Statutory participation in trialling of national curriculum assessments
Information about the requirement for selected schools to participate in statutory national curriculum test trials
Statutory participation in trialling of national curriculum assessments
Trials are a vital part of the national curriculum test development process. They help to ensure that the questions are appropriate and fair, that tests are valid and reliable, and that they help to set and maintain standards. They do not test the pupils’ abilities and are not a test of the school; they test only the materials in development.
School participation ensures that trial data is representative of the national cohort. The samples of schools are stratified by prior attainment and region to ensure the sample reflects the population of assessing schools in these factors. Selected schools are required to participate in the trials for statutory and optional national curriculum assessments.
As selection for participation is random, it is possible that a school may be selected for a trial in consecutive years, although the targeted nature of the sample should mean that, over time, schools will be drawn less frequently. If selected, a school will trial one subject only in any one year.
Subjects and approximate timings of trials are set out below:
| Subject | Key stage | Trial period |
|---|---|---|
| English reading | KS1 and KS2 | April to June |
| English grammar, punctuation and spelling | KS1 and KS2 | April to June |
| Mathematics | KS1 and KS2 | April to June |
| Phonics screening check | KS1 | April to June |
| Reception baseline assessment | EYFS | September to October |
There are four appointed agencies that can currently run trials:
- Alpha Plus
- Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER)
- National Foundation for Educational Research (NFER)
- Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA)
Key stage 1 (KS1) and key stage 2 (KS2) trials
Each trial will take place in a two-week period each year. We will not trial KS2 tests during test week.
Although the length of the trial is dependent on the subject, most trials should last no longer than two and a half hours.
The appointed agencies will contact selected schools early in the spring term. Agency representatives will administer the KS2 trials and support school staff to administer the KS1 trials.
Schools will need to provide a suitable environment for the trial to take place. They should also provide staff to support the trial and pupil data to support the analysis. Trialling agencies will provide further instructions and information to participating schools.
Reception baseline assessment (RBA)
The appointed agency will contact selected schools early in the summer term.
The RBA trial will be a short digital assessment completed by a sample of ten pupils selected from each school. Practitioners will lead the pupils through the assessment using practical resources and a touch screen device. The trialling agency will provide further instructions and information to participating schools.
Updates to this page
Last updated 24 October 2023 + show all updates
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Updated to reflect that end of key stage 1 assessments are now optional.
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Updated information for the 2022/2023 test cycle. The page is being updated to include reception baseline in the list of subjects and provide information about the suppliers contracted to administer the trials.
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This update provides more detail about the statutory trialling of the national curriculum tests that will take place in 2016
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First published.