Personalised assessments are online assessments of learners’ skills in reading and numeracy. They are taken by pupils in Years 2–9 in schools in Wales.
There are currently two assessments: Numeracy (Procedural) and Reading.
From 2021 there will also be an online assessment for Numeracy (Reasoning).
The reading tests are made up of short questions based on a range of different texts. Pupils read the text, then answer the questions. Some of the questions check how well the text has been understood, others aim to find out if children are able to make judgements about what they are reading. You can see a sample of the questions by scrolling through the images.
Click the magnifying glass to see full screen.
The procedural test measures skills in things like numbers, measuring and data. Pupils are able to use a small whiteboard/piece of paper to jot down workings out as they complete the assessment. You can see a sample of the questions by scrolling through the images.
Click the magnifying glass to see full screen.
The reasoning test measures how well children can use what they know to solve everyday problems.
*Being trialled in schools in 2020-21 and will be statutory from 2021-22.
Children log into Hwb, the online learning platform provided to all children in schools in Wales, using one of our Chromebooks/laptops. They open the Personalised Assessment, which their teacher will have scheduled for them on a specific day.
The personalised assessments are ‘adaptive’ which means that each learner will have a unique assessment. Questions are chosen based on the learner’s response to the previous questions;
in Numeracy (Procedural), if a learner answers a question correctly, they will get a harder question. If a learner cannot answer a question or answers incorrectly, they are given an easier question.
In the reading assessments, groups of questions are linked to a reading text – if a learner answers the group of questions correctly they will move on to a more challenging text and questions, but if they answer incorrectly they will receive an easier text and questions. This tailors the level of challenge for every learner.
Learners will get some questions right and some questions wrong as the assessment gathers information on the limits of what each learner can do at that particular time. Learners are not confined to questions linked to their year group or age. Teachers can start the assessment with questions from a lower year group if appropriate. The ‘adaptive’ nature of the assessments means that the level of difficulty will vary throughout the assessment until enough information is collected to provide feedback on your child’s skills.
Children can work at their own pace and therefore the assessment time will vary in length. The length of the assessment is not a reflection of the learner’s ability. Numeracy (Procedural) usually takes between 20 and 40 minutes, and Reading usually takes between 30 and 50 minutes. When the system has collected enough information to assess the learner’s skills the assessment will end automatically. The assessments can be paused or stopped by a teacher at any time if required.
Assessments can be taken at any time during the school year. Schools can decide on the time that they wish to have the information on their learners’ skills in order to plan teaching, learning and progression.
Your child will take the reading and numeracy assessments at least once during the school year. At St. Julian’s Primary, children usually sit the assessments in May/June. The assessments are also available to schools for an optional second use within the school year so that they can see how learners are progressing.
After an assessment, the school will have feedback on your child’s skills which they may discuss with your child before sharing with you. The feedback is a snapshot of your child’s skills at the time each assessment was taken.
The first section of the report, ‘The hardest questions I got right were on these skills:’, lists the areas in which your child gave correct answers for the most challenging questions.
The second section of the report, ‘Some of the questions I got wrong were on:’, relates to the easiest questions answered incorrectly.
The final two sections ‘Most pupils with similar skills are able to … and are likely to move on to:’, relate to your child’s overall performance in the assessment and provide an overview of the sort of skills that learners with a similar pattern of answers are able to achieve or are working towards.
The feedback is just one source of information on your child’s overall knowledge and understanding. Your child’s teacher will consider this feedback, alongside other information they have on your child’s skills in reading and numeracy work in the classroom, in order to plan their learning.
The school will also share progress reports, showing progress over time in the reading and numeracy personalised assessments. The progress chart shows all the online assessments your child has taken. Using the information from their assessments, the graph shows where your child is in comparison to all other
children in their year group across Wales. You will be able to see your child’s progress from one year to the next.
The progress report also includes your child’s age-standardised score from their most recent assessment. The score shows how your child has done compared with other children in Wales born in the same year and month. The score range is 70–130 and the average is 100.
Schools will decide when to share these reports with parents/carers. Please note that schools are able to provide progress reports for Numeracy (Procedural), but progress reports for Reading will not be available until late in the 2020/21 school year.
Getting involved in your child’s learning while at home and out and about can make an enormous difference to their progress. Any of the following will be a huge help.
