You might have students in your class who are struggling with their reading, but for completely different reasons. Understanding strengths and identifying gaps in their foundational skills to plan for the next steps and provide any targeted support needed – and doing this as early as possible – is a challenge for teachers.
A new assessment program launched by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) today aims to spot literacy difficulties before children fall behind and these gaps widen. Developed for students in Foundation to Year 1, PAT Early Literacy measures phonics and related skills, listening comprehension and reading comprehension.
Critical areas of early literacy development
These 3 critical areas of early literacy development are sub-divided into strands.
Phonics and related skills: phonological awareness (including recognising and/or manipulating syllables, onsets and rimes); phonemic awareness (including identifying initial, final, middle vowel sounds); and phonics (including reading and writing simple words and non-words).
Listening comprehension: recall (including listening for key information); interpret (including making connections); and reflect (including evaluating and critiquing).
Reading comprehension: retrieve (including scanning for key information); interpret explicit (including comparing and contrasting); interpret implied (assessing the same processes as interpret explicit); and reflect (including recognising textual features and purpose).
There are 4 text types assessed for the listening comprehension (word or sentence; narrative; information; and persuasive) and reading comprehension (word or sentence; narrative; information; and procedural).
Better understanding to provide earlier, tailored support
We know that early literacy development is not uniform and students can have uneven profiles across these 3 literacy components. For example, one of your students may be good at decoding words but struggling with understanding. ACER’s Senior Assistant Director, Assessment Development, Sandra Knowles says measuring skills and progress in each of the 3 components allows teachers to provide tailored support.
‘By assessing phonics and related skills, listening comprehension and reading comprehension separately, teachers can better understand what is driving a student's literacy development and make more informed decisions about next steps.
‘Reading is more than phonics alone. If a teacher knows the child is tracking well in early phonics and phonological awareness skills, they can choose to focus on what the child understands through the listening comprehension assessment.’
Adaptive, story-led assessment
PAT Early Literacy has been designed specifically for young learners and early years classrooms. Digital characters Flurg, Ginger and Tweety guide students through assessments within narrated stories, with instructions and practice questions embedded throughout. This storytelling approach is designed to spark curiosity and reduce anxiety for young learners.
Unlike traditional assessments, it doesn’t require close supervision or one-to-one administration and can be completed with minimal direct support, helping to reduce teacher workload. ‘One of the biggest challenges in early years assessment is balancing meaningful evidence with what is practical in the classroom,’ Knowles says.
‘Teachers don’t need to sit beside every child for the assessment. Students can move through each assessment at their own pace while teachers receive reliable information about their progress and where they may need help.’
Listening Comprehension and Reading Comprehension use adaptive test designs. Students begin at an appropriate starting point, and their responses determine the next set of questions they receive. This improves measurement precision and helps ensure students are working at an appropriate level of challenge throughout the assessment. This can foster student engagement by building confidence and momentum as they progress.
Monitoring literacy development over time
As part of the PAT suite, PAT Early Literacy allows schools to monitor literacy development over time. The Reading Comprehension assessment aligns with the existing PAT Reading achievement scale, helping schools build a continuous picture of student growth from the earliest years of schooling onwards.
‘Monitoring growth is so important. Students need to be supported in their next steps, but they also need to know that they’re improving. Encouraging students to celebrate their achievements, regardless of whether they’re “meeting expectations”, is critically important for engagement in education.’
As an early years classroom practitioner, how confident are you that you know each student's literacy strengths, and the skills that they find difficult?
Think about a student who is struggling with reading in your own class. What specific information would help you determine whether the challenge relates to phonics, listening comprehension, reading comprehension, or a combination of these?
How would this information influence your planning for next steps, including provision of additional support where needed?
PAT Early Literacy has been developed by ACER's literacy, assessment and psychometric experts. Click on the link to find out more.
