Readiness for assessment means that ākonga are demonstrating skill at the level appropriate to be assessed. Knowing when ākonga are ready for the assessment will provide them with the best opportunity to be successful and have a positive assessment experience.

There are a range of ways to determine ākonga readiness, including assessment methods that schools may already be using to track ākonga progress, also kaiako observations and conversations with ākonga.

This means that ākonga who are ready to sit the literacy and numeracy standards have full mastery over Curriculum Level 4 and are ready to work at Level 5.

e-asTTle is an online assessment tool that can be used to identify when ākonga might be ready to sit the literacy and numeracy Common Assessment Activities. This guidance shows how an e-asTTle can be set up to best enable identification of readiness.

The 2022 June Literacy and Numeracy independent evaluation of the pilot found a relatively high correlation between e-asTTle scores and results from the assessments. Ākonga should be at e-asTTle level 4A as a minimum before they are entered into any Common Assessment Activity. For a strong chance of success in the assessment, a score of 5B is preferable, particularly for reading1. 

The Progressive Achievement Tests (PATs) are a series of standardised tests developed specifically for assessing up to Year 10.

PATs provide a comparative score known as a stanine. Scale scores at each year level nationally are divided into nine levels of achievement, called stanines, with the lowest performance level being stanine one and the highest stanine nine.

This means that if an ākonga is at stanine 5 or higher in Year 10, they are working within level 5 of the curriculum and are likely to successfully achieve the literacy and numeracy standards.

The Literacy and Numeracy for Adults Assessment Tool is an online adaptive tool that provides information on the reading, writing, numeracy, and vocabulary skills of adult ākonga.

The tool is aligned to the Learning Progressions for Adult Literacy and Numeracy. The literacy and numeracy standards broadly correspond to the following steps on the progressions:

• The literacy standards broadly correspond with step 4 of the literacy progression.
• The numeracy standard broadly corresponds with step 5 of the numeracy progression.

The English Language Learning Progressions (ELLP) are key documents for the assessment, planning and teaching of English Language Learners. As they are aligned with the NZ curriculum, the stages can be used as an indication for readiness.

Kaiako can use classroom observations, including peer-to-peer conversations, formative assessments and ākonga work, to understand levels of ākonga readiness.

While standardised tests can support these observations, conversations with ākonga should have an important role in determining readiness to sit the Common Assessment Activities.

Resources such as the standards for literacy – reading, literacy – writing and numeracy, the Unpacking Literacy and Unpacking Numeracy documents and the Literacy and Numeracy Pedagogy Guides can enable informed observations and begin conversations on levels of readiness.

PaCT can support reliable judgments about ākonga achievement, using the Learning Progression Frameworks (LPFs).

LPFs can be used by schools to give a big-picture view of the typical pathways ākonga take as they progress in reading, writing, and mathematics. PaCT then tracks the progress across reading, writing and mathematics in line with the LPFs.

Features in PaCT that support the literacy and numeracy standards include

• Graphs showing learning progressions up to Year 13
• An indicator of NCEA readiness on the report graph
• An ability to keep records of which learners are ready for the benchmark PaCT scores in the following bands may be at the level required of the standards:
  • Reading: 750-850
  • Writing: 800-900
  • Numeracy: 750-850

The LPFs will be replaced in the next five years by the literacy and numeracy progressions. These progressions are still under development and will take time to embed. In the meantime, use of the LPFs in schools will continue to be promoted as they can enhances literacy and numeracy pedagogy. They will also set current users of LPFs up well for transitioning to the new progressions once they become available.

This latest update can provide more information about the transition from LPFs to literacy and numeracy progressions.

Consideration could also be given to ensuring that ākonga know what to expect when they are assessed. Kaiako should ensure that ākonga are familiar with the assessment platform and the types of questions or format of questions they might see. You can find more information on how to prepare schools and students for digital exams on the NZQA website.

This year, the Ministry of Education will also be releasing a new Common Practice Model in phases. The Common Practice model will map out pedagogical approaches that empower kaiako to make informed decisions about the progress and needs of ākonga. You can find more information about the Common Practice Model on the Ministry of Education website.