The Assessments Tab shows all of the assessments that you are authorised to view. Unlike the Home Tab, you can view assessments that are retired and also filter your assessments by date and other criteria.
Filtering Assessments
When viewing the Assessment Tab, you may wish to filter the Assessments you see so that only a subset of all of your Assessments is visible. You can filter by a number of criteria and can combine criteria to provide a quite specific filter that exactly meets your needs.
The available filter criteria are:
Status (Active, Non-Active or Retired)
Assessment area (Numeracy, Reading, Vocabulary or Writing)
Assessment type (Adaptive, Non-Adaptive, Non-Adaptive for Printing, Non-Adaptive Snapshot for Printing, or Snapshot).
Date (by date range created)
In addition, selecting the Show More Options link allows you to add further filtering options for:
Assessment Strand (Number Knowledge, Number Strategies and Measurement, General Numeracy, Read with Understanding, or Vocabulary); and
Difficulty (the Step selected for Non-Adaptive Assessments).
To filter using these criteria:
- Select the criteria you wish to filter by. In the case of date ranges, use the date picker to select the date range, for all other criteria select the checkbox next to the criteria name.
- Select the Apply Filter button.
(Note that once a filter has been applied to the Assessments Tab, it will remain filtered during the Assessment Tool session that the tab is accessed in. The filtering will be removed once the session is ended or if the 'Reset Filter' button is clicked.)
Overview of Creating an Assessment
Assessment areas
The Assessment Tool allows you to assess six different areas:
Reading Assessments assess the learner's ability against the Read with Understanding Assessment Strand.
Numeracy Assessments assess the learner's ability against either the Number Knowledge or Number Strategies and Measurement Assessment Strands or in General Numeracy, which is a combination of both.
Vocabulary Assessments assess the learner's ability to use vocabulary knowledge. They are designed for learners who are achieving at or below the lower steps of the reading progressions. See the PDF at the bottom of the page for more information.
Writing Assessments assess the learner's writing skills on a number of dimensions under the Write to Communicate Assessment Strand.
Starting Points Listening Assessments assess the learner's knowledge of a basic range of NZ English words.
Starting Points Reading Assessments assess the learner's ability based on the Starting Points assessment guide.
For more information on how to create these Assessments see:
- Creating a Reading Assessment
- Creating a Numeracy Assessment
- Creating a Vocabulary Assessment
- Creating a Writing Assessment
Types of Assessment
Reading and Numeracy Assessments can be set as Adaptive, Non-Adaptive, Non-Adaptive for Printing, or Snapshot whereas Vocabulary Assessments can only be set as Adaptive. Writing Assessments can only be performed as written, offline assessments that are then marked and entered into the Assessment Tool to be assigned a score.
Adaptive Assessments (also called Computer Adaptive Tests, or CAT Assessments) mark the learner's response as they progress through the assessment, selecting the next set of questions that are presented to the learner based on the results of the answers given. In this way, the Assessment Tool can usually arrive at a more precise assessment of the learner's ability as it is able to dynamically adjust the questions the learner's answer, thus avoiding an assessment that is too difficult or too easy overall for the specific learner.
Non-Adaptive Assessments are also performed on the computer, but use an algorithm to determine a likely spread of questions based on a starting point that is chosen when creating the assessment. Non-Adaptive Assessments have the advantage that everyone is answering the same set of questions, but run the risk of the assessment being too easy or too hard for some learners.
Non-Adaptive for Printing Assessments are Non-Adaptive Assessments that are specifically created to be printed and handed out to the learners for completion - for example when an online assessment cannot be performed due to Internet access being unavailable. The answers for these types of assessments are automatically compiled in a Marking Guide, which is then used to mark the assessment, after which the marks are entered into the Assessment Tool by the Educator or Organisation Administrator.
Snapshot Assessments (available only for Reading or Numeracy) are shorter adaptive assessments aimed at using a minimum number of items to make a broad estimate of a learner's achievement level. When creating a Snapshot Assessment, Educators must either set a step level Threshold or choose "No Threshold". When a Threshold is set, the Assessment Tool will terminate the assessment when there is sufficient confidence around the result to categorise the learner as achieving either below or above the threshold step. If the Tool cannot categorise the result after about 17 items, it will terminate the assessment and report a Threshold decision of "Undecided". If the "No threshold" option is selected the Assessment Tool will not attempt to categorise a learner as above or below a threshold step and will simply terminate after about 17 items. Snapshot Assessments will always report a best fit step and a scale score (with a margin of error) whether or not a Threshold has been set. See the PDF at the bottom of this page for further information.
Non-Adaptive Snapshot for Printing Assessments (available only for Reading or Numeracy) are shorter Non-Adaptive Assessments that are specifically created to be printed and handed out to the learners for completion.
Once an assessment is created, you can assign it to an Educator so that it appears on their Home Tab.
Adaptive Assessments (including Snapshot and Vocabulary Assessments) are automatically retired twenty six weeks after creation, while Non-Adaptive, Non-Adaptive for Printing, Non-Adaptive Shapshot for Printing and Writing Assessments will retire sixteen weeks after creation. Retired assessments will only be visible under the Assessments Tab once they have reached their expiry date.
Data Engine Extract of Learner Assessment results
You can generate a report which will generate a file containing all assessment results in Numeracy, Reading, Vocabulary and Writing for all selected learners. Demographic data is included to assist in SMS integration.
To obtain this extract, from the Assessments Tab:
- Select the check box to the left of the assessment name(s) you wish included in the extract.
- Select a date range below the Learner Assessment Results under the Data Engine Extracts panel in the side menu.
- Select Get Extract under the Learner Assessment Results panel in the side menu.
- Select the link Click here to download the Data Engine Extract.
- Choose whether to Save or Open the file when prompted.
Additional Online Help for the Assessments Tab
Within the Assessment Tool, the Online Help Guides have further useful information relating to the Assessments tab, including:
Creating a Vocabulary Assessment
Creating a Numeracy Assessment
Suggestions for naming Assessments
Adding Learners to an Assessment
Adding Educators to an Assessment
Removing Learners from an Assessment