e-asTTle basics
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What is e-asTTle?
e-asTTle is an online assessment tool, developed to assess students’ achievement and progress in reading, mathematics, writing, and in pānui, pāngarau, and tuhituhi. The reading and mathematics assessments have been developed primarily for students in years 5–10, but because they test curriculum levels 2–6 they can be used for students in lower and higher year levels. The e-asTTle writing tool has been developed for the assessment of students in years 1–10.
How much does e-asTTle cost?
e-asTTle is free of charge for use in New Zealand schools.
Who is e-asTTle for?
e-asTTle has been developed primarily for the assessment of students in years 5–10. However, because it tests curriculum levels 2–6 it can be used for students in lower and higher year levels. e-asTTle provides teachers and school leaders with information that can be used to inform learning programmes and to apply teaching practice that maximises individual student learning. Schools using e-asTTle have found it to be a great tool for planning purposes, for helping students to understand their progress, and for involving parents in discussions about how well their children are doing.
What parts of the curriculum does e-asTTle assess?
e-asTTle assesses reading, writing, maths, pāngarau, pānui, and tuhituhi at curriculum levels 2–6.
What makes e-asTTle different?
- Tests devised by teachers can be used at any time of the year.
- There are many thousands of possible permutations of tests that can be created.
- It allows teachers and school leaders to set tests that are aligned with the curriculum when they want and at the level they want.
- It allows teachers and school leaders to measure student progress over time.
- It uses a programming method (linear programming heuristics) to create the "best possible" test while also meeting the requirements specified by the teacher.
- It has developed an approach to developing and classifying test items so that every test is tailored to the specific needs of the classroom.
- It has made advances in standard-setting methodologies. It gives teachers a realistic picture of how well each student, class, or school is doing compared to the national average and the curriculum requirements (including curriculum levels). It allows comparisons to other groups such as gender, ethnicity, English as a second language, or "schools like mine".
- It provides rich interpretations and specific feedback that relate to student performance (rather than simply providing a score). It identifies areas of student weakness and strength that may otherwise go unnoticed.
- It presents the results in visual ways making it easier for teachers to discuss performance and the steps they're taking with students, parents, and boards of trustees.
- It supports teachers by giving them direction and access to extensive and relevant online resources (What Next on the Assessment Online website) for raising student achievement more efficiently.
- It is the first bilingual (English and te reo Māori) assessment tool to be developed in New Zealand.