On this page:

• What is the LNAAT? What was it designed to do?
• What’s the difference between the Youth Assessment option and the Adult Assessment option? If I have a mixed-age class, which should I use?
• Should the LNAAT be used for formative or summative assessment?
• What will happen to all the data being collected?
• What do I tell learners, so the assessment is meaningful for them, and they understand how it relates to their learning?
• Why are some assessment items context free?
• Can I use the LNAAT for screening and diagnostic purposes?
• What research has been done to evaluate the results if learners just guess at the multi-choice options?
• What are the current TEC reassessment thresholds for reading and numeracy?
• How long should a provider hold onto their paper-based LNAAT scripts?

What is the LNAAT? What was it designed to do?

The LNAAT is an online adaptive tool designed to provide robust and reliable information on the reading, writing, numeracy and vocabulary skills of adults. This information informs the development of learning interventions that match learners’ needs and strengthen their literacy and numeracy skills.

The LNAAT also allows learners to track their progress over time and enables educators and organisations to report on the progress made by groups or cohorts of learners.

For more information, see Background and overview – LNAAT.

What’s the difference between the Youth Assessment option and the Adult Assessment option? If I have a mixed-age class, which should I use? 

The Youth Assessment option is aimed at learners aged between 15 and 25. It was developed to improve engagement with younger learners who may not be as familiar with the workplace contexts reflected in many of the Adult Assessment items. As a result, Youth Assessments contain more “everyday life” contexts.

Both Youth and Adult Assessment options can be used with learners of any age. The deciding factor should be: what assessment content do you believe will best engage your students?

Should the LNAAT be used for formative or summative assessment?

The LNAAT can be used for both formative and summative purposes.

It’s important to note that an assessment is not inherently formative or summative. Rather, this depends on how and when the information from the assessment is used.

LNAAT results can be used formatively to inform teaching and support learner progress. They can also be used summatively to measure and report on learning over time.

What will happen to all the data being collected?

Data from the LNAAT will be used by educators to monitor progress of learners in programmes that receive funding for literacy and numeracy. This learner data will be useful for tertiary organisations as they plan appropriate learning programmes and monitor their effectiveness.

The national data set will provide the Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) with information about the needs and issues of particular cohorts of learners in different contexts. The data is also available for research purposes within certain boundaries. At no time can any individual or individual organisation be identified in the national data set.

What do I tell learners, so the assessment is meaningful for them, and they understand how it relates to their learning?

Explain to the learner that this is not a pass or fail test. It’s an assessment that helps educators identify learners who need support, and strengthen the learning programme.

For a learner whose literacy and numeracy skills are within the Learning Progressions, and who is wary of being assessed, an online adaptive assessment is likely to be the most appropriate assessment. An adaptive assessment starts at about Step 2 of the Learning Progressions and adapts to the learners' results. That is, if a learner struggles to answer the first few questions correctly, the computer will choose easier questions for them.

Educators can support a learner's understanding by:

• introducing them to the LNAAT, including to the computer knowledge required
• using the LNAAT as it is intended; as one measure of a learner's achievement, and with learners whose literacy and numeracy skills are within the Learning Progressions
• discussing the results with the learner, highlighting strengths and areas to work on, and providing support to the learner
• leaving a useful length of time between assessments (not over-assessing).

Note: The Reading and Numeracy assessments in the LNAAT were designed for people whose literacy and numeracy skills are within the Learning Progressions. ESOL learners and learners who are beginning their English-language learning journey should not be given a Reading Assessment. These learners should use Starting Points Listening or Starting Points Reading assessment options. 

Why are some assessment items context free?

This is intentional. Context-free assessment items are designed to assess specific aspects of numeracy knowledge, such as number facts and place value, without the added complexity of a real-world situation.

This lets educators determine whether learners have secure control of key knowledge. When this knowledge can be recognised and applied automatically, it can be used more effectively across a range of contexts.

Assessments that are used to guide teaching and learning are also meaningful in their own right. They are designed with a clear purpose and should be used in ways that are relevant to the learners undertaking them. A similar approach is taken to assessing components of reading and writing as outlined in the Starting Points Assessment Guide.

This guide has been developed to support Starting Points: Supporting the Learning Progressions for Adult Literacy. It provides suggestions for assessing adults who are operating below the steps described in the Learning Progressions for Adult Literacy. 

Some of these adults may be learning English as a second or other language. Although parts of this guide may be useful for assessing these learners, depending on their particular profile, we suggest that in the first instance you refer to the English Language Partners New Zealand website.

For more information, see Starting Points: supporting the Learning Progressions – LNAAT.

Can I use the LNAAT for screening and diagnostic purposes?

The LNAAT has been designed to find out where a learner sits on the Learning Progressions in reading, writing, numeracy and vocabulary. Information about strengths and weaknesses can provide starting points to isolate specific learning needs.

The LNAAT will give information about responses to individual items that represent different progressions, as well as an aggregated score. The information will be most useful for learners when educators discuss their results with them and plan the next learning steps. Educators might use a variety of screening tools, such as interviews, questionnaires, assessments and specific tasks to give a full picture of a new learner’s strengths and abilities.

Note: TEC guidelines around the use of the LNAAT are clear: assessment results should not be used as a screening tool to inform access to study and/or work opportunities. For more information, see the Acceptable Use Agreement (PDF 148 KB).

What research has been done to evaluate the results if learners just guess at the multi-choice options?

Each item in the LNAAT was trialled before being included in the Tool for general use. Part of the analysis of trial data involved checking for evidence that learners were resorting to guessing on each item.

Guessing can never be ruled out when selected response type items are used. But, as a response strategy, it will generally not lead to success. During question development, every effort was made to ensure that correct answers did not stand out from the other available answers to a question.

When a learner is sitting an assessment that is “at their level” and is motivated to choose the answer they believe is best, guessing behaviours can be minimised. The online adaptive assessment provides a way of targeting questions at the learner’s level.

What are the current TEC reassessment thresholds for reading and numeracy?

Learners who have presented at or above the thresholds for reading and numeracy do not need to sit further assessments in those areas. The thresholds are Step 4 or above for reading, and Step 5 or above for numeracy.

How long should a provider hold onto their paper-based LNAAT scripts?

Providers should keep their paper records for seven years, as per general information storage guidelines. A provider can use their own judgement to shorten the storage period if they are confident that the results from their paper scripts have been correctly inputted into the LNAAT system. This is because the LNAAT data will then be stored on TEC’s servers.

Providers will need to be responsible for ensuring learners agree with the accuracy of the Tool results that are entered into the LNAAT. If a previous learner comes back and contests some of their past results, it may be useful if the provider still has the relevant paperwork on hand to check.