Administering PAT Early Literacy tests

The following topics are covered here:

• Preparation
• Instructions
• Delivery
• Supporting documents

This article provides general guidance on administering PAT Early Literacy tests with your students. There are some differences between tests in the three domains (Phonics and Related Skills, Listening Comprehension, and Reading Comprehension.

The test administration instructions linked at the bottom of this article provide more specific detail, including teacher scripts and troubleshooting tips, for each of the three assessments.

Preparation

The following steps need to be completed ahead of time:

• Check the technical requirements and run the browser exam from a student device to identify any potential technical issues.
• Schedule your testing date and time. It is best to administer tests in the morning and not immediately before or after an exciting school event.
• Ensure that all students are listed within your school's online assessment account and have been assigned the necessary tests.
• Review and assign appropriate test levels to all students according to their ability.
• Download or print a list of your students' login details.
• Make note of your school's online assessment login page, or make sure that the URL is saved on student devices, or available to your students as a link. The address will be similar to https://oars.acer.edu.au/your-school-name.

Instructions

• The assessments are not timed, and students are encouraged to go through them carefully and at their own pace. As a guide, most students will take approximately 30 minutes to complete the test. Some additional time may be allowed if students are working productively.
• There are no written directions at the start of the test. Students should listen carefully to the audio instructions provided by the digital helper. They can click the 'Play' icon at the bottom left of the screen at any time to play/replay the audio.
• Students will see a few practice questions – at the beginning of the test and/or embedded at the point of need – to familiarise themselves with the buttons and question types.

• Tests should be administered under standard testing conditions with invigilation.
• Students' screens should be monitored as part of test invigilation.
• Students are permitted to use pen/pencil and paper to make notes during the test.

If you determine that some students require changed testing conditions due to specific learning needs, these changes should be recorded for future reference. The process for determining and implementing any changes to test conditions should be consistent between classes and across the school.

Delivery

• Ensure that all students in the group will have a compatible device and a pair of working headphones for use on the testing day.

• Students will not be automatically locked out after the allowed time passes. You must monitor and manage the time, including accommodating toilet breaks or other interruptions that may occur.
• Student responses are automatically saved each time they navigate to another item (question).
• If technical problems cause the need to postpone, students may close the browser without losing their progress.
• iPads and tablet devices must be held in landscape orientation.

Although PAT is low-pressure and low-stakes, the following new security features have been designed to support you by restricting undesirable actions during test-taking.

• No installation required – the features run directly in the browser across Windows, Mac, iPad and Chromebook.
• Full-screen browser window – test starts with the browser in full-screen mode to encourage full student focus on the test content.
• Warnings – if the student attempts to exit full-screen mode or leave the browser window during the test, the system responds by blurring the test screen and displaying a warning to the student.

Supporting documents