PAT Reading 5th Edition (2018) is underpinned by the PAT Reading construct, which allows educators to accurately and efficiently measure students’ abilities in Reading, to diagnose gaps, strengths and weaknesses in student learning, and monitor student progress over time.
The following topics are covered in this article:
The following articles provide more detailed information about using PAT Reading 5th Edition effectively:
- When to test with PAT Reading 5th Edition
- Choosing the right PAT Reading 5th Edition test
- Administering PAT Reading 5th Edition tests
- Using results from PAT Reading 5th Edition
About PAT Reading 5th Edition
PAT Reading 5th Edition aims to measure the essential skill of reading comprehension. The assessments require students to utilise a variety of processes in a range of contexts as reflected by different written texts on an online platform. PAT Reading captures the range of skills competent readers adopt in the construction of meaning, from retrieving discrete pieces of information, to maintaining and developing understanding, to using previous knowledge in the critical evaluation of information.
PAT Reading 5th Edition is a linear (non-adaptive) assessment that comprises test forms ranging from Test 1 to Test 10 and can be administered according to student ability, based on previous scale score and educators' professional judgement. All students in a group respond to the same test items according to which of the ten available test forms they were assigned.
PAT Reading Adaptive (2021) uses students’ responses to actively determine the content as they progress through the test. Each student sees their own mix of test items as they progress through one of dozens of available testing pathways.
Related article: Getting started with PAT Reading Adaptive
The PAT Reading construct is the organising principle of the assessments; it is used to guide test development and structure the PAT reports. This structure is also part of the Progressive Achievement approach because the knowledge, skills and understanding represented in the assessments is designed to support educators in identifying student needs.
Four overarching elements guide PAT Reading assessment development:
- Strands
- Strand processes
- Text types
- Text formats
The PAT Reading Assessment Framework document linked at the bottom of this page provides further detail about these components.
Strands
Strands are the core competencies that form the foundation of textual understanding. There are four strands used in PAT Reading:
- Retrieve
- Interpret explicit
- Interpret implied
- Reflect
Strand processes
Strand processes offer a way of further focusing learning intentions. By being able to identify the processes by which students retrieve, interpret, or reflect on texts, you can achieve a finer grained understanding of students’ gaps and strengths within each of the core skill areas, and are therefore better able to target students’ learning needs.
Text types
A range of text types must be used when assessing students' reading comprehension abilities. PAT Reading assesses five text types:
- Narrative
- Information
- Persuasive
- Procedural
- Word or sentence
Text formats
Different text formats are used to reflect and assess different Reading processes. There are three text formats used in PAT Reading:
- Continuous (e.g. prose texts, made up of sentences and commonly organised into paragraphs)
- Non-continuous (e.g. lists, diagrams, graphs, advertisements and schedules)
- Mixed
Acknowledgements
Related article: PAT Reading copyrighted material
The Progressive Achievement Tests in Reading: Comprehension and Vocabulary was first produced in New Zealand by Warwick Elley and Neil Reid, and was published by the New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER). The first Australian manual, referred to as a Teacher's Handbook, was based on the Teacher's Manual by these authors and was prepared by Milton Clark of ACER. The second Australian edition of the Handbook was a revision of the first one and was prepared by Graham Ward, also of ACER. The third Australian edition of the PAT-R tests represented a substantial revision of the earlier editions with considerable new material and a completely reworked manual and report forms. Joy McQueen was responsible for the test development and Andrew Stephanou for the psychometrics, norming study, data analysis and reporting.
The fourth Australian edition of the PAT-R tests represented a substantial expansion in the number of reading comprehension test booklets, with two-thirds of the content being new material from a wider range of text types than in previous editions. An additional vocabulary test booklet was added to the previous set, and spelling tests were included for the first time. Prue Anderson was responsible for the test development and Andrew Stephanou for the psychometrics, norming study, and reporting. Daniel Urbach was responsible for the analysis of the data. Other ACER staff who made valued contributions include Penny Pearson, Mark Butler, Margaret McGregor, Dara Searle, Melissa Hughes and Lucy Bastecky.
PAT Reading 5th Edition contains a significant amount of recently developed content; two-thirds of the content is new material. Sandra Knowles was largely responsible for the test development and Daniel Urbach for the psychometrics and the analysis of the data. Other staff members who made valued contributions include David Kelly, Clare Ozolins, Jude Alexander and Siham Barakat.