2012 Computer-Based Assessments

Teacher Training for the March Trial February / March 2012

Overview of the Day

9.30 Registration

9.45 Setting the context and administration of trial

10.30 NINA / NILA Assessment Overview

11.00 Comfort Break

11.15 Practical Session

12.30 Lunch

1.30 NINA / NILA Assessment Overview

2.00 Practical Session

3.30 Evaluation & Close

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Learning Intentions

At the end of this session teachers will be aware of the:

•new computer-based assessments for introduction in 2012/13;•objectives for the trial;•commitment required from trial schools;•timescales involved; and•guidance and support available for the trial.

Will have an opportunity to:

•have a practical session with both assessment tools.

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Legislative Context

“Pupils shall be assessed in the autumn term, using such computer-based assessment method [for literacy and numeracy] as the

Department may specify …”

The Education (Assessment Arrangements) (Foundation to Key Stage 3) Order (Northern Ireland) 2007 SR 2007 No. 45

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Focus on Raising Standards

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“The use of data from computer-based assessments remains a key aspect of the Department’s school improvement policy”

Paragraph 3 – DE Letter to Principals Nov 2011

New Providers

The Department of Education (DE) initiated a public procurement process in 2011 (as the InCAS contract with CEM ended in January 2012) and this procurement process identified two new suppliers for the computer-based assessments in Literacy and Numeracy:

•Tribal Education Ltd. for the literacy assessment (NILA); and•Rising Stars UK Ltd. in partnership with Ardluce for the numeracy assessment (NINA).

Information can be found at : www.nicurriculum.org.uk

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Computer-Based Assessments

The Assessments

• Northern Ireland Literacy Assessment – NILA• Northern Ireland Numeracy Assessment – NINA• Assessments will be available in English & Irish Mediums

• In the question banks each question is targeted at a particular year group and assessment items are drawn from the previous year’s curriculum.

• NILA – The listening questions will have a local voice-over.• NINA – All questions will also come with ‘text to speech’ in the

English Medium version and a voice-over in the Irish Medium version.

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Key Dates

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January 2012 Small observation trial

March 2012 Trial with 200 school

May 2012 Principals’ Information Seminars

May 2012 Quality assurance process

May – Sept Online Teacher Training

Autumn 2012 Use of NILA / NINA in schools

2013/14 onwards Ongoing training support (principals, teachers, assessment coordinators, classroom assistants etc.)

Objectives for the March Trial

To ensure that:

•the assessment engines are fit for purpose;•the assessment (items) are interesting, user-friendly, valid and reliable;•the overall solutions are compatible with the C2k platform and schools’ systems; and•any anomalies, malfunctions, managerial or implementation issues are identified, addressed and lessons learned.

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Commitment of Trial Schools

Schools involved in the trial should complete:

• the trial teacher training (28.02.12 – 09.03.2012);• both the literacy and numeracy assessments with pupils in years 4 to

7 (12.03.12 – 30.03.12); • pupil evaluations which will appear at the end of each assessment;

and• teacher evaluations which will be emailed towards the end of the trial .

NB: Numeracy assessment may not be available on 22nd/23rd March 2012

Scale of the trial: 200 schools, 400 teachers, 10,000 pupils carrying out both assessments in a range of school environments.

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Roles and Responsibilities

Administrator can access all areas in the ‘administration section’

of the software, can access/change other teachers’ passwords and

classes in their school.

Teachers will only have access to own class (passwords, reports).

Pupils can access the practice assessment without log-in and will have

a username & unique password for the assessments.

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Assigning Assessments for the Trial

Remember that:

• teacher and pupil information for years 4-7 will be lifted from SIMS via a report and subsequent data exchange with Ardluce and Tribal;

• NINA - two assessments will automatically be allocated to each pupil in years 4-7 in your school by Ardluce;

• NILA – one assessment will automatically be allocated to each pupil in years 4-7 in your school by Tribal; and

• usernames and passwords will be created automatically for the trial.

