ComputerBased Assessments CBA Pilot for NILA NINA Autumn

Computer-Based Assessments CBA Pilot for NILA & NINA Autumn 2013 Information Seminar for Principals September 2013 Anne Cromie and Dorothee Wagner 1

Learning Intentions At the end of the session you will be aware of: • the context for computer-based assessment (CBA) in autumn 2013; • developments to NILA and NINA; • next steps for the pilot schools; and • guidance and support available from CCEA and C 2 k. Will have an opportunity to: • contribute to discussion about using the NILA and NINA outcomes. 2

Overview of the Seminar 9. 30 Registration and tea/coffee 10. 00 Welcome Context of Computer-Based Assessment in NI Developments - NILA and NINA 12. 30 Lunch 13. 30 Reporting Developments Next Steps for CBA Pre-Pilot Guidance and Support available from CCEA 15. 00 Questions, Evaluation & Close 3

Part 1 Setting the Context for the CBAs 4

Review of Computer-Based Assessment 1. A review by the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment on the operation of the new assessments; 2. A review by the Education and Training Inspectorate which will determine how effectively schools make use of assessment information; 3. An independent review of the technical issues to establish why they occurred and what lessons can be learnt for the future; and 4. A review by the Department of the policy of statutory Computer Based Assessment. 5

Legislative Context In his letter to schools in May 2013 the Minister for Education outlined that: • CBA assessment will not be specified as mandatory in 2013/14; • Use of CBA assessments (NILA and NINA) in 2013/14 will be optional for schools. “Although CBA will not be specified in 2013/14, the Department expects schools to carry out diagnostic assessment using an assessment tool of its own choice and that the results of this assessment should be shared with the pupil’s parent/guardian at a mutually convenient time. ” “I would like to encourage as many schools as possible to participate in this pilot. ” 6

Scale of the CBA Pilot Total number of schools participating in CBA Pilot: approx. 230 • • • Initial Pilot Testing Schools: Pre-Pilot: Pilot, Phase 1 (NT Schools): Pilot, Phase 2 (NT Schools): Pilot, Phase 3 (NT Schools): Phase 4 (T Schools): 2 10 61 62 64 33 (1 NT, 1 T) (9 NT, 1 T) 7

Moving Forward with the CBA Pilot Online CBA Training live as of 9 September Initial Pre-pilot 11 – 13 September Principal Information Seminars 11 – 25 September CBA Pre-pilot (10 schools) 16 – 20 September Assessment Coordinator Training 27 September - 11 October CBA Pilot: Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4* 7 October – 18 October 21 October – 8 November 11 November – 22 November 25 November – 13 December Questionnaires issued to schools November 8

Computer-Based Assessments NILA - Northern Ireland Literacy Assessment NINA - Northern Ireland Numeracy Assessment • Assessments are available in English & Irish. • Assessments are adaptive and not time-bound. • Assessments are web-based and pupil responses to questions are saved automatically online. • Assessments may be completed by Year 4 to Year 7 pupils from the pilot schools during autumn 2013. • Assessments are processed immediately following completion and schools can access results after 48 hours. The purpose of the computer-based assessments is to help teachers plan the learning and teaching during the school year to meet the needs of pupils in their classrooms. 9

Computer-Based Assessments The question items in the Literacy / Numeracy Assessments have been developed using the following criteria: • Definition of Literacy / Numeracy as set out by CCEA; • The expectations of the NI Language & Literacy / Mathematics & Numeracy Curricula; • CCEA’s revised Lines of Development; • Advice from ELBs regarding expectations at the end of each academic year; and • Levels of Progression. 10

Focus on Raising Standards “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 11

Computer-Based Assessments 12

NILA Overview 13

The Literacy Assessment • Assesses some crucial aspects of Listening, Reading and Writing. • Draws on topics from across the Northern Ireland Curriculum. • Is varied in form, ranging from everyday texts, such as advertisements and signs, to high quality literary passages. • Uses 8 different answer techniques (cloze, drag and match, drag into order, drag punctuation, drag to hot spot, pick multiple, pick one and select word). • Uses the potential of the on-screen presentation to provide interactive and engaging experiences in different ways. 14

