PAT Early Literacy is designed for younger learners and can only be assigned within the platform to students in Year 6 and below. In exceptional circumstances, schools may choose to temporarily change a student's year level to Year 6 solely for the purpose of assigning the assessment.
Before proceeding
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We recommend that schools preview the test content (if you have not already done so) and confirm that PAT Early Literacy is appropriate for the student cohort, taking into account both the literacy content and the age-appropriateness of the assessment interface and delivery. PAT Reading Adaptive or PAT Reading 5th Edition may be more appropriate. For PAT Reading Adaptive, note that the default entry level can be over-ridden if the school year default year level is not appropriate.
Related article: Choosing the right PAT Maths Adaptive entry level
Related article: Choosing the right PAT Reading Adaptive entry level - Identify any other assessments currently assigned to or planned for the affected students.
- Consider whether changing a student's year level could affect access to, or assignment of, other assessments.
- Please note that this workaround is provided to enable access to PAT Early Literacy in exceptional circumstances. You are responsible for ensuring that your students’ year-level information remains accurate and for considering any impacts on other assessments, reports, or processes within the platform.
Process
- Record the students' current year levels before making any changes.
- Temporarily update the selected students' year levels to Year 6.
- Assign the PAT Early Literacy assessment to the students.
- Once the assessment has been assigned, immediately return the students to their original year levels.
- Students will still be able to complete the assigned assessment while remaining in their correct year level.
Risks and considerations
Schools should be aware that while the year-level change is only temporary, any assessments assigned during that period may be influenced by the student's temporary year level. For this reason, ACER recommends:
- Limiting the change to only those students requiring access to PAT Early Literacy.
- Assigning PAT Early Literacy immediately after changing the year level.
- Returning students to their original year levels as soon as the assessment has been assigned.
- Avoid generating reports while the students are assigned incorrect year levels as the results will not be accurate.
- Avoiding the assignment of other assessments while students are temporarily set to Year 6.
- Aspects of online reporting that relate to student year levels, including norm comparison data, will be affected by this process.
Support
If your school intends to use PAT Early Literacy with students above Year 6 and would like advice on whether this approach is suitable for your cohort, please contact the School Support Team.