Progressive Achievement Tests (PATs) are multi-choice standardised assessments for ākonga in Years 3-10. Tests can be used in a pen-and-paper format, or an online format through our NZCER Assist platform.
PATs are intended to be formative, low-stakes assessments for supporting teaching and learning. They measure proficiency in key aspects of learning across the curriculum, targeting key areas of teaching and learning. For example:
Together, these assessments provide dependable measures of achievement in areas that matter most for success in schooling and beyond. They help teachers interpret evidence of progress, identify patterns, and make informed professional judgments.
Each test is underpinned by a clear definition of the construct being measured, such as reading comprehension or written communication, and this framework helps teachers think more deeply about the nature of progress in that area. In this way, PATs support shared professional understanding of the learning that matters most.
PATs highlight essential learning and sit alongside classroom observations, rich learning conversations, and teacher-designed assessments as part of a broad, balanced approach to understanding learners and learning.
For further information, please see understanding PATs - for parents and the community, which explains what PATs assess and how they are marked.
Using PATs in 2026 and beyond
PATs remain one of the most trusted, research-based and curriculum-aligned tools available to New Zealand schools. They have supported teachers for more than 50 years, providing a consistent, evidence-based way to understand student learning and progress.
This will continue in 2026. All PATs will continue to be available for schools to use for their assessment, and NZCER will continue to refresh and update our suite of assessments.
Latest updates for PATs:
Whānau reporting, providing a simple snapshot and explanation of PAT information for whānau
Item reporting, enabling kaiako to delve into assessment data question by question
PAT Tuhituhi | PAT Writing, a brand-new standardised writing assessment with automated scoring
Prices for PAT online testing (Tuhituhi | Writing excluded) will increase by 10 cents per assessment from January 1, 2026
Curriculum alignment remains a work in progress as the curriculum continues to be finalised
How to purchase PATs
To use PATs online or to enter data from PAT papers, you will need an account on our NZCER Assist platform. Please contact our Assessment Services team to get started.
To use paper PATs, you can place an order here, otherwise please call us on (04) 802-1450 or email sales@nzcer.org.nz
Assessments can only be sold to schools or parents/caregivers of homeschooled children with a current exemption certificate.
Due to increased printing and shipping costs, the prices of our online assessment items increased in August 2024, from $2.30 per student to $2.40 per student. Paper test costs remain the same, but paper tests for PAT Pānui and PAT Pāngarau will still require an NZCER Assist account for marking.
The use of photocopied test material (including answer sheets) is a breach of copyright.
PATs: What is available?
- A standardised writing assessment for Years 5-10
- Fully automated marking, saving kaiako significant amounts of time and minimising the potential for bias
- Content and design developed by NZCER with an equitable focus, ensuring all ākonga are reflected in the assessments
- 100% available online and easy to administer through our NZCER Assist platform
- Reflects a range of writing genres across the New Zealand Curriculum
- Includes relevant editing tools for ākonga
- Aligns to the English learning area of the new curriculum, and aspects of the NCEA co-requisite for literacy
- recently refreshed design and content with an equity focus
- increased accessibility options, including audio support
- designed to assess students in Years 3–10
- assesses number knowledge, number strategies, algebra, geometry and measurement and statistics
- test scores allow for formative as well as summative reporting
- scale scores enable a student's level of achievement to be tracked from year to year
- diagnostic reports are provided in the teacher manual
- the tests come as reusable booklets with separate answer sheets
- Computer adaptive testing is available
- designed to assess Years 4–10 students
- older PAT: Reading Comprehension tests remain available for 2024
- includes materials from contemporary New Zealand, Māori and Pacific authors
- focuses on equity, social and cultural diversity, to better reflect communities and environments from across Aotearoa and the wider Pacific
- improved accessibility options for ākonga
- questions have been recategorised to test a broader range of reading comprehension attributes – including retrieval, local and complex inferencing, integrating and interpreting information, and critiquing and evluating texts.
- test scores allow for formative as well as summative reporting
- scale scores enable a student's level of achievement to be tracked from year to year
- diagnostic reports are provided in the teacher manual
- tests are standarised and easy to mark
- tests are multiple choice and maps student progress on a scale
- designed to assess Years 4–10 students
- questions fall into three categories: punctuation, grammar use and grammar knowledge
- questions are aligned with the Literacy Learning Progressions
- multiple-choice for easy, accurate marking
- able to be reported using scale scores or stanines
- able to be hand-marked or marked in NZCER Assist
- includes recommendations about using results for further teaching and learning.
- designed to assess students in Years 3–10
- there are 8 tests; one for each year level
- multiple-choice for easy and accurate marking
- professional sound recordings of texts, questions and each multiple-choice answer on CD
- user-friendly layout of teacher and student booklets
- able to be marked in NZCER Assist
- progress over time can be tracked on a scale
- starter kits are available
For more support, contact our team at assessmentservices@nzcer.org.nz or check out our solutions and knowledge centre.