InCAS

1. InCAS Kate.bailey@cem.dur.ac.uk www.cemcentre.org

2. InCAS • Interactive, Computerised Assessment System • Can be used by all children aged between 5 and 11 • Assess in groups or classes • Flexible, modular design • Can be administered at any time of year • Immediate feedback, age related scores and diagnostic profile

3. What is assessed

4. Time needed • Becoming familiar with the assessment • Administrative time for entering biographical details etc on computerised version • Dependent on what is assessed - about 30 minutes per section

5. Traditional approach Low Average High

6. Individual approach Low Average High

7. How It Works Easy Difficult Age 1st Question X X X X X X X X

9. Working with InCAS data Share Information with others Get an overview of the class Look for trends Transition individual strengths / difficulties Specific learning difficulties

10. Scores tables Scores charts Scores tables Longitude charts Standard Feedback Additional Feedback InCAS Feedback • Differences tables • Age comparison charts • Longitudinal tracking Custom Feedback

11. Age comparison charts

12. No of pupils 14% 2% 14% 34% 34% 2% 30 70 40 60 50 Test score Box and whisker

13. Age related score Age at test

14. Differences Tables

15. Pupil scores tables

21. Pupil scores charts

25. Pupil Longitude Chart

26. Resources

27. Process

28. Practicalities • One assessment per child each year • Can be done at any time of year • Biographical details can be imported

29. Reading Difficulties

30. Reader The process of reading Comprehension Word recognition/decoding

31. Beginning To Read • Children need different types of knowledge as precursors to reading: • Global and cultural awareness • Vocabulary and basic understanding of language • Conventions of print • Phonological awareness

32. What next? • Logographic strategy • Association of written with spoken word • Useful for building vocabulary • Direct phonics instruction • Synthetic (part to whole) or analytic (whole to part) phonics systems • Useful for new and complex words

33. Reading difficulties • Developmental dyslexia refers to problems associated with the acquisition of literacy • Found across a whole range of intelligence • Form a continuum rather than discrete groups • 5% are said to have severe dyslexia and further 5% milder problems • Male to female ratio 3:1

34. Reading difficulties • Developmental dyslexia may manifest in a variety of ways: • Problems with reading • Problems with spelling • Problems with writing • Much effort has failed to classify these symptoms into sub-types

35. Contributing factors • Despite having an unclear method of classification, three contributing factors have been identified • Many children have a phonological deficit • Others will have visual memory problems • Others are slow to process information • In practise, there is an overlap and differences in severity

36. How is this manifest in the classroom? • Problems • Can recognise words but can’t decode • Can decode but not recognise words • Can read but very slowly • All deficits impact on comprehension

37. Impact on spelling and writing

38. Early indicators

39. Identifying and remediating with InCAS