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How are the assessments
put together? |
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Why should my child
take the assessments? |
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Why are children’s
names registered? |
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Are the Right2Learn
assessments intelligence tests? |
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How do I register for
the assessments? |
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May I register more
than one child? |
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What if I forget my
password? |
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How do you get the results
at Right2Learn? |
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What should I tell my
child about the assessments? |
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Am I allowed to help
my child? |
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Is the use of calculators
allowed for the Maths tests? |
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Why are the questions
timed? |
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Why are questions multi-choice?
|
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What if my child just
guesses the answers? |
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Why are ethnic names
used in the questions? |
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How do you know that
questions are not too easy or difficult? |
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Can I view the questions
afterwards, to go through them with my child? |
 |
What can we do with
the results? |
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When can my child be
re-assessed? |
| |
| Q.
How are the assessments put together? |
| All questions are produced by qualified
and experienced teachers and then validated by another
group of teachers. The nature and content of questions
are designed specifically to measure the objectives laid
down within the national strategy documents for each subject.
Questions are then tested out on a control group for
the target school age, before being considered for inclusion
within an test. |
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| Q.
Why should my child take the assessments? |
In a nutshell, the Right2Learn tests are
a fast and convenient method for parents to identify children’s
existing achievement in key educational subjects, via
an independent means.
Benefits for parents include: |
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Specific indicators of your child’s
strengths and possible areas for improvement, related
to actual question types and educational objectives |
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A statistical report, comparing your child’s
results with those achieved by other children in the same
region and across the country |
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Influence over your child’s education through
accurate and relevant information |
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| Benefits for children include: |
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A visually appealing and stimulating activity which
is fun to do |
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The opportunity to show parents what they can do |
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Increased confidence and enhanced desire to learn |
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Certificate of achievement with results for each subject |
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| Q.
Why are children’s names registered? |
This is an optional feature of the Right2Learn
tests, and is only available to parents at home.
No children’s personal details are taken via
registration for schools.
The names relate to the Toad
or Toast fun element of the Right2Learn tests to
be released in the near future. This renames characters
selected by children at the start of the test to have
the names of the children you enter on registration.
The characters are then turned into a Toad or Toast
in between questions, depending on whether or not your
child answered the question correctly.
The names and number of times that a character was
transformed into a Toad or Toast are then included on
the personalised Certificate you will be able to download
for your child upon completion of the each test.
The names do not have to be entered and can be removed
from the database after your child has completed the
tests if you wish. |
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| Q.
Are the Right2Learn assessments intelligence tests? |
| No! The Right2Learn tests are attainment
tests, designed to measure the achievement of specific
objectives within the key educational subjects of English,
Maths and Science for primary school children. A stated
outcome being the identification of areas for further
learning. The results cannot be taken as an indicator
of levels of intelligence or likely performance in any
other tests. |
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| Q.
How do I register for the assessments? |
The first step is to register your details.
register
parents >>
register
schools >>
Once you have completed the registration form you will
be allocated a parent’s or school Username and
Password, via which you will be able to access tests
in the future.
Right2Learn tests may then be purchased either individually
or as a group. |
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| Q.
May I register more than one child? |
Yes! Currently, this is achieved by parents
by re-registering your own details on our registration
form and then entering the details of the additional
child.
Schools enter the number of children per year upon
registration.
In the future, parents will only need to register once
and will be able to link as many children as they like
to their own account thereafter.
register
parents >>
register
schools >> |
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| Q.
What if I forget my password? |
| Simply contact
us or send an email to enquiries@right2learn.co.uk
and we will send you a reminder of the Username and Password. |
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| Q.
How do you get the results at Right2Learn? |
| Once your child completes the last question
the results are automatically sent to our database for
reporting purposes. This enables the generation of the
statistical reports and certificates which will be made
available. |
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| Q.
