Pathways

How do the national tests assess reading comprehension in England?

From 2016, there were significant changes to national assessments at both key stage 1 and key stage 2, as a result of the changes to the national curriculum in England.

Key stage 1

Assessment is teacher assessment informed by tests (externally set but internally marked).

Children’s reading is assessed against the teacher assessment framework for reading published by the Standards and Testing Agency.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/teacher-assessment-frameworks-at-the-end-of-key-stage-1

The teacher assessment frameworks are used for children who have completed the KS1 curriculum. Teachers must use the frameworks to make their statutory judgement for reading, as well as for writing, mathematics and science. They do not assess all the content of the national curriculum but focus on important aspects.

In December 2018, the Standards and Testing Agency published revised exemplification to support teachers in making judgements on reading at key stage 1 by illustrating how the ‘pupil can’ statements in a framework might be met. If teachers are confident about their judgements, however, they do not have to refer to the exemplification materials; they are there simply for support.

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/teacher-assessment-exemplification-ks1-english-reading

In terms of the reading tests at key stage 1, there are two papers, with the second paper being harder than the first. Teachers should use their judgement about when to withdraw a child from the test.

The test assesses five content domains:

• 1a – draw on knowledge of vocabulary to understand texts
• 1b – identify / explain key aspects of fiction and non-fiction texts, such as characters, events, titles and information
• 1c – identify and explain the sequence of events in texts
• 1d – make inferences from the text
• 1e – predict what might happen on the basis of what has been read so far.

The content domains are taken from the test framework and are shown in the mark schemes.

More information about the key stage 1 test framework can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-stage-1-english-reading-test-framework

New tests are produced each year. The 2019 key stage 1 reading test and mark scheme, as well as other information, can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-stage-1-tests-2019-english-reading-test-materials

Key stage 2

Unlike key stage 1, teachers at key stage 2 are not required to report a teacher assessment judgement for reading.

As with key stage 1, the national tests are aligned to the content of the National Curriculum: ‘the key stage 2 English reading tests will focus on the comprehension elements of the National Curriculum’. Children sit one reading paper, based on three texts that provide increasing challenge.

The test assesses eight content domains:

• 2a – give / explain the meaning of words in context
• 2b – retrieve and record information / identify key details from fiction and non-fiction
• 2c – summarise main ideas from more than one paragraph
• 2d – make inferences from the text / explain and justify inferences with evidence from the text
• 2e – predict what might happen from details stated and implied
• 2f – identify / explain how information / narrative content is related and contributes to meaning as a whole
• 2g – identify / explain how meaning is enhanced through choice of words and phrases
• 2h – make comparisons within the text.

The content domains are taken from the test framework and are shown in the mark schemes.

More information about the key stage 2 test framework can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/key-stage-2-english-reading-test-framework

The marks achieved out of 50 on the key stage 2 test are converted and presented as ‘scaled scores’. The scaled score needed to achieve the ‘expected standard’ always remains the same, because it is adjusted to take account of any differences in the difficulty of a test in a particular year.

Each child’s result also shows whether they have achieved the ‘expected standard’ on the test. The Standards and Testing Agency conducted a standard-setting exercise on all the 2016 tests to work out the scaled score needed for a child to be considered to have met the standard.

Materials relating to the key stage 2 national curriculum tests, including past test papers and mark schemes, can be found here:
https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-curriculum-assessments-practice-materials