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Assessment Details

Progress and Consistency Tool (PaCT) – Reading
Assessment Area English-Reading
Year level 0-8
NZ origin? Yes
Standardised? No although the progressions of learning within the tool and their link to curriculum levels have been established using comprehensive student data.
Administration to individual or group? Either However, PaCT is not an assessment to be administered. Data is entered for each student based on the classroom evidence of their capability. This can be done individually or by group.
What does it assess? PaCT is an ‘engine’ that captures teacher 'best fit' judgments on aspects of mathematics, reading and writing and recommends an overall judgment that a teacher confirms or reviews.
Purpose The PaCT is designed to support teachers to make dependable judgments about their students' achievement and progress in relation to standards.
Validity The tool has content validity. The frameworks are aligned to the New Zealand Curriculum and reflect the emphases of the standards.
Reliability The tool is reliable if teachers are scrupulous in entering accurate assessments of student achievement. Moderating to ensure shared teacher understanding of the progressions is essential.
What measures does it give? The PaCT captures teachers' decisions and uses psychometric calibrations to recommend an overall judgment in relation to standards.
How long does it take to administer? nitially it may take some time to enter data for each student, but as teachers become more familiar with the illustrations and progressions, time can be reduced to under ten minutes for each student. To speed up the process further, it is recommended that teachers enter by aspect rather than by student, especially for students in years 4 - 8. This also helps avoid the 'halo' effect for individual students where one judgment can influence following judgments
How much training is needed? It is essential that teachers become familiar with the illustrations and the administration of the tool. The Curriculum Progress Tools website - https://curriculumprogresstools.education.govt.nz - has all the information about training.
Scoring and data analysis The tool assigns a scale score for each student, and gives an upper and lower band of overall judgment against standards. A range of reports is generated, by individual, class, cohort or whole school. Aggregated data is able to filtered by gender and/or ethnicity. A file can be generated for input into the school's SMS, if it has been set up to do so.
Does it provide 'what next' strategies? Yes , the frameworks describe the learning progressions within the aspects of the curriculum area. Teachers have access to the progressions of learning from curriculum levels 1 to 5, or years 1 to 10.
Is it available in te reo Maori? No
Cost? The PaCT is provided free of charge by the Ministry of Education
Author, date of publication and publisher The PaCT has been developed by the Ministry of Education working with teachers, school leaders, and curriculum, research, and technical experts. The PaCT was originally commissioned in 2012. It was made available to schools and teachers in 2015.
Availability

Schools can sign up to use the PaCT from the Curriculum Progress Tools website.

Further Information

You can use the tool to: 

  • Track the progress of a student or a class throughout the year.
  • Identify areas where groups of students need extra teaching support or where the classroom programme needs adjustment.
  • Inform decisions about teaching, learning and professional development.
  • Plan your school’s future and set targets for student achievement.

You can start small and scale up. For example, you could start with one PaCT framework before moving to full implementation.