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Initial Teacher Preparation

Check that:

• each PC and laptop is working before use with pupils;

• the links to the NILA (www.niliteracyassessment.org.uk) and NINA (www.ninumeracyassessment.org.uk) websites work on all PCs and laptops; and

• Shockwave is loaded. This can by using the Practice Area of the Numeracy Assessment - if questions do not appear, you will need to contact the C2k Helpdesk to load Shockwave.

Shortcuts on your Desktop

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Initial Teacher Preparation

Teachers should check that:

• they have the username/password list for the Class;

• all pupils are listed and their details are correct;

• wireless laptops (if used) are within ‘range’ of the wireless network connection;

• laptop batteries are sufficiently charged;

• the sound is working on all the computers/laptops; and

• there are a sufficient number of working headphones and that these are plugged in firmly—also ensuring the sound is not set too loud.

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Initial Teacher Preparation

Ensure that pupils:

• are familiar with the computer/laptop that they will be using for the assessments, especially if they will be using a touchpad;

• know how to log-on to NINA/NILA;

• know how to pause or exit an assessment by clicking on the red x at the top right hand side of the screen and closing the window;

• know how to resume an assessment by clicking ‘Start Assessment button’. Pupil should log in again with the same username and password and see “Continue first assessment”; and

• understand the assessments they will be completing and have had sufficient opportunity to use the Practice Area / Practice Assessment.

The Practice Area / Practice Assessment

Be sure to:

• take your pupils through the various question/response types;

• draw attention to the instructions for each question type;

• demonstrate how to answer using a data projector or smart board;

• give your pupils plenty of opportunity to use the practice area (NINA) / practice assessment (NILA);

• show pupils how to undo/change an answer;

• evaluate how pupils cope with question types and advise; and

• show that an answer can be deleted or changed any number of times before the ‘Submit’ (NINA) / ‘Play’ (NILA) button is clicked.

NB. Pupils can access the Practice Area / Practice Assessment without

logging on to do an assessment.

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Assessment Outcomes

As each pupil completes an assessment their data will be saved

automatically online.

Once pupils complete and finish the assessments, the assessment

data will be automatically analysed.

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Feedback Reports

Following the March Trial schools will receive:

• Pupil Objectives Reports; and• Pupil Diagnostic Reports.

In Autumn 2012 schools will receive:

• Pupil/ Class/ Year and School Objectives and Diagnostic Reports.

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CCEA Support and Resources for Trial

• C2k email to Principals (27 February 2012) re: SIMS pupil data report.

• Teacher training resources.

• 2 days sub cover for school to administer assessments.

• Online materials at www.nicurriculum.org.uk

• CCEA Assessment Operations Team Helpdesk: 028 9026 1274.

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Guidance Documents

Numeracy

•Training Guidance for Teachers prepared by Ardluce Ltd.•Training Guidance for School Administrators prepared by Ardluce Ltd.•Training Guidance for Pupils prepared by Ardluce Ltd.•Tips for Teachers prepared by Ardluce Ltd.

Literacy

•Training Guidance (March Trial) prepared by Tribal.•Trial Test Checklist.

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Introduction to the Literacy Assessment

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The Literacy Assessment

• There will be two age related bands in the assessment, one for Primary 4 and 5 and one for Primary 6 and 7.

• The questions will have a range of difficulty within each band, designed to help children show what they can do whatever their ability.

• As they go through the assessment the children will be given questions adapted to their success.

• The assessment will last approx. 50 minutes.

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The Literacy Assessment

• Assessing crucial aspects of Literacy which will provide teachers with diagnostic information about the skills and understanding of their pupils.

• Using the potential of the on-screen presentation to provide interactive and engaging experiences in different ways.

• Drawing varied topics from across the Northern Ireland curriculum.

• Varied in form, ranging from everyday texts, such as advertisements

and signs, to high quality literary passages.

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From the Reading Curriculum …

• Read, explore, understand and make use of a range of a wide range of traditional and digital texts.

• Use a range of reading and comprehension strategies and skills for different purposes.

• Locate, select and use texts and sources for a particular task.

• Understand how texts are structured and identify features of written language.

• Use evidence from the text, and in key stage 2, inference and deduction.

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NILA assessment of Reading

Focuses on understanding explicit and implicit meanings and how texts

are organised.

