Following the Australian Government’s commitment to ensure that all Australian school students will acquire the knowledge and skills to participate effectively in society, the Council of Australian Government’s (COAG) agreed that states/territories would implement a diagnostic tool to identify students in their first year of compulsory schooling who may be at educational risk. In response, the On-entry Assessment Program was introduced in 2011 and mandated for all Pre-primary students in public schools.

The On-entry Asssessment program is mandated for Pre-primary and optional for year one and two students.

At Piara Waters Primary School we assess;

• All Pre-Primary and all year one students during weeks 3 to 6 of term 1
• Selected year 2 students during weeks 3 to 6 of term 1. Students are selected based on their previous report grades and PAT scores.

The assessment

During weeks 3 to 6 of Term 1, teachers assess student’s skills and understandings of oral language, reading, writing and numeracy.

The teachers will conduct the assessment one-on-one with each child. This means that a “relief” teacher will take the class during the assessments. Whilst we appreciate this can appear to be disruptive, the information gained by the classroom teacher by these assessments is invaluable.

The information provided enables the teacher to plan for the learning needs of every child, including those who may need additional support or extension.

After the assessment period, parents will receive a summary that includes the skills and understandings your child demonstrated.

Parent information

You can access more information about the assessment here, or you can speak to your child’s teacher.