What is the Te Reo Māori: Online Language Assessment?
The Te Reo Māori assessment has been designed for students in Years 4 to 9 who are learning te reo Māori in English-medium settings. The assessment is based on a bank of questions drawn from the level 1 to 3 achievement objectives of the te reo Māori curriculum, Te Aho Arataki Marau mō te Ako i Te Reo Māori (pages 42-46).
Please note: While questions were based on level 1 to 3 achievement objectives students' results cannot be directly mapped to a curriculum level. Instead student results are reported against te reo Māori assessment stages (1-5). The description for each stage outlines the typical kinds of things students who achieve at that stage have shown they can do during the assessment. Students will generally have mastered the things described in the stages below their stage and be working towards achieving the things described in any higher stages.
The assessment is adaptive, meaning that the content of the assessment adapts to the ability level of the student. The trialing undertaken as part of the assessment development process found that the assessment could provide appropriate content for nearly all students involved in the trials.
Students for whom the assessment might not be well suited include those who are new to New Zealand and/or have had little or no experience of te reo Māori, and those who speak te reo Māori often and/or have had intensive opportunities to learn and practise te reo.
What is a computer adaptive test?
A computer adaptive test continuously adapts as each student is doing the assessment, giving each student questions that match the level of achievement they are demonstrating. This means your students won't be given all the available questions in the item bank.
A student who gets the initial question correct is given a harder question. If students give an incorrect response, they're given an easier question.
This creates a personalised assessment for each student and one that can be reported on individually, while using the same scale for everyone (in this assessment, the trm scale).
Student achievement can be tracked over time, and data can be explored for further teaching and learning opportunities.
How can we access the Te Reo Māori: Online Language Assessment?
This new assessment option is now available for subscription on the NZCER Marking website. If your school has already registered your site administrator can add this subject to your account via 'Site Management' and then 'Manage My School's Subscription'. If your school has not yet subscribed to our NZCER Marking website you can do that here.
How do I set up a Te Reo Māori assessment?
- The first step in setting up a Te Reo Māori assessment is to create a new assessment group on the Te Reo Māori Assessment section of the NZCER Marking website. Click on Te Reo Māori, and then Add New Assessment Group. Under the 'Test' field the adaptive option is the default (only available as an adaptive assessment). Note that the assessment group also needs to be assigned a particular year level.
- Once the assessment group has been created students can be added to it by using either the View icon or the Student Token icon. Usually, one class of students is assigned to an assessment group. However, the students assigned to an assessment group can be a subset of a class or a combination of students from different classes within the same year level. Students can be removed from an assessment by clicking on the Student Token icon and then on their name.
- Once students have been assigned to the assessment group it is possible to print off the passwords (tokens) the students will need to take the test. Again, either the Student Tokens or View buttons can be used to access the token printing function.
- Students can use their individual token to access the test at www.nzceronline.org.nz. (Note: this URL is printed on the slip of paper that contains the student token)
How long is the assessment?
The test will take up to 30 minutes. Allow up to an extra 15 minutes for set-up and administration time.
How difficult are the first questions in an adaptive test?
At the start, the assessment gives all students questions that are the same difficulty level. These questions begin at a basic level and are suitable for Year 4-9 students in English- medium classes. The assessment progresses, selecting questions from the bank according to how each student has answered previous questions. Students who answer the first questions correctly will quickly move on to harder questions. The computer tries to give every student an assessment where they score about 60% of questions correctly.
How is achievement reported for Te Reo Māori: Online Language Assessment?
The online NZCER Marking service can be used to generate three reports for the Te Reo Māori assessment. Each one provides different insights into student or class achievement. See 'Understanding the reports' in the Teacher Manual for a more detailed overview of the Individual, Scale, and List reports
Administering a Te Reo Māori: Online Language Assessment
Before the assessment
Before the test make sure you have set up an assessment group for an adaptive test in the NZCER Marking website, assigned students to it, and printed off the student tokens (passwords) they will need to do the test (see 'How do I set up a Te Reo Māori assessment?, above, for details.)
You can use the ‘demo’ function in the NZCER marking site to try out an adaptive test yourself. To view the demo, click on the demo icon for the created test.
On the day of the assessment
Make sure that the assessment group’s online testing button on the NZCER marking service website is turned on (the ‘Online Testing’ button next to the name of the assessment group you are working with should be green).
Make sure each student has an appropriate device that is connected to the internet.
Key messages for students ahead of sitting the assessment
It is important that all students are given clear instructions. Before the assessment begins the teacher should introduce the assessment by sharing the following information.
"Today you will be having a te reo Māori assessment.
All the instructions in the assessment are given in English. You can choose to have questions read to you by pressing the audio button. You should do this because it means you can both read and hear the reo Māori parts of each question.
The assessment will be different for each of you as the computer selects questions suited to you.
If you find some questions easy, the test will give you slightly harder questions; if you find some questions hard, the test will give you easier questions. Altogether you will be asked about 30 questions.
Read and listen to each question that you're given. For each question choose the one answer that you think is best, even if you are unsure. Take your time to answer each question, because once you've answered it you cannot go back and change your answer. You will need to choose an answer before you will be given the next question.
Your results will help me know how you're doing in te reo Māori so that I, and the school, can better understand what we need to do next to help you on your learning journey in te reo Māori".
Starting the assessment
- Distribute the tokens to the students. Make sure each student gets the right token.
- Ask the students to open their browser, go to www.nzceronline.org.nz and enter the code printed on their token. Once the code is entered, the computer will present the student with the name of the person assigned to the token and ask if they are that person. If they are not, they should close their browser and come to you to get the correct token.
- Read the on-screen instructions page with the students.
Completing the test
The test will take up to 30 minutes. An adaptive test is around 30 questions long and most students should be able to complete the test in the time provided. Use your discretion if a student needs a little more time to complete the questions.
When students have completed the test the computer will ask them to provide some feedback by answering a number of questions about their test experience. Please encourage them to complete these questions.
After the test
- Collect the token slips back from the students.
- Turn off the test in the NZCER Marking site (the ‘Online Testing’ button next to the name of the assessment group you are working with should now be red).
- If a student has not finished their test, it will be displayed as incomplete on the ‘List Report’ and ‘Individual Student Report’ indicated by 2 red asterisks next to the student’s name.
Interpreting results
In addition to information in the Teacher Manual you can access the Stage Descriptor document below. This describes the 5 stages that are reported on when using the assessment.