The Item Report provides a curricular content breakdown at the level of the curriculum the test is recommended for. The Item report indicates what percentage of the group of students answered each question (item) on a test successfully. It also compares the success of the group on the questions with the success of students from the national reference group at a given year level.  


The report provides links to each question/item plus a breakdown of how each student answered each question providing in-depth diagnostic knowledge of individual students' knowledge and skill in specific areas of the subject.  Good curriculum knowledge of both text processing and comprehension strategies (ELP) will allow teachers to quickly make links behind the particular concept being tested by individual questions and the students' responses, to make formative decisions about  how students think and approach each idea.




Using the Item Report


The amount of assessment information in the Item report can seem overwhelming. Teachers are not expected to look at every question and every student. The Item Report can be used to 'drill down' into the subject knowledge and skill to:

  1. Group Text type/question type/scale difficulty  questions and compare % Correct results to highlight cohorts/gender/ethnicity strengths and needs.
  2. Use the Question Type filter and look across the %Correct column to highlight trends and patterns, strengths and weaknesses that exist in the test group. Apply the cohort filters to see if there are differences in how cohorts are making progress.
  3. Identify specific cohorts in specific areas of the subject who require specific teaching to target knowledge and skills.
  4. Investigate an Individual Item  in a text type of interest by clicking on the question number to 'drill down' into specific question types. You can learn as much about a student from an incorrect response as a correct one.
    • Look at question scale difficulty (how hard) 
    • Read the text to determine the exact strategy a student would need to use to answer it correctly. You do not need to read every text - keep focused on the text type of interest.
    • Review students' incorrect responses to identify which connections/inference/vital information they have missed.
    • Work through the text processing and comprehension strategies (ELP) that seem relevant to plan next teaching steps. 
    • Use the Resources for PAT Reading Comprehension in the Assessment resource Banks to search for activities and diagnostic exercises based on what the cohort/group of students need.
  5. Follow hunches, 'informal conclusions' to invest actual needs


Reviewing questions where the group’s performance is well under the national performance, or which deviate from the patterns shown on other questions, may highlight particular areas for concern and further investigation.