The Literacy Assessment • There are two age related bands in the assessment, one for Years 4 and 5 and one for Years 6 and 7. • The questions cover a range of difficulty within each band, designed to allow pupils show what they can do whatever their ability. • The assessment adapts to easier or more challenging questions based on pupils’ responses. • The assessment should take the majority of pupils around 35 minutes to complete. • Provides teachers with diagnostic information about the skills and understanding of their pupils. 15

Focus on Skills Aspect of Literacy Skills Focus Pupils’ ability to … Listening Information Retrieval Listen to and understand information and ideas. Reading Sequence Understand information and ideas Information Find and use information Features of Texts Understand different types of texts Opinions Respond to different layers of meaning Writing Punctuation Punctuate text Spelling Recognise accurate spellings Grammar Use grammar accurately 16

Adaptive Routing in NILA 17

2012 Outcomes 18

NILA 2012 Outcomes English Medium Assessment Blue = Years 4 & 5 Red = Years 6 & 7 This shows that across all year groups the proportion of pupils in the ‘below expected’ and ‘above expected’ categories remains relatively even. 19

NILA – Progression across Year Groups These charts show that there is progression across year groups, where over time, a greater proportion of pupils are attaining higher competence levels. 20

NILA – moving through question sets The proportion of pupils staying (red) is greatest between sets 2 & 3. A larger proportion of pupils in Y 5 & Y 7 moving up (green) in sets 3 & 4. On average, the majority of pupils advance again in sets 4 & 5. 21

NILA Assessment Duration This chart shows little difference in the proportions where year groups are compared. However, a greater proportion of Year 4 pupils taking longer than 70 minutes. Blue = Y 4 Red = Y 5 Green = Y 6 Purple = Y 7 Assessment duration [n. 85636 taken on 11/1/13] Average Y 4 Y 5 Y 6 Y 7 35 min 26 sec 34 mins 31 secs 36 mins 12 secs 31 mins 12 secs 22

NILA Question Answer Techniques This chart shows the proportion of correct answers by the type of the question answer technique. ‘Drag punctuation’, ‘pick multiple’ and ‘select word’ were observed as potentially more difficult. Blue = Years 4 & 5 Red = Years 6 & 7 23

NINA Overview 24

The Numeracy Assessment • Samples the key concepts of Numeracy through two assessments / strands: v Strand 1 Understanding & Using Number v 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 20 minutes. • Only mental arithmetic questions are timed. • English Medium database is multi-instance. 25

Focus on Skills Strand 1 Skills Focus Pupils’abilityto to… … Number Facts Counting & Understanding Number; Facts and Mental Arithmetic Operations with Whole Numbers, Integers and Decimals Fractions, Decimals, Percentages, Ratio & Proportion Problems – including Money, Function Machines & Algebra Shape and Space Fractions Problems Strand 2 Shape and Space Measures Handling Data 26

NINA Assessment Process What is being assessed? How difficult are the questions? Column Information Provided Skills Focus Specific Area of the curriculum Objective Specific aspect of numeracy Year Curriculum year of the question Band Difficult, medium or easy How the pupil performed? Outcome Ticks and crosses 27

Adaptive Assessment • All pupils start in their target year and are presented with questions which are one year below their current school designated year e. g. Year 3 questions for a Year 4 pupil. • On the basis of their responses, pupils are promoted, demoted or stay in their curricular year. • A promotion may be reversed by a subsequent demotion and vice versa. • The overall result is then computed as a weighted average of the two strand scores using the number of threads as the weighting. • Outcomes from the assessment give both numerical and qualitative diagnostic information about individual pupils. These will become available 48 hours after completion of Strand 2. . 28

