The scale score descriptors describe exactly what is being tested at each level of the scale. Obviously a test cannot cover the whole curriculum - it would just be too long! NZCER's mathematics researchers have carefully formed questions around the important content that a student needs to know to make successful progress.
There are two sets of descriptors:
- The Overview of the maths curriculum showing exactly what is being tested at the different levels of the scale
- Each Strand descriptor details the concepts that are tested, separately.
As the scale aligns with the NZ curriculum levels, these documents can support teacher knowledge regarding scaffolding students in their learning - what needs to be in place before moving on to the next concept. The documents can become guides for the progression of difficulty of a concept i.e. what comes first/what's next. This can be useful to kaiako when teaching students who are well above or below the expected learning level of their year group.