Learning & Teaching

Mandatory Assessments       

As education continues to evolve, so do the expectations and ongoing skills of all teachers. Over the last few years, mandatory assessments that have been introduced include :

• Maths Online Interview for all Prep students 
• Phonics Check - In for all Year 1 students. The Year 1s are currently completing this assessment. In the past at SJV we also used an optional assessment tool called PAT - Progressive Achievement Testing. This allows us to continue to track a student's learning in Reading and Mathematics and gives us an insight into the individual strengths and weaknesses not only of students, but cohorts as well. This information was then evaluated and dissected, and it assisted us with future planning. Last year, this testing was also made mandatory, with every school being required to do it. The information and data are very useful, but generally aimed at students from Year 2 and above. Currently, though, the PAT team have created assessment pieces for students in Prep and Year 1 in the area of Reading.

Early Literacy Reading

PAT Early Literacy is a comprehensive assessment program for Foundation and Year 1 students that measures three essential domains of literacy development:

• Phonics and Related Skills
• Listening Comprehension
• Reading Comprehension.

Together, these assessments provide a connected view of early literacy development, helping educators understand strengths, identify learning needs and target support effectively. It gives a deeper understanding of how students are developing as readers, supporting informed teaching and intervention decisions. 

Why assess literacy in the early years?

Early literacy development underpins learning across the curriculum. Identifying learning needs early enables schools to provide timely support before gaps widen and become more difficult to address.

Why does PAT Early Literacy include listening comprehension?

Listening comprehension is a critical foundation for later reading comprehension.

Young learners can often understand spoken language that is more complex than the text they can independently read. Assessing listening comprehension helps educators better understand language comprehension development and identify potential strengths and learning needs that may not be visible through decoding assessments alone.

Why are phonics and comprehension reported separately?

Reading is not a single skill.

Research shows that skilled reading depends on both decoding and language comprehension. Students may demonstrate strengths in one area and need support in another.

Assessing and reporting these areas separately provides educators with a clearer understanding of individual learning needs.

Does PAT Early Literacy align with the Science of Reading?

PAT Early Literacy draws on established research about how children learn to read and reflects key insights from the Science of Reading, including the importance of both decoding and language comprehension in reading development.

How is PAT Early Literacy administered?

PAT Early Literacy is delivered online using ACER's assessment platform.

Students are guided through assessments by a character-led, story-based experience that includes audio instructions, embedded practice questions and encouragement throughout the assessment.

Can students complete the assessment independently?

The assessment has been designed to support independent participation by young learners.

The above information from Early Years Literacy onwards was extracted and copied from the ACER website that the teachers use for their assessments.