The questions relate to these strands:

• Understanding information and ideas;• Finding and using information;• Understanding different types of texts:• Responding to different layers of meaning.

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Question focus – Reading: understanding information and ideas

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Question focus – Reading: finding and using information

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Question focus – Reading: understanding forms and features of texts

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Question focus – Reading: making deductions and understanding implicit

meanings

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From the Writing Curriculum …

In the context of learning to write for a range of purposes in different

forms …

• Use a variety of skills to spell words correctly.

• Develop increasing competence in the use of grammar and punctuation to create clarity of meaning.

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NILA assessment of Writing

Focuses on technical accuracy in punctuation, spelling and grammar.

The questions are related to these strands:

• punctuation;• spelling; and • Grammar.

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Question focus – Writing: punctuation

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Question focus - Writing: spelling

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Question focus - Writing: grammar

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From the Listening Curriculum …(within Talking and Listening)

• Listen and respond to a range of fiction, poetry, drama and media texts.

• Respond to guidance, directions and instructions.

• Respond to ideas and points of view, using evidence.

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NILA assessment of Listening

Involves listening to and understanding information and ideas that

pupils hear.

The questions focus on a range of skills such as:

• retrieving; • summarising; and • inferring meanings.

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Question focus - Listening

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Diagnostic Feedback

Please note that:

• the information gained will complement teachers’ own assessments in the classroom; and

• feedback will relate to the 8 strands of the literacy assessment, suggesting strengths and areas for development.

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Diagnostic Feedback

Feedback will relate to these 8 strands of the literacy assessment:

•understanding information and ideas;•finding and using information;•understanding form and features of texts;•making deductions and understanding implicit meanings;•punctuation;•spelling; •grammar; and•listening to and understanding information and ideas.

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Question Types

What the children have to do to answer:

• Click one• Click multiple• Cloze• Drag into order• Drag to box• Drag punctuation• Match• Select word

This means looking at the instruction and also at how the mouse is controlled to make the right selection of answer.

Question Types

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Pupils should:

• use the practice assessment to familiarise themselves with the question types and techniques – as well as getting a ‘feel’ for the assessment;

• be encouraged to concentrate, think before ‘clicking’ on an answer and to try and do their best; and

• not spend too long on one question as there are probably more to do – encourage them to make a thoughtful decision and move on.

Question types

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Question types – Click one

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Question type – Click multiple

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Question type - Cloze

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Question type – Drag into order (sequence)

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Question type – Drag to box

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Question type – Drag punctuation

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Question type - Match

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Question type – Select word

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Introduction to the Numeracy Assessment

The Numeracy Assessment

• Samples the key concepts of Numeracy through two assessments/strands:

Strand 1 Understanding & Using Number Strand 2: Shape & Space, Measures; Handling Data

• Each strand will be assessed using an adaptive approach to assessment.

• Assessment for each strand will take approximately 30 minutes.

• Assessment will include a variety of interactive questions and a range of response techniques.

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Strands and Objectives

Strand 1 includes:

• Counting & Understanding Number;• Facts and Mental Calculations;• Operations with Whole Numbers, Integers and Decimals;• Fractions, Decimals, Percentages, Ratio & Proportion; and• Problems – including Money, Function Machines & Algebra.

Strand 2 includes:

• Shape & Space;• Measures; and• Handling Data.

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Counting & Understanding Number

From Year 3 curriculum – Order 2-digit numbers. Know where a number should lie on a number track, number line, 50 array or 100 square.

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Number Facts, including Mental Calculations

From Year 5 curriculum - Use knowledge of addition and subtraction facts and place value to derive sums and differences of pairs of multiples of 10, 100 or 1000. 56

Operations with Whole Numbers, Integers & Decimals

From Year 6 curriculum - Exact division of whole numbers and decimals to 2DP by a single digit.

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Fractions, Decimals & Percentages

From Year 4 curriculum - Understand and identify fractions of shapes; use diagrams to compare fractions and establish equivalents.

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Problems

From Year 7 curriculum - Understand that a letter can represent an unknown number.

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Shape & Space

From Year 5 curriculum - Identify and draw lines of symmetry in shapes. Given a mirror line, show a shape's reflection.

