After you have prepared and conducted the assessment, you can score and locate your students using the resources in the assessment booklets and the Learning and Assessment Framework (LAF).
Score the task
Make sure that you have downloaded, printed and read through the scoring information in either:
Each booklet contains:
- scoring rubrics
- student score sheets
- LAF raw score translator.
Each scoring rubric is used to score students’ responses to the tasks. The results are recorded on the student score sheet. You will need to determine a student’s total score by adding the rubric scores assigned to each item.
Translate the scores
The LAF raw score translator is a table that is used to help teachers locate students against the Learning and Assessment Framework (LAF) on the basis of their performance in the assessment tasks. Each of the two assessment booklets contains an LAF raw score translator.
The LAF raw score translator contains:
- the raw scores associated with each level of the LAF
- a brief description of what a student can be expected to do (approximately 50 percent of the time).
Identify students against the LAF
After working out a student’s total score, locate the score on the translator to determine the student’s LAF Zone.
The Learning and Assessment Framework will then provide a starting point for targeted teaching. Students may need further consolidation of the concepts and strategies indicated at a particular zone while being introduced to aspects of the next zone.
The LAF was developed on the basis of a detailed item analyses (Rasch Modelling) on data collected from approximately 3000 student responses to multiplicative tasks administered at the beginning and end of the Scaffolding Numeracy in the Middle Years (SNMY) research project. The project background pages provide more information about how the zones of the LAF were developed through this research.
Zero or perfect scores
If you are using the assessment tasks with whole classes, there may be a small number of students who receive a zero score or a perfect score. Students who receive a zero score cannot be assigned an LAF zone.
The same case occurs if a student receives a perfect score, that is, received full marks for all tasks attempted.
For a zone to be assigned, it is necessary to know what students can and cannot do. All that can be said about these students is that their zones are either below what is called Zone 1 or above what is called Zone 8.
Alternate assessment may be necessary to identify the learning needs of these particular students.
Use the support materials
Learning plans, authentic tasks and other support materials in the resource library are provided to assist with the development of multiplicative thinking in students.
You can also read about the Scaffolding Numeracy in the Middle Years (SNMY) project background to find out more on the development of the assessment materials and the associated resources.