April 30, 2016
Getting to grips with school reading assessment
While the removal of levels might seem like a lifetime ago, the reality is that the dust has still to truly settle when it comes to finding the best way to manage school reading assessment.
For some, the use of paper-based assessments is proving to be a practical way to support school reading testing, yet the validity and reliability of these is sometimes brought into question. In contrast to this, many UK schools are finding computer adaptive tools to be a more reliable and efficient method of managing school reading assessment.
The time saving benefits of computer adaptive solutions for school reading testing are obvious. No marking and the benefit of instant feedback – so no waiting for papers to be sent away and then returned. However, when using a programme such as Star Reading, the benefits for school reading assessment extend much further.
As an independently validated school reading assessment solution, Star Assessments gives teachers and school leaders greater confidence in the data that is being produced. The detailed level of reporting that can generated with just a click of a button also proves to be a valuable tool when seeking to engage parents, Governors and even pupils with regards to the results of school reading testing.
The benefit of reports produced as a by-product of school reading testing are encapsulated in the words of Jon Trotter, a Governor at Handford Hall Primary School: “The level of detail that Star Assessments provide is invaluable for investigating progress between various cohorts within our school. For example, using Star Assessments we identified that boys were outperforming girls, which bucked the national trend. This acted as a prompt for us to explore the potential drivers behind this and we subsequently found that it was due to the girls having lower aspirations. Access to such insight enabled us to take action and introduce measures to help lift their aspirations – without the initial data of Star Assessments this never would have happened.”
Learn more about using Star Assessments to support school reading assessment and school reading testing in your school.