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Measures

From Year 4 curriculum - Read the time on analogue clocks - including hour, half and quarter hour intervals.

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Handling Data

From Year 2 curriculum - Sort objects into groups using one criterion. 62

Admin / Teacher Section

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2 Assessments (Numeracy)

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Reports Section

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Pupil Objectives Report

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Pupil Diagnostic Report

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Numeracy Practice Area

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Question Type - Input Text

Instructions:

Type your answer in the box provided.

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Question Type - Click to Highlight an Object

Instructions:

Click on an object to highlight it.To remove the highlight, click on the object or on another object.

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Question Type - Click to Highlight Objects

Instructions:

Click on the objects you want to highlight.Click on an object to remove the highlight.

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Question Type - Click to Drag and Place an Object

Instructions:

Click on the object and hold down the left mouse button to drag it.Release this mouse button to place it. The object should snap into place.If an object is placed in an incorrect box, the pupil can drag the object out of that box.

NB: Avoid holding down the right mouse button or the scroll button, as doing so can prevent the object from snapping into the correct place. 72

Question Type – Click to Add; Ctrl/Click to Remove

Instructions:

Click to add an object.

To remove the object, hold down the Ctrl button and Click on the

object.

After beads have been added.Before beads have been added.

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Question Type - Click to Match

Instructions:

Click on the first object you want to highlight.Click on the second object to match it to the first object.To remove the highlight, select the line joining the 2 objects. The line’s colour will change to red and scissors will appear. Use Ctrl-Click to remove the match. 74

Question Type - Click and Drag to Stretch

Instructions:

Click on the object, and hold down the mouse button.

When you see the mouse pointer as a closed hand, drag to stretch the

object.

Release the mouse button at your chosen length. 75

Question Type – Mental calculation (i)

Instructions:

Click on the START button. The question will appear.

You are given a number of seconds to answer.

There is no need to click on Submit. After the given time, the answer

(even if blank) will be submitted. 76

Question Type – Mental Calculation (ii)

Instructions:

There is no need to click on Submit.

After the given time, the answer (even if blank) will be submitted.

However, the pupil can Submit the answer before the time is up.77

Question Type – Click and Turn

Instructions:

Click on the object to be turned.

If rotation arrow symbols appear, hold down the mouse button and turn the object.

If there are not, hold down the Shift button ↑ while turning with the mouse.78

Question Type - Click to Colour

Instructions:

There are two ways to colour an area.

1.Click on the area to colour it.

2.Click again on the area to remove the colour. 79

Question Type - Click to Colour (cont)

Instructions (Second way to colour an area):Hold down the mouse button and drag over areas to be coloured.Press the Ctrl key while dragging with the mouse to remove the colour.

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Question Type – Drop-down Menu

Instructions:

Click on the arrow. The menu will appear.

Click on your chosen answer.

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Question Type – Calculator

Instructions:

Click on the calculator icon. The calculator will appear.

You may want to move the calculator. Hold down the mouse button and drag

to move it.

Click on the on screen calculator buttons.

NB: Remember to type your answer in the Answer Box. 82

Question Type – Enter a Fraction

Instructions:

A line separates the numerator from the denominator.

Type the numerator above the line and the denominator below the line.

A mixed number contains 3 parts - the whole number, the numerator and the denominator.

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Question Type – Click and Draw

Instructions:

Click on your starting point. An ‘x’ will appear.

Click on your finishing point, and a line is drawn between the two points.

To remove a line, hold down the Ctrl key and position the mouse over the line to be removed.

The line is highlighted in red and the mouse pointer appears as a pair of scissors.

Click to remove the line.84

Question Type – Enter a Decimal

Instructions:

When entering a decimal number, do not put spaces on either side of the

decimal point.

For numbers less than one, make sure you have a zero before the decimal point. 85

Question Type – Enter a Negative Number

Instructions:

Type the minus sign followed by the number.

NB: Do not put a space between the minus sign and the number.

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Question Type – Drag and Rotate

Instructions:

Click on the object to be moved. A hand will appear.

Hold down the mouse button and drag the object.

Hold down the shift button and the mouse button and rotate the object.

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Practical Session

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