Brief Guide

The MidYIS Tests are primarily designed to be taken on-entry to secondary school. Tests are available in two formats, paper-based or computer-adaptive and are available for Year 7, 8/S1 or 9/S2. There is also an optional follow-up Additional Test to be taken in Year 8 to provide further differentiation of your pupils’ abilities. All tests are designed to fit into a lesson period (about 1 hour) and are strictly administered to ensure that all pupils are exposed to the same instructions, explanations and examples, ensuring fair, high quality, reliable data.

The tests are designed to measure, as far as possible, ability and aptitude for learning rather than achievement. MidYIS is not an IQ Test as it is designed to provide a measure of ‘typical’ performance so that teachers can judge how much ‘effort’ will be required to take pupils up to SOSCA/KS3 and GCSE/Standard Grade level.

The tests are comprised of Vocabulary, Maths, Non-verbal and Skills sections. The Additional Test provides extra Writing Speed and Listening Comprehension sections. All sections contribute to an overall measure of ability that strongly predicts subsequent achievement. Test results can be used to identify pupils’ strengths and weaknesses, inform teaching and learning, identify gifted pupils and help identify pupils with special educational needs. Non-verbal measures are particularly important for pupils for whom English is an additional language. Accommodated tests and instructions are available for visually impaired and hearing impaired pupils.

Value-added feedback is provided at the pupil and subject level for any pupil who subsequently takes SOSCA/KS3 and/or GCSE/ Standard Grade examinations.

Further information about the Baseline assessments and the principles of value-added, can be found below.