How to… Manage Literacy Measuring

A quick guide to literacy monitoring in schools

The management of literacy measuring in schools can often present a challenge owing to the subjective nature of teacher judgement. Whether in a primary or secondary setting, the teacher will have in depth knowledge of an individual pupil’s capabilities but being able to objectively quantify this as part of literacy monitoring and reporting is more difficult.

When looking to effectively coordinate a literacy measuring initiative, a reliable starting point is to investigate the range of independent and externally validated programmes which are on the market.

One of the most tried and tested literacy monitoring tools available is Star Literacy – an online and computer adaptive solution which makes it easier to track pupils’ literacy progress.

Designed specifically for literacy assessment, Star equips teachers with a robust tool for literacy measuring which improves the accuracy of data and simplifies the reporting process. As an online test, Star also helps to reduce the impact of literacy measuring on teacher workload as there is no need to mark paper-based tests.

Where schools have implemented Star to support literacy measuring, the benefits have been far reaching:

• Time saving – the tests take just 20 minutes to administer with the results available almost immediately… which means no time is needed for marking.
• Detailed insight – as Star tracks pupil progress over time and stores the data in the system, detailed reports can be produced at the click of a button – with no need to manually record or process pupil data in spreadsheets.
• Personalised learning – as a computer adaptive test for literacy measuring, Star ensures pupils are being assessed at the right level to facilitate progression at a pace that suits their ability.

Importantly, many schools choose to use a combination of paper-based and online literacy monitoring methods to ensure pupils develop the skills for sitting traditional literacy tests but at the same time benefit from monitoring ongoing progress.

To learn more about using Star for literacy measuring in your school, visit the Star Assessments product page.