· Each subject has its own scale for measuring the difficulty of the questions and the student’s level of skill and knowledge, based on the questions they answered correctly. Each subject has its own scale that aligns with the NZC curriculum levels. The scale runs through every test in any one subject and represents Level 1 -5 of the curriculum. The scale can be used at any time to measure student position or progress through the curriculum over time.
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The average scale score progress for each year group is based on the average scale score for each year level in the standardisation trial completed in Term 1. The average year's scale progress ( 4 terms) can be used as a guide to compare individual student /class progress between two assessment time points. i.e over two terms = 50% of the average progress score
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Each of the tests has been designed with a specific area of the curriculum in mind. To achieve an accurate scale score, teachers must choose the test which best suits the curriculum level of each student. The main consideration when selecting a test is to ensure its level of difficulty is appropriate for the students. Tests that are too easy or too difficult will not provide precise achievement measures. If students across one year level complete different tests, their scale scores can still be compared because they are placed on the same scale.