MY ASSESSMENT AND REPORTING KIT Interactive Test User Guide Introduction... 3 Buying test credits... 3 Assigning a test... 4 Managing tests... 7 Starting a test... 8 Taking a test... 10 Marksheet and test analysis reviewing pupils answers... 11 Technical information... 12 Frequently Asked Questions... 13 1 July 2018
2 July 2018
Introduction RS Assessment from Hodder Education now offers interactive versions of the KS2 PiRA and PUMA standardised tests. The interactive versions of the tests are accessed via MARK (My Assessment and Reporting Kit) - https://my.risingstarsassessment.co.uk/ - and are marked automatically so that teachers do not need to fill in marksheets and can access reports and analysis immediately, saving valuable time. The print and online versions of the tests are identical, so schools are able to use them alongside each other, with more choice and control over how they administer the tests. To use the interactive tests, schools will need to have access to MARK and purchase test credits from the Rising Stars website. When a school places its first order of test credits, MARK is automatically added to the order if the school has not already purchased it for free. To find out more about getting started with MARK, please see our MARK support page, where you can download our guide to setting your school up in MARK. Buying test credits Interactive tests are taken using interactive test credits. Each credit is the equivalent of one test, so 50 pupils would need 50 credits to sit one test. Interactive test credits are specific to the test you buy them for, so PUMA credits can only be used for PUMA tests, and PiRA credits for PiRA tests. You can use a PUMA credit on any test in the PUMA suite that is available interactively. You can buy test credits from the Rising Stars website. Simply search for the series that you want a buy credits for, and you ll see the test credits listed alongside all the other purchasing options. Just add the credits to your basket and as soon as you have completed the purchase you will be able to use the test credits and set interactive tests using MARK. 3 July 2018
Assigning a test Before you can start assigning tests, you will need to make sure that your pupil records are set up in MARK. You can find our step-by-step guide to MARK here. Once your school is set up, you will be ready to start using the interactive tests. To assign a test to a pupil, group of pupils or class, log into MARK and click on Test Assignments in the left-hand navigation bar. If any interactive tests have been set up in the past, they will be listed here. First, click on the Assign button on the right. 4 July 2018
You will now be taken to a step-by-step wizard for setting up a test. First, you will be prompted to select PUMA or PIRA then which paper you want to set. Clicking on Preview test in a new window will allow you to review all the questions in a test, simply close the window to return to this screen. This will update to show you how many PUMA credits your school has. Note these credits can be used by any teacher for any PUMA test, and likewise PIRA credits for the PIRA tests. If you haven t got any credits (or need some more) you can click on Buy more credits on the right to be taken to the PIRA or PUMA page on the Rising Stars website. 5 July 2018
If you have enough credits it will prompt you to select which pupils will be taking the test. Choose a class or group using the dropdowns, and then select the pupils using the checkboxes. To select everyone on the list, use the Add all the above pupils button. The right-hand window will show you which pupils you have already selected. Also in this window, you can remove pupils from the list and (for PUMA only) you can also assign extra time. It is advisable to only assign to one Class or Group at a time to allow quick access to the marksheets area from this screen (see Managing tests.) Note: if you make a mistake you will be able to Edit assignment later to either make changes or if no pupils have taken the test, you will also be able to delete the assignment completely. Any unused credits will be returned to your balance if you delete a test or remove pupils from a test. After selecting the pupils who will take the test, MARK will ask you to select a date for the test to be available from. This is the first date that the test will be available from. It will continue to be available after this date until all pupils have taken the test. If in doubt, select today s date. After this final stage, your test assignment will be created and added to the bottom of the test list. 6 July 2018
Managing tests On the list of tests, you can click on an assignment to see the options you have for that test appear below. If only some or no pupils have taken the test, you will have the following options: Delete assignment - selecting this will remove the test from the list (MARK will ask you if you re sure first, in case you accidentally selected the wrong test). Your interactive test credits will return to your account. In the example above, all 151 credits would be returned to the PUMA credit balance for the school. Preview test previewing a test will launch the test so you can take a look at it for yourself. Edit assignment - editing an assignment will allow you to change the pupil list and test date. If you accidentally selected the wrong paper when setting up the test, we recommend that you delete the assignment and create the test again. View Marksheet - when at least one of your pupils has completed the test, this option will become available. Clicking on this link will take you directly to that test s marksheet where you will be able to review the results for all pupils who have completed the test. Note: you can continue to edit an assignment until all of the assigned pupils have taken the test. Once everyone has completed the test, the bar will turn yellow, and the options will change: You cannot now delete the assignment, but you can still Preview test and View marksheet as explained above. 7 July 2018