What should I tell my child about the assessments? |
| This varies of course according to the child
and your own objectives as a parent in registering them
for the tests. However, it is recommended that parents
explain what is about to happen before the child begins
the first test, so that she/he has some forewarning and
understanding of what to expect.
Our experience and feedback is such that stating to
children that you would like to sit with them and watch
how they do some sums or reading on the computer, etc,
usually suffices by way of explanation. Don’t
forget to tell the child what is in it for them! (ie;
fun! A certificate! The opportunity to show you what
they can do!)
You may prefer not to refer to the process as an test,
as the purpose is to build confidence whilst identifying
your child’s strengths and development areas,
rather than make them nervous.
We also advise that parents sit with the child at the
very start to ensure that they have understood the multi-choice
concept and how to answer (with the mouse). |
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| Q.
Am I allowed to help my child? |
| Here at Right2Learn we recommend that, especially
with younger children, parents may wish to sit with their
child whilst he/she takes the test.
We suggest that parents may wish to observe at least
the first test section to ensure that the child has
grasped the concept of answering with multi-choice selection.
Furthermore, we recommend that parents assist with
the reading of the question where necessary, so that
possible reading difficulties do not affect for example
the outcome of a Maths test.
It is requested that parents only read out the questions
where necessary, but DO NOT read out any numerical data,
or any of the answers. This would be deemed to be undue
assistance and would influence the test results making
your comparative report less valid.
The time taken and interest shown act as a great help
to most children. This can stimulate and encourage the
child, whilst also enhancing the parent’s own
understanding of the child’s achievements through
direct observation.
Your child may use paper and pencil for workings out
unless otherwise indicated within a question.
There is a great temptation for many parents to go
further and actually assist their child during the tests,
particularly if they appear not to have any idea about
how to approach a question. Our advice is to consider
your objectives when registering your child for the
test.
If you primarily wish to boost your child’s confidence
and treat the tests as a learning tool then you may
opt to assist your child. However, if you wish to have
valid and relevant feedback within the report, which
identifies the specific areas where your child might
benefit from improvement, then our advice is to positively
encourage your child, but refrain from providing further
assistance than explained here. |
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| Q.
Is the use of calculators allowed for the Maths tests? |
The National Numeracy Strategy applies to primary aged children and is an integral part of the National Curriculum. Teachers will use this document alongside other materials when planning the delivery of mathematics to their class.
The guidance indicates that calculators SHOULD NOT BE USED IN KEY STAGE 1 (primary years 1 and 2) but that children should be taught to use calculators correctly during Key Stage 2 (years 3 to 6).
The key point is that children need to be taught basic
number facts and have a good recall of them. Mental
calculations or the use of paper and pencil should be
conducted wherever possible, to ensure the child has
grasped the numerical concepts required to be able to
make correct use of the calculator. Your child should
be able to estimate an answer when using a calculator
or the outcome may be meaningless or wrong.
Within schools children are encouraged to learn when
it is or is not appropriate to use calculators.
In short, CALCULATORS MAY BE USED FOR THE TESTS IN YEARS 3 TO 6, but this should be supervised to ensure that the child understands the principles involved in the question and would also have been able to arrive at the answer using mental calculations or paper and pencil. |
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| Q.
Why are the questions timed? |
| There are several reasons for this approach.
Firstly, it enables parents and teachers to plan for
the activity and prevents children from spending too
long on an individual question which they may not understand.
The timed element is deemed necessary as part of the
efforts to maintain consistency of conditions for the
test. Ie: all children have the same opportunity to
answer the question.
The timed element is also there to maintain the focus
of the child and try to encourage a degree of concentration
and discipline.
Finally, it is the Right2Learn view that the critical
issue is to ensure that sufficient time is allocated
for each question to allow the child to read and absorb
the question, before working out and choosing an answer.
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| Q.
Why are questions multi-choice? |
Part of the reason we have incorporated
multiple-choice is that difficulty in marking the tests.