Adaptive Assessment 29

2012 Outcomes 30

Questions and Duration Strand 1 Strand 2 Combined Av questions 20 19 39 Av duration 21 19 40 < 20 min 20 – 40 min – 1 hr – 2 hr > 1 day Strand 1 76% 18% 2% 2% 2% Strand 2 83% 11% 2% 2% 2% 74% of questions were delivered and responded to online in less than 60 seconds 31

Assessment Performance of pupils answering questions in their target year: Strand 1 Strand 2 Right Wrong Year 4 63% 37% 49% 51% Year 5 57% 43% 63% 37% Year 6 63% 37% 58% 42% Year 7 60% 40% 64% 36% 32

Comparison of mean Chronological Age with mean Age Related Outcome (ARO) 12. 00 Mean ARO 11. 00 10. 00 9. 00 8. 00 7. 00 6. 00 5. 00 Y 4 Year ARO SD Y 5 Y 4 8 m Y 6 Y 5 10 m Y 7 Y 6 12 m Y 7 14 m 33

Promotions and Demotions by Year . Demoted Stayers Promoted 80% 70% Percentage 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% Demoted Stayers Promoted Y 4 23% 68% 9% Y 5 28% 59% 12% Y 6 29% 54% 17% Y 7 25% 49% 26% Pupil Year 34

Year 5 Promotions & Demotions Stayers Promotion / Demotion Reversals 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% AY PP ST PP Y 6 P PP Y 5 PP P S D Curriculum Year ER D D D D Y 3 D D Y 2 D D D 0% Y 1 Y 4 Y 7 35

Question Item Analysis Variance of Right - Wrong Answers Question Response Variation in Target Year by Interaction Type Year 7 Year 6 Year 5 Year 4 Click to change 36 12 24 2 Click to link highlight draw 38 11 4 12 65 -42 10 68 -15 2 -34 0 Drag Rotate 22 41 40 13 Drop Down Enter Text Pictogram Protractor List -9 20 30 -45 -17 24 -7 0 17 12 7 0 -63 22 4 0 Slider Tesselation 0 54 58 0 16 0 0 0 36

Question Item Analysis Key Factors • number of times the response type is deployed; • the objective to be assessed; • the level of difficulty required, as determined by curricular year and band of difficulty; • the selection of appropriate question response type/behaviour; • opportunities for pupils to practise the behaviours; and • the ability of the pupil. 37

Part 2 Developments to NILA and NINA 38

2012 CCEA Review Evaluation of: • online CBA training (users); • CBA implementation during autumn 2012 (principal, teacher and pupil); • AROs and SSs (principal and teachers); and • parent perspective. Feedback from: • helpdesk calls; • ELB support teachers seminars; • Principals’ focus groups; and • written and verbal feedback from special schools 39

Developments • • • NILA / NINA website improvements and alignments; NILA and NINA administrator’s access/permissions aligned; Revised Pupil Demos and associated resources; NINA Practice Area; Item Analysis and Question Banks; SEN Improvements; Monitoring Assessment Status; Improved Reports (simpler, sortable, printable and saveable); Charts and Tables showing progress over time; Improved IM Language selection; Modified Pupil Checklist; and Streamlined Helpdesk. 40

Pupil Demos for autumn 2013 • Pace of the voice will be slowed • Optional sub-titles available • Scripts will be available. NILA Practice Assessment Demo / NINA Practice Area Demo: Introduces pupils to NILA / NINA and the techniques they need to be aware of when completing their assessment. NILA / NINA Real Assessment Demo: Reinforces this knowledge and prepares the pupils for logging in to complete their actual assessment. 41

Revised Practice Area 42

Revised Practice Area 43

Item Analysis NILA • Additional questions added to NILA at the lower and upper end. • Drag punctuation questions: – Improved ‘grab’ of the box; and – More accurate placement of the punctuation mark. • Improved graphics and screen display. • Improvements for Hearing Impaired (HI) pupils. NINA • Reviewed small number of questions with high proportion of incorrect answers. 44

