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Assessment Details

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PAT (Progressive Achievement Test) – Listening comprehension: Revised 2010
Assessment Area English-Listening
Year level 3-10
NZ origin? Yes
Standardised? Yes , in 2010.
Administration to individual or group? Either , but commonly used with groups of students.
What does it assess? The test assesses a student's comprehension of texts read to them. It uses short stories, extracts from novels, poems and nonfiction items. Because the student is listening rather than reading, their response provides information about meaning making that is independent of their ability to decode text.
Purpose Helps teachers detect students whose listening skills are inadequately developed, and those whose listening comprehension skills are sufficiently different from their reading comprehension to suggest a remediable deficiency.
Validity A range of validity studies has been carried out. See manual for information.
Reliability There is evidence of test/retest reliability.
What measures does it give? Test scores convert to scale scores.They can be compared against national norms and converted into stanines. Progress of individuals and groups can be tracked longitudinally. National norms come from testing done at the beginning of the school year, so if students sit PATs towards the end of the year, it is best to compare their achievement against the national reference group for the next year level.
How long does it take to administer? Timed, 40 minutes, or approximately 50 minutes when tasks such as distribution of materials and explanations are included.
How much training is needed? Minimal training is required to administer, instructions are given in the manual which should be read thoroughly.
Scoring and data analysis Simple to score, all multi choice. Black line masters allow teachers to produce student reports that map performance on different parts of the test. There is an online marking and analysis service. The service is available by subscription and provides a range of reports at the student, class, question and cohort level. To use the service, schools enter answer sheet information through an online portal. Alternatively, the service provides a machine marking. See www.NZCERMarking.org.nz for more information and costing.
Does it provide 'what next' strategies? No
Is it available in te reo Maori? No
Cost? Sample costs September 2017, including GST: Manual $18.50 Test Booklets (each) $4.75 Answer sheets (Pack of 10) $2.90 Teacher's script: primary, intermediate, or secondary (each) $7.75 CD $10.50
Author, date of publication and publisher NZCER 2010
Availability

Available from NZCER by NZCER.
Further Information

The test consists of a teacher manual, CD, teacher scripts, student test booklets and answer sheets.

The teacher manual contains everything teachers need to know about the test: its purpose, content, instructions on administering and marking it, and how to measure progress over time. A technical section goes through the development of the test and includes details on the construction of the PAT: Listening Comprehension scale and norming information. As in PAT: Reading Comprehension, there are seven different scale descriptions.

The teacher scripts are the guide for the administrator of the test. They contain the text and questions for each item so that teachers can follow the recording on the CD. There are three teacher scripts available — one aimed at the tests for all primary schools (whether full or contributing), one for intermediate schools, and one for secondary schools.

The student scripts are the test booklets the students have in front of them during the test. They contain the questions and all the possible answers for each item. Previously teachers were required to read the questions aloud to their students and the questions were not included in the student test booklets. Including these reduces the memory load required of students.

There are two types of student scripts. The first two tests (aimed at Years 3–4) are completed in the booklet, so younger students don’t have the added complication of transferring their answers to an answer sheet. Schools will need to purchase booklets for every student sitting these tests, whereas the booklets for the tests for the older years can be used many times. The answer sheets are used for tests 3–8, aimed at Years 5–10.

The marking key is used for hand marking the tests. Marking can also be automated using NZCER’s marking service. See www.nzcermarking.org.nz or email: [email protected]. The cost of the automated marking is additional to the cost of the test.

There is a CD to go with each test. Each CD is a recording of the test's texts, questions, and possible answers – all read by professional actors in a studio setting.

Each of the PAT: Listening Comprehension tests has been designed with a specific year level in mind. However each test can be used productively at two or more year levels: it is for schools to decide which test best suits any particular group of students.

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