Starting a test Pupils will need to do the following to take a test. 1. Before they start, they will need a code that is specific to that test. You can find this on the Test assignments page: The code is not specific to the pupil all pupils in the same test assignment will be able to use the same code. You may wish to write this on the whiteboard so everyone can see it. 2. Once they have the code, your pupils will need to go to your establishment s interactive test page. The link for this can be found on the Test assignments page: It may be worth bookmarking this URL on the machines that your school will be using for tests. 8 July 2018
3. Once on your school s login screen, pupils will be asked to enter three pieces of information to confirm which test they are taking and their identity: a. First, they will be prompted to enter the code from the test assignment list (see step 1 above) b. Then they will be asked to select their date of birth: a. The names of all pupils who have the test assign to them with this date of birth will appear for the pupil to select from. The pupil will now be taken to the start screen for the test: It is advisable that all pupils are instructed to click on Watch video first to watch a short video that will explain how to use the interactive test and how the different question types should be answered. Please note that this video requires the sound to be on, or headphones to be used. When they are ready, just click the Start Test button, and the test will start. 9 July 2018
Taking a test A typical question screen looks like this: At the top of the screen, you can see the pupil s progress through the test: - The yellow ball shows the current question number - A blue ball means that that question has been fully answered - A red ball indicates that a question has yet to be fully completed By clicking on the Review button, the pupil will see an overview of all the questions in the test, and see which questions they have answered as well as which they haven t fully completed: 10 July 2018
Clicking on any of the questions in the Review panel will take the pupil straight to that question. When a pupil reaches the end of the test, they will see a summary screen that is similar to the review panel: Here, the pupil can easily see if they need to go back and finish any questions. As with the Review panel, clicking on any of the questions will take them directly to that question. When they are finished, they can click on End Test. This will complete the test, and the system will then mark it and add the marks to the marksheet. Note: The pupil will not be able to make any further changes to their answers after clicking End Test. Marksheet and test analysis reviewing pupils answers When an interactive test is completed, the results are automatically entered into that test s marksheet. Where a test has been taken online, you will see a small computer icon. This allows you to quickly see who took the test on paper and who did it online. 11 July 2018
Clicking on this icon will launch the test in a read-only mode. Here you will be able to see the answers that the pupil gave. You can use this to review the whole test and see exactly what your pupil answered. At this point marks for interactive tests are not editable on the marksheet by teachers. We are working on developing this feature, but in the meantime if you require any changes to marks please email our customer services team at onlinesupport@rsassessment.com. You will have access to the same reports as you currently do for the paper versions of the tests. To access the reports, click on Reports in the left-hand navigation menu. To view the marksheet and access the gap analysis, select Marksheets and Gap Analysis. Technical information We support the following browsers across Windows, Android, OSX and ios (ipad). Chrome (Latest browser version) Firefox (Latest browser version) Microsoft Edge (Latest browser version) Safari (Mac OS, latest version; IOS 11 and above) The minimum device display resolution required to run the Interactive tests is 1024 x 768 Please note that IE 11 is not supported, the content is best viewed on the supported browsers listed above. 12 July 2018
Frequently Asked Questions Q. What happens if we lose our internet connection during a test? If the internet connection is lost, your students will still be able to continue the test, as the whole test is downloaded when the test is started. You should ensure that the connection is re-established before clicking End Test, however, to ensure we receive the pupil s answers. Q. What happens if the browser window is closed mid-test? We save the pupil s progress each time they move between questions. If the window is accidentally closed, they should re-enter the test as described in the Starting a test section, above. After entering the test code and verifying their date of birth, they will be taken to the last point in the test at which we saved their progress. Q What does RS Assessment from Hodder Education do to protect the data held in MARK? RS Assessment from Hodder Education takes data privacy seriously. You can find our privacy policy at https://www.risingstars-uk.com/privacy-policy. 13 July 2018