The PAT:Listening Comprehension scale is described in seven different ways:
- using abstract information
- using separated information
- using multiple pieces of information
- using implied information
- rejecting competing information
- using lexical information (vocabulary)
- using prosodic information
This is not an exhaustive list. However, it covers elements that have a significant role to play in listening comprehension.
For each element, example questions are located on the scale to exemplify increasing complexity. The text used to correctly answer each question is quoted, or referred to more generally if it is extensive. An analysis of the relationship between the question and text is then presented in order to reveal the kinds of thinking the students are required to do.
The analysis presented in the scale descriptions (attached) will provide teachers with a model of how to analyse their own student data so that student strengths and weaknesses can be more deeply understood. For example, teachers might use the descriptions to learn more about each of the seven elements and then use what they learn to better understand why particular students had difficulty with particular questions. This understanding would then be used to identify any patterns of difficulty across groups of students.