It is our intention to avoid the need for parents or teachers
to mark the tests, as this would be time consuming, cumbersome
and may include room for error.
If we allowed free text fields for children to type their
answers then difficulties can also occur, such as if they
spell a word incorrectly, but have the essentially correct
answer, it may still say they got it wrong!
As such, after very careful consideration and the deliberation
by the many teachers and educationalists involved we have
decided that the most reliable means of providing internet-based
tests which can give instant and accurate feedback is
via multiple-choice. |
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| Q.
What if my child just guesses the answers? |
| A danger with multi-choice is that some
children or even adults may succumb to the temptation
to guess the right answer. We have three strategies to
deal with this possibility:
First, all answers provided are considered to be feasible,
with no answers being immediately obvious as being right
or wrong. As such, each question provides a genuine
series of 4 multi-choice options. If your child is to
do well, the statistical probability of this resulting
from guessing is low.
Second, the system will be updated in the very near
future to have a break between the time when the question
is displayed and the four multi-choice answers are shown.
This can still not guarantee that the child will not
guess the answer, but at least the interval should encourage
the child to process the information and begin working
out an answer.
Finally, it is our recommendation for parents to sit
with the child at least at the start to try to ensure
that the child approaches the tests in the correct manner.
If it is obvious that the child is guessing the answers,
we would hope that the parent would discourage this
activity, perhaps by subtly asking the child to explain
why they chose a particular answer. |
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| Q.
Why are ethnic names used in the questions? |
| The names of characters used within the
Right2Learn questions are deliberately chosen to represent
and reflect the multi-ethnicity within the United Kingdom.
However, it is not possible to represent all groups within
the tests, as this would result in different names being
used in every question, which might become a distraction
for the child. |
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| Q.
How do you know that questions are not too easy or difficult? |
| As explained in the answer to question 1,
all questions are produced by qualified and experienced
teachers and then validated by another group of teachers.
The nature and content of questions are designed specifically
to measure the objectives laid down within the national
strategy documents for each subject.
However, we do not leave it there and assume we have
got it right! All questions are analysed within our
results table to identify questions where large numbers
of children (proportionately) may take longer to answer
than in other questions, or answer them very quickly.
Questions which a disproportionate number of children
answer correctly or incorrectly are also analysed carefully
to ensure the content is appropriate.
Depending on the outcome of the analysis, questions
might be modified slightly, such as by being given more
or less time, or they might be removed from the test
and replaced with an alternate question. |
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| Q.
Can I view the questions afterwards, to go through them
with my child? |
| Unfortunately, we are unable to provide
a hard copy of the tests, as this would result in a loss
of control over the questions, bringing into doubt their
integrity. If a child is able to view a copy of the questions
before taking them within the test, this may affect their
results and make the comparative analysis inaccurate. |
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| Q.
What can we do with the results? |
| The statistical report that will be made
available after completion of the test should answer the
immediate questions you have regarding specific areas
of performance and their relative significance.
This report will clarify the types of question taken
and which objectives from the curriculum were being
assessed. This information should assist you in identifying
existing strengths and subject areas where the greatest
potential improvement might be gained. |
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| Q.
When can my child be re-assessed? |
| It is our recommendation that parents resist
the temptation to retest their child too soon. The stated
purpose of the tests is to identify strengths and areas
for improvement and to boost your child’s confidence
in a fun manner.
To avoid putting children under undue pressure, it
is recommended that a period of time is allowed to pass
between taking the first test in a given subject, eg:
Maths, and taking any further test.
This should allow time for your child to build on the
areas identified within the report, and achieve the
increase in learning that would hopefully result in
a higher score in a follow up test.
At Right2Learn it is our aim to release a second series
of tests for each year in September 2003. Children taking
these tests would have to have completed the first tests
beforehand. The recommended timeframe between taking
the two tests would vary according to the child and
the support given and strategies taken by the parent/school
to address areas identified. |
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