General SEN improvements • Specific guidance included in the NILA / NINA Guidance Documents; • Improved font size, style and colour; • Language modification; • Setting an SEN entry point for individual pupils; • Setting an HI entry point (removes Listening questions from NILA); • Improved ‘drag punctuation’ questions in NILA; • Voice in NILA and NINA Demos slowed down; • Improved pupil demos (for the practice areas and the real assessment); • Streamlined NINA Practice area; and • Simplified pupil checklists. 45

Introduction of Special Entry Points What qualifies a pupil to use the SEN entry point? • Teacher and SMT must: – reasonably expect that the pupil is performing 2 or more years below their chronological age; and – be in agreement that an SEN entry point is appropriate for the pupil. What qualifies a pupil to use the HI entry point? • Teacher and SMT must: – have evidence that the pupil is receiving special support for HI; and – be in agreement that an HI entry point is appropriate for a pupil. N. B: Only the administrator can select the SEN and HI entry point. 46

NILA SEN and HI Entry Point SEN Entry Point Pupils will: • have access to the same number of questions as their peers; • allows pupils quicker access to easier and shorter questions; and • aims to deliver a more positive and potentially shorter assessment. Hearing Impaired Entry Point Pupils will: • only be assessed in Reading and Writing; and • use an appropriate checklist. 47

Setting an SEN Entry Point for a Pupil (NILA) 48

Setting an SEN Entry Point for a Pupil (NINA) 49

NINA SEN Entry Point Pupil’s Curriculum Year First Non-SEN Entry Point questions will be from: First SEN Entry Point questions will be from: Year 4 Year 3 Year 1 Year 5 Year 4 Year 2 Year 6 Year 5 Year 3 Year 7 Year 6 Year 4 50

NILA: Monitoring Assessment Progress for the School 51

NINA: Monitoring Assessment Progress for the School 52

Part 3 Developments in Reporting 53

What NILA / NINA Tables and Reports are available? • NILA / NINA Results Tables provide schools with Age-Related Outcome (ARO) Ranges and Standardised Scores (SS). These are available for individual pupils, classes, year groups and at whole school level. These build over time to show additional data as it becomes available for new academic years. • NILA / NINA Parent Reports contain the results table for an individual pupil, showing only the Age-Related Outcome (ARO) Range. • NILA / NINA Objectives Reports provide specific information about the questions asked and whether the pupil answered correctly or incorrectly. 54

Results Table (Individual Pupil) 55

Results Table (School, Year Group and Class) 56

Parent Report 57

NILA Objectives Report • NILA Objectives Report focuses on the assessment performance of an individual pupil. • It is designed to answer three key questions: – what skills have been assessed? – what was the difficulty of the questions? – how did the pupil perform during the assessment? 58

NILA Objectives Report What skills have been assessed? What was the difficulty of the questions? CY is now Age > above what is expected in the pupil’s curriculum year = within what is expected in the pupil’s curriculum year < below what is expected in the pupil’s curriculum year How did the pupil perform? Columns reordered so that the Outcomes are on the right. 59

NINA Objectives Report • NINA Objectives Report focuses on the assessment performance of an individual pupil. • Three different views of the Objectives Report designed to answer three key questions: - what skills have been assessed? - what was the difficulty of the questions? - how did the pupil perform during the assessment? 60

NINA Objectives Report Question Order Band Single report which includes both Strand 1 and Strand 2. E – Easy M – Medium D - Difficult Printable individually or in batches within 48 hours for current or previous years. 61

NINA Objectives Report Skills Focus Single report which includes both Strand 1 and Strand 2. Printable individually or in batches within 48 hours for current or previous years. Difficulty of Questions answered is clear. Number of Questions will be included with the pupil details at the top of the page. Teacher will know the pupil’s target year. Clear where pupil has answered multiple questions from an objective. 62

NINA Objectives Report Curriculum Year Single report which includes both Strand 1 and Strand 2. Difficulty of Questions answered is clear. Clear where pupil has answered multiple questions from an objective. Printable individually or in batches within 48 hours for current or previous years. 63

