We are starting the year off by going back to basics and looking at what our assessments are all about. When we were pulling this together we realised they can be very handily arranged alphabetically. So we present to you the ABC’s of CEM.
A is for Adaptive
(Bet you thought we’d go for assessments!)
Our adaptive tests do pretty much what it says on the tin. The assessment adapts to the student’s ability.
The algorithm controls the difficulty level of the questions while students are taking the assessment. If a student cannot answer a couple of questions of the same standard, the assessment algorithm will adjust to show them questions they can answer and gradually increase the difficulty again. So each test is truly tailored to the individual sitting it.
Want to find out more? Follow the link to get the full explanation of adaptive assessments and find out more about the benefits of using adaptive tests.
B is for Baseline
A baseline assessment is snapshot of a student’s skills and abilities at a single moment in time. They are low-stakes tests – their purpose is to give teachers valuable insight that can support their judgement and inform their planning and teaching to best support their learners.
Our baseline assessments are founded in research and focus on the skills that are most important for supporting success in all subjects - vocabulary, mathematics, and developed ability like non-verbal reasoning skills.
For more information on baseline assessments go to last year’s most read article on how to make baseline assessments work for you.
C is for Cambridge
We are really proud to be a part of the Cambridge family. It has given us the opportunity to work alongside colleagues from Cambridge Assessment and Cambridge University Press on several projects all aimed at improving the learner’s journey and supporting teachers with good data.
Read how our longitudinal data is being used by Dr Matthew Carroll in Cambridge Assessment to understand the impact of the disruption to classroom-based learning.
D is for Digital
All CEM baseline assessments are digital and can be either taken online or downloaded to your school’s local network. There are so many benefits of digital assessment:
- Our adaptive algorithm ensures each assessment is an individualised experience.
- Tests can be completed under an hour.
- No teacher marking is required – at all!
- Reports and feedback are available within 48 hours or sooner.
- All data is kept securely and each school has their own secure portal to access the assessments at any time.
The digital landscape is constantly shifting and we’re excited to be working on some long-term projects for our tech. For now, using laptops and the internet means that CEM assessments are accessible for the majority of schools around the world.
E is for Evidence
Baseline data is an excellent source of evidence to support teachers’ professional judgment and help with decision-making in schools.
We know that there is still some tension in schools around the use of data and the pressure that it has put on workload in the past. But having good data and knowing how to use it to best support your needs is truly valuable information.
If you are unsure or feel weighed down by data, we have lots of case studies and webinars from teachers who are using the evidence from our assessments to empower their teaching. Take a look at Jonathan Allday’s presentation on Predictive Data or learn how The Cedar School supports their teachers and students to make decisions with data.
Our insight is most powerful when it is used by you, teaching professionals, to support your own judgement.
Want to find out more about our assessments?
Request a demo.
Find out more about CEM assessments
