Case Studies 2025 Key Stage 1 and Key Stage 2 Technical Pre-Tests and Key Stage 2 Item Validation Trials for the Standards and Testing Agency (STA)

Schools UK Trialling

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AlphaPlus is delighted to announce that we are working with the Standards and Testing Agency (STA) to deliver the Technical Pre-Tests (TPT) for KS1 and KS2 as well as the Item Validation Trial (IVT) for KS2.


Timeline

January 2025 LAs and MATs to be contacted about school participation in the trial
January to February 2025 Teachers to be contacted about children’s participation in the trial
April to June 2025 Trialling period

FAQs

What are the purposes and aims of this trial?

AlphaPlus has been commissioned by the Standards and Testing Agency (STA) to trial test materials for assessment at KS1 and KS2.

As part of that process, we are asking a number of schools to trial new English reading, English grammar, punctuation and spelling (GPS), and mathematics tests. The trial is aimed at testing the performance of individual questions rather than the performance of any pupil and means that schools can have confidence that the tests function appropriately for pupils and that the results will be valid and reliable.

How have schools been selected to take part?

The schools have been randomly selected by STA and make up a nationally representative sample. If your school has been selected, we will have written to your headteacher and if your school is LA maintained or is part of a multi-academy trust (MAT) with more than 5 schools, we will have informed your LA or MAT that your school has been selected.

It is important that all schools that have been selected participate in the trial so that the data from the trial includes pupils from all backgrounds across the whole of England. This means that you can have confidence that future national curriculum tests are valid, fair, accessible and reliable.

Is participation in these tests required?

Participation in all these trials is statutory across both key stages. For more information please go to:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/statutory-participation-in-trialling-of-national-curriculum-assessments

How will my school benefit from being selected for the trials?

Your involvement in this trial is an excellent opportunity for children to practise and for your feedback to be considered in the development of future assessments.

We are unable to give feedback to the schools who take part in the development of tests. As these trials test the suitability of the questions, in some cases this may mean that they are too difficult or too easy. The results the pupils achieve will not be indicative of their actual ability and may be misleading as standalone results.


Contact us

For any media enquiries, please email adam.hussain@alphaplus.co.uk.

If you are a school participating in the trial and have any questions, please contact us by calling or emailing the relevant trial:

KS1 TPT

Email: KS1TPT@alphaplus.co.uk

Phone: 0161 989 8047

KS2 TPT

Email: KS2TPT@alphaplus.co.uk

Phone: 0330 175 8700

KS2 IVT

Email: KS2IVT@alphaplus.co.uk

Phone: 0161 503 2924