether or not they are willing to have a go at tough words. It is certainly a thorough assessment when carried out correctly. The main down side of running records is that the data has to be gathered one to one and this can be time consuming and difficult for a teacher with a classroom full of students. Running records are taken most often (every 2 – 4 weeks) in the earlier stages of learning to read (emergent) and are used less for fluent readers (about once a term). Once a child can read, running records are often replaced with testing that focuses more on working out whether they actually understand what they are reading.
Take a look through the sample marking conventions and the example running record below:
The PAT test
This stands for Progressive Achievement Test and is available to schools for both Maths and English. There are seven different test papers examining the New Zealand curriculum which are usually used from Years 4 to 10. The tests are entirely multi-choice and a student’s results can be compared with the results of a national reference group for their Year level. If your child has done a PAT test you can ask the teacher how they stack up against their Year level as a whole.
Sample PAT test question from Test 1 (Year 4)
Riki won 12 marbles before school, 5 marbles at lunchtime, and 11 marbles after school. How many did he win altogether?
(A) 17
(B) 23
(C) 28
(D) 30
(E) 38
Sample PAT test question from Test 3 (Year 6)
Ra sells lollies in bags of 10. If he has 634 lollies, how many bags of 10 can he make?
(A) 3
(B) 6
(C) 30
(D) 60
(E) 63
Sample PAT test question from Test 5 (Year 8)
Pia wanted to find out what students at her intermediate school thought about school uniforms. She could only ask some of the
students. Which of these would be the fairest way to choose a sample of 30 students?
(A) choose 30 students from one Year 8 class
(B) choose 30 students she knows
(C) choose the first 30 students to arrive at school one day
(D) choose 30 names from a box that has all the students’ names in it
(E) choose 30 people who attend the choir practice one lunchtime
The STAR test
This stands for the 'Supplementary Test of Achievement in Reading' and tests Years 3 to 9. The test examines word recognition, understanding of sentences and paragraphs and vocabulary range. From Years 7 – 9 it adds a test of the language of advertising and of reading in different genres.
The Star test for Years 4 – 6, for example, is divided into four sections:
Section 1: There is a list of pictures with four words beside each and the kids have to match the picture to the correct word,
e.g. a picture of a banana has the following choices: apple banana orange plum
Section 2: There is a sentence with a word(s) missing off the end and students have to pick from four choices,
e.g. the children were late because the school bus was yellow / went fast / broke down / flat tyre
Section 3: Fill in the blanks
e.g. Sandy is a large brown dog. He is __________ very friendly dog, but he _______ one bad habit. He likes to __________ at cars and chase ________ down the road.
Section 4: Students are given a sentence and they have to look at the underlined word and circle which word means the same as,
e.g. Grandfather grew an enormous carrot.
Ripe / huge / tiny / beautiful
Years 7 – 9 have an extra two sections:
Section 5: Students have to identify which word is an emotive word
e.g circle the emotive word in this phrase: "See for yourself why our activity books are so special"
Section 6: Choosing a phrase that best fits the style of the text
e.g Traditional Fairy Tale
Once upon a time there lived a beautiful princess called Beatrice. She dwelt in a magnificent palace, owned many fine clothes and had lots of close buddies . many dear friends . numerous close associates.
The Star test is norm referenced like the PAT – in October 1999, 4500 kids sat the test to provide teachers with norms
Table 1: Guide to typical scores for the STAR test
Age
8y 0 m 22- 28 11y o m 49 - 55
8 y 6 m 24-30 11 y 6 m 52-58
9y 0 m 26-32 12y 0 m 54 - 60
9y 6m 28-34 12y 6 m 56 - 62
10 y 0 m 30-36 13 y o m 58 - 64
10y 6m 31 – 37 13 y 6m 59 – 65
So if your son is 8 and a half years old and gets 28 in his STAR test he is reading at the expected level for his age. If he scored above 30 he would be above average for his age. Note that the Y4 – 6 test is out of 50 and the Year 7 – 8 test is out of 80.
The results may've been converted into stanines – a stanine shows a rank in comparison with their Year group nationwide. Stanines are expressed as a scale of nine units with a low of one and a high of nine. The scale follows a bell shape curve, where 20 % of students fit in stanine five, four percent in stanine 9 and four per cent in stanine 1.
This stands for Progressive Achievement Test and is available to schools for both Maths and English. There are seven different test papers examining the New Zealand curriculum which are usually used from Years 4 to 10. The tests are entirely multi-choice and a student’s results can be compared with the results of a national reference group for their Year level. If your child has done a PAT test you can ask the teacher how they stack up against their Year level as a whole.
Sample PAT test question from Test 1 (Year 4)
Riki won 12 marbles before school, 5 marbles at lunchtime, and 11 marbles after school. How many did he win altogether?
