Online testing in schools

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NEW! In the spotlight: New Group Reading Test Digital With the New Group Reading Test Digital (NGRT Digital), GL Assessment has taken the power of online testing to a new level by making the test adapt to the reading ability of the pupil. In other words, pupils see a different version of the test depending on how they are scoring as they move through the items. Aimed at pupils from 7 to 16 years, this fully standardised test comprises three sections: phonics, sentence completion and passage comprehension. Pupils enter the test according to their age and begin with the sentence completion section. Depending on their score, they will progress to either phonics tasks or a passage comprehension at a suitable level of difficulty. The difficulty is then slowly increased until the pupils’ scores begin to show that the test is becoming too challenging. Developed by GL Assessment and the National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER), NGRT Digital is an ideal screening/monitoring test for groups of pupils. Its ability to show the ongoing progression and achievement of pupils makes it an essential tool that satisfies the literacy assessment requirements of all four UK inspection frameworks. The reports A detailed Group Report is available as soon as pupils have taken the test. It includes: • Group Scores for Sentence Completion and Passage Comprehension • Analysis by Reading Age Equivalent Band • Group Scores for Phonics • Group Demographic Comparison. Sample questions from NGRT Digital, illustrating the three sections: phonics, sentence completion and passage comprehension. Why use NGRT Digital? • Pupils are not exposed to test material at an inappropriate level, making the testing process a much more positive and motivating experience. • Teachers and SENCOs are provided with accurate results that reveal the level of their pupils’ reading ability. Pupils with weak skills can be tested with material at a lower level than that determined by age, while pupils with high level skills are presented with material that better reflects their ability. • NGRT Digital is a time-efficient and accurate test of a pupil’s reading progress that can be administered at key points – for instance, on transfer from primary to secondary school – or used year-on-year to check progress. • Provided the test ascertains a pupil’s reading ability to be at a level suitable for the passage comprehension section, NGRT Digital enables the assessment of reading and comprehension in a single test. • The assessment is ideal to screen pupils for additional support and will help determine what level of intervention or further assessment may be required. It can also help identify pupils who need to be assessed individually for Access Arrangements. Online testing in action New Group Reading Test Digital For some secondary school pupils who struggle with reading, it is sometimes necessary to return to phonics in order to cement stronger foundations for reading progress. NGRT Digital helps teachers and SENCOs to do this in an age-appropriate way by automatically taking those pupils with a very low sentence completion score to the phonics section in place of the passage comprehension section. Sample report showing group scores for sentence completion and passage comprehension. Not only does this provide teachers and SENCOs with valuable phonics information at secondary level, it also helps identify those secondary pupils who need essential support in phonics, an element that is recognised across all UK curricula as key to reading progress. 12
In the spotlight: Parent/carer communication It is generally accepted that parental involvement is an important lever for raising children’s achievement. Assessment can play a vital role in this by providing a clear, independent picture of where a child is at and what needs to be done to help him/her progress. Online assessment goes one step further by providing instant access to assessment data, enabling intervention plans to be put in place early and progress monitored on a regular basis. A number of our online assessments even generate reports and other types of information specifically designed to aid communication with parents and carers. Dyslexia Screener Digital Dyslexia Screener Digital is an innovative online assessment that identifies dyslexic tendencies and recommends intervention strategies. Fully standardised, this 30 minute test is an ideal tool for screening an entire year group or just those pupils showing some signs of difficulty. It can play an important part in helping both specialist and non-specialist teachers distinguish between those individuals who are having general difficulties in literacy and those whose difficulties are associated with dyslexia. Progress in English Digital Progress in English Digital (PiE Digital) is a standardised test of a pupil’s reading and writing ability. Suitable for pupils aged 7 to 11 years, it provides essential diagnostic information about pupils’ specific strengths and needs in English. PiE Digital is used to monitor progress, inform target-setting, develop individual learning plans and support teacher assessment. To help schools communicate clearly with parents and carers about children’s reading goals and progress, the instant reports generated by PiE Digital now include a Lexile Measure for each pupil. This is a new measure of reading ability that also measures text difficulty, enabling suitable reading material to be mapped to a pupil. As a result, PiE Digital reports are supported by a Suggested Reading List for each pupil based on their Lexile Measure and a sample explanatory letter for parents similar to the one shown here: To help aid parent/carer communication both before and after screening, the instantly generated reports include a comprehensive parent/carer report that explains their child’s score in each of the six sub-tests. To help parents and carers understand further exactly what the test involves, the purpose of each sub-test is explained and an example question shown. Further guidance and letter templates are also included. A parent/carer report is also included in the reports generated by Dsycalculia Screener Digital. For more information, visit: www.gl-assessment.co.uk /online A section of the parent/carer report from Dyslexia Screener Digital. For more information about Lexile measures, please visit www.improvemyreading.co.uk. 13
Page 2: Introduction During the last decade
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Page 7 and 8: 5 Accessing test results and report
Page 9 and 10: Online testing in action Suffolk Re
Page 11: Why use CAT4 Digital? • It identi
Page 15 and 16: The GL Education Group is a leading

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