Starting school in Year 7, Year 10 or Year 12 and you may have come across one of the Baseline Tests. Many schools complete the baseline tests with all their pupils but what are they, what are they used for and do you get the results?
CEM is one service that provides baseline assessments for schools. They are computer-delivered and adaptive, designed to measure a student’s aptitude for learning and their underlying ability, rather than what they have been taught in school. As students get questions right or wrong, subsequent questions are automatically changed to challenge at an appropriate level.
What is tested?
The tests usually take less than an hour and involve the following:
Vocabulary – word fluency and understanding. This is the most culturally linked section.
Mathematics – logical thinking, number manipulation, numerical concepts. The emphasis is speed and fluency rather than knowledge of Maths taught at school.
Non-verbal ability – recognising shapes, patterns, spatial awareness, 3-D visualisation and logical thinking. It consists of 3 subsections - : Cross-Sections, Block Counting and Pictures.
Skills - proofreading, perceptual speed and accuracy (MidYIS only). In the proof reading section pupils are asked to spot mistakes in spelling, punctuation and grammar in a passage of text. In the PSA section pupils look for matches between a sequence of symbols on the left and a number of possible choices on the right. For example, comparing typed text with a hand written version. The Skills section is speeded – the questions move forward after a short amount of time so pupils need to be able to work quickly and not spend time on questions they are not able to answer easily.
How is the data presented?
Some schools provide results to pupils and parents, others only use it to assist with internal tracking and do not pass the data on.
The results are standardised so that the average result is 100, with results as below.
76-87 Well below the national average
88-95 Below average
96-105 Average 106-112 Above Average 113-124 Well above average ≥125 Far above average
Rather than a single data point, each results is given with a small range that has a 95% confidence rate that this is the result for the student.
The students are also put into one of four bands, from A to D, top 25% down to the bottom 25%.
A stanine is also produced, splitting the students into 9 boundaries rather than 4, with 9 at the top and 1 at the bottom, which gives a more detailed division of scores.
For Yellis and Alis a further set of charts is produced showing the likely grades for the majority of the GCSE subjects (or A Level if the assessment is completed in year 12). These are based on a large sample of students and their historical data. The graphs show the probability of each grade for a pupil scoring their Yellis or Alis value, along with the most likely score.
If a pupil scores highly across all sections of the assessment, they are likely to be highly capable. Low scores may result from various factors, such as lack of motivation or personal challenges, which are not necessarily linked to ability. However, high scores cannot be achieved without genuine ability, as guessing alone is very unlikely to produce such results.
How is the data used?
The school uses scores as a data point, to see a students strengths and weaknesses and receive training to interpret scores. Students can be identified as in need of support, or for stretch and challenge. It allows teachers to see where a student is not performing as expected and to intervene earlier. For example pupils with low Vocabulary scores may not know or understand the meaning of many common words or phrases used in the classroom, which can impact on learning and subsequent achievement. A low Maths score will have implications in other subjects where calculations or interpretation of data are needed. A low Skills score can suggest potential future problems in exams, as pupils may take longer to decode an exam question, or may misread it.
Some schools also use results to assist in putting students in the right 'set' to ensure every student is learning as effectively as possible.
Value Added
The school also uses this data to provide measures for Value-Added (VA) progress which is the difference between the pupils baseline score according to Alis/MidYis/Yellis, and the score they actually get in their GCSEs and/or A Levels. It represents the increase in achievement that school has added to that pupil. Schools aim for a positive VA score, which indicates that their pupils on average are attaining grades in GCSE above their prediction from the Yellis results, or above their predicted A Level grades, which are formed from the tests, plus GCSE grades. A school with positive VA is doing its job well. It is an indicator that the pupils, no matter what level they are at, are achieving above their predictions.
Can you prepare for these assessments tests?
You could become familiar with them, there are some examples of what the questions look like on the internet, but they are designed to be tests that you don't prepare for. There are no past papers available. Many schools will not even bring the test or results to your attention. Below are some example questions. If you would like to discuss these tests further, or look at support, do contact us and we can help you with questions, familiarity or practice.
Example questions:
Maths
Vocabulary
Non-verbal
Skills