(A) 17
(B) 23
(C) 28
(D) 30
(E) 38
Sample PAT test question from Test 3 (Year 6)
Ra sells lollies in bags of 10. If he has 634 lollies, how many bags of 10 can he make?
(A) 3
(B) 6
(C) 30
(D) 60
(E) 63
Sample PAT test question from Test 5 (Year 8)
Pia wanted to find out what students at her intermediate school thought about school uniforms. She could only ask some of the
students. Which of these would be the fairest way to choose a sample of 30 students?
(A) choose 30 students from one Year 8 class
(B) choose 30 students she knows
(C) choose the first 30 students to arrive at school one day
(D) choose 30 names from a box that has all the students’ names in it
(E) choose 30 people who attend the choir practice one lunchtime
The STAR test
This stands for the 'Supplementary Test of Achievement in Reading' and tests Years 3 to 9. The test examines word recognition, understanding of sentences and paragraphs and vocabulary range. From Years 7 – 9 it adds a test of the language of advertising and of reading in different genres.
The Star test for Years 4 – 6, for example, is divided into four sections:
Section 1: There is a list of pictures with four words beside each and the kids have to match the picture to the correct word,
e.g. a picture of a banana has the following choices: apple banana orange plum
Section 2: There is a sentence with a word(s) missing off the end and students have to pick from four choices,
e.g. the children were late because the school bus was yellow / went fast / broke down / flat tyre
Section 3: Fill in the blanks
e.g. Sandy is a large brown dog. He is __________ very friendly dog, but he _______ one bad habit. He likes to __________ at cars and chase ________ down the road.
Section 4: Students are given a sentence and they have to look at the underlined word and circle which word means the same as,
e.g. Grandfather grew an enormous carrot.
Ripe / huge / tiny / beautiful
Years 7 – 9 have an extra two sections:
Section 5: Students have to identify which word is an emotive word
e.g circle the emotive word in this phrase: "See for yourself why our activity books are so special"
Section 6: Choosing a phrase that best fits the style of the text
e.g Traditional Fairy Tale
Once upon a time there lived a beautiful princess called Beatrice. She dwelt in a magnificent palace, owned many fine clothes and had lots of close buddies . many dear friends . numerous close associates.
The Star test is norm referenced like the PAT – in October 1999, 4500 kids sat the test to provide teachers with norms
Table 1: Guide to typical scores for the STAR test
Age
8y 0 m 22- 28 11y o m 49 - 55
8 y 6 m 24-30 11 y 6 m 52-58
9y 0 m 26-32 12y 0 m 54 - 60
9y 6m 28-34 12y 6 m 56 - 62
10 y 0 m 30-36 13 y o m 58 - 64
10y 6m 31 – 37 13 y 6m 59 – 65
So if your son is 8 and a half years old and gets 28 in his STAR test he is reading at the expected level for his age. If he scored above 30 he would be above average for his age. Note that the Y4 – 6 test is out of 50 and the Year 7 – 8 test is out of 80.
The results may've been converted into stanines – a stanine shows a rank in comparison with their Year group nationwide. Stanines are expressed as a scale of nine units with a low of one and a high of nine. The scale follows a bell shape curve, where 20 % of students fit in stanine five, four percent in stanine 9 and four per cent in stanine 1.
The AsTTle Test
AsTTle stands for Assessment Tools for Teaching and Learning. It is an educational resource for assessing literacy and numeracy.
asTTle provides teachers, students, and parents with information about a student's level of achievement, relative to the curriculum achievement outcomes, for levels 2 to 6 and national norms of performance for students in years 4 to 12. the asTTle tool generates interactive graphic reports that allow teachers to analyse student achievement against curriculum levels, curriculum objectives, and population norms. Research and development over 2003–2004 has extended asTTle into years 8–12 and curriculum levels 5–6.
AsTTle stands for Assessment Tools for Teaching and Learning. It is an educational resource for assessing literacy and numeracy.
asTTle provides teachers, students, and parents with information about a student's level of achievement, relative to the curriculum achievement outcomes, for levels 2 to 6 and national norms of performance for students in years 4 to 12. the asTTle tool generates interactive graphic reports that allow teachers to analyse student achievement against curriculum levels, curriculum objectives, and population norms. Research and development over 2003–2004 has extended asTTle into years 8–12 and curriculum levels 5–6.
Other common tests
There are several other common assessments used by schools in New Zealand such as the IKAN, ARBs, GloSS and NumPA - follow this link if you wish to find out a bit more about the use of these in Maths testing and go here to find out about Literacy testing.
There are several other common assessments used by schools in New Zealand such as the IKAN, ARBs, GloSS and NumPA - follow this link if you wish to find out a bit more about the use of these in Maths testing and go here to find out about Literacy testing.