Activity: Using the ‘Outcomes’ In your pack you have a selection of NINA and NILA reports. How could you and your colleagues use this information within your school? 64

Reporting CBA Outcomes to Parents In his letter to schools in May 2013 the Minister for Education outlined that: “Although CBA will not be specified in 2013/14, the Department expects schools to carry out diagnostic assessment using an assessment tool of its own choice and that the results of this assessment should be shared with the pupil’s parent/guardian at a mutually convenient time. ” 65

Part 4 Next Steps 66

CBA Roles and Responsibilities • NILA / NINA Administrator - Administrators manage NILA / NINA* at school level. • Teacher - Teachers manage the delivery of NILA / NINA* for their class. *Note for NINA: there is an Admin Zone and a Teacher Zone 67

Administrator Role The Administrator can: • view the details for all teachers, pupils and classes registered in the school; • print / create teacher usernames and passwords for the school; • print pupil usernames and passwords for each class; • set an SEN / HI Entry Point for a pupil; • monitor assessment progress for all classes in the school; and • view and print tables and reports for individual pupils and classes across the school. 68

Logging in as the NILA Administrator 69

Logging in as the NINA Administrator 70

Key Dates for CBA Pilot Prepare pupils for CBAs (practice area/assessment) September 2013 onwards Online teacher training available 9 September 2013 onwards Principal training 11 - 25 September 2013 Assessment Coordinator training 27 September – 11 October 2013 Upload pupil data from SIMS to Web. Xchange Not later than 30 September 2013 Phased Approach : Pupils complete live 7 October – 22 November assessments in non-transformed schools. 2013 Pupils complete live assessments in transformed schools. 25 November – 13 December Questionnaires issued to schools November 2013 71

CBA Pilot • ‘Pre-Flight Checks’. • Both NINA and NILA assessments should be administered to as many pupils as possible across years 4, 5, 6 and 7; and • CCEA, C 2 k/Capita, and both CBA providers will be monitoring assessment progress. • CCEA and C 2 k/Capita will fully support you throughout the CBA pilot. You can contact the CBA helpdesk at any stage on: (028) 9026 1274 or email: cba@ccea. org. uk. For technical support contact C 2 k on: 0870 6011666. NB – It is essential that only C 2 k PCs and laptops are used for the assessments. 72

Assessment Preparation Teachers should: • use the online course CBA section of www. nicurriculum. org. uk; • refer to the NILA / NINA Information for Schools Guidance Documents; • be familiar with the NILA / NINA pupil demos; • explore the NILA practice assessment and the NINA practice area; • check pupil usernames and passwords; • ensure that pupils can have a break during the assessment/s; • ensure that pupils know that NINA allows them to have the question/s read aloud if required; • consider resources required; and • check the equipment. 73

Assessment Preparation Teachers should ensure that pupils: • view the pupil demos as part of a class discussion; • 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 NILA Practice Assessment / NINA Practice Area. NB - Pupils should be provided with pencils and paper for the NINA assessment. 74

The Practice Assessment / Practice Area 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 assessment (NILA) / practice area (NINA); • 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 ‘Next’ (NILA) / ‘Submit’ (NINA) button is clicked. NB - Pupils can access the Practice Assessment / Practice Area without usernames/password. No log-ins required. 75

Part 5 Guidance & Support for CBA 76

CCEA Support and Resources for Autumn 2013 • Principals’ Information Seminars and Assessment Coordinator Training • Online Training Course for all new Year 4 -7 Teachers • C 2 k Instructions re: SIMS data export file • CCEA email re: accessing NILA/NINA Admin passwords • NILA / NINA Information for Schools Guidance Documents, including guidance for pupils with SEN • Website, online support & guidance materials at www. nicurriculum. org. uk • CCEA - CBA Helpdesk: 028 9026 1274 77

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Website URLs • NILA www. niliteracyassessment. org. uk • NINA http: //www. ninumeracyassessment. org. uk • Online Course www. nicurriculum. org. uk/cbaonlinetraining • NIC Website www. nicurriculum. org. uk 79