The following is from our Term 1, 2026 Assessment News pānui. If you'd like to receive this pānui as it is released, you can sign up here.
Welcome back to another school year! We imagine there’s plenty on your plates already, not least of which will be twice-yearly assessment in the foundation areas of reading, writing and maths.
English-medium schools can use one of three options this year – the SMART tool or e-asTTle from the Ministry of Education, and the Progressive Achievement Tests from us here at NZCER.
Given the interest we’ve seen in PATs already, we thought it’d be useful to focus this Assessment News on what you need to know about them heading into 2026. There is a little bit to cover, so let’s get into it - and if you’re short on time, here are a few quick should-know points.
- PATs remain a locally designed, evidence-based assessment option for schools in 2026, and we recommend using them in Term 1 where possible.
- We are developing alignment between PAT scores and the curriculum, including options for your reporting.
- Tests 6 and 8 for PAT Listening Comprehension are no longer available.
- PAT Reading Vocabulary paper tests, answer sheets and marking keys are no longer available, but you can still manually enter results in NZCER Assist.
- 2025 PAT Pānui scale scores will change slightly as we update national reference information.
- Online sessions for PATs (except PAT Tuhituhi) are now $2.50 per test per student
Skip to a section of this pānui:
Using PATs for your twice-yearly assessment
With the introduction of assessment and reporting requirements for schools, PATs are one of the options available to for Aotearoa schools. We recommend continuing using PATs as you have in the past – as a formative, low-stakes assessment to support teaching and learning.
We also recommend using PATs in Term 1, as in previous years. This is because our national reference information (norms) is based on Term 1 data.
Further reading: Understanding a trusted tool in a changing assessment landscape, by Chief Researcher Charles Darr.
PATs and curriculum alignment
At this stage, NZCER is still working on a clear, robust curriculum alignment for the PAT scale scores. This requires working with the Ministry of Education and the SMART tool team, to ensure that scores on both options for schools’ assessments can align with both each other and the curriculum.
We are also working on interim solutions for reporting to parents and whānau, including a provisional aligning of PAT scales to the curriculum progress markers.
Reporting to parents and whānau for PATs
Last year, we released whānau reporting for PATs: a simple, single-page summary of ākonga progress across a particular PAT, including strengths, areas for improvement and a comparison to national reference information. We are currently developing an additional feature that will enable you to see scale score range alongside provisional progress markers for your reporting to parents and whānau.
As always, remember that PATs are intended to be used formatively to support teaching and learning, and as one of many sources of information about a student’s progress.
Other recent developments in PAT reporting include:
- Progress reporting for PAT Pāngarau: A new report that summarises progress between two assessments across a year-level cohort – perfect for seeing overall patterns of class progress and reflecting on teaching approaches.
- Item reporting for PAT Pāngarau and PAT Pānui: Introduced last year, this shows kaiako the percentage of correct answers, item difficulty, encounters (number of students who were given a question), and strands of learning (ie number knowledge, statistics, algebra for maths) across a cohort or class.
This is in addition to our existing individual, class, cohort, school and Kāhui Ako level reporting of student data that already sits in NZCER Assist.
Below: Example of whānau report for PAT Pāngarau.
Updates for PAT Tuhituhi | PAT Writing
We are currently developing an expansion of PAT Tuhituhi | PAT Writing, which will include a paper-based test for Year 3 and Year 4 ākonga (marked through NZCER Assist) - stay tuned for details on a trial of this new assessment later in Term 1.
We’re also working on reporting improvements based on your feedback, and will be reviewing norms based on Term 1 data this year.
And a reminder that the PAT Tuhituhi Assist Users Guide is now available through our PAT Solutions centre. The guide outlines the set up and use of PAT Tuhituhi assessment option on the NZCER Assist platform. It covers the below areas, and we will update the guide and associated supporting information as we receive feedback from you all.
Rational number assessment
We know that there are particular areas where ākonga could use extra support, and are hoping to help with a new assessment focused on rational number. This will be available to schools later in the year.
In the meantime, Chief Researcher Charles Darr has written about the importance of rational number understanding here.
PAT Listening Comprehension: Tests 6 and 8 (and PAT Reading Vocabulary paper tests) are no longer available
As part of our ongoing refresh of the PATs, Tests 6 and 8 for PAT Listening Comprehension will no longer be offered in either online or paper format. This decision reflects both regular content review and feedback we’ve received from schools and whānau, and you can read more about the decision here.
Also no longer available are PAT Reading Vocabulary paper tests, answer sheets and marking keys. However, you can still manually enter results data in NZCER Assist for 2026.
Price changes for PATs
A reminder that our announcement last year about a slight increase to PAT prices came into effect on January 1. Online assessments have increased 10c per student per test, to $2.50 (except for PAT Tuhituhi, which is $3.50). All other PAT pricing has remained the same.
When to use PATs in 2026
Generally speaking, PATs should be used in Term 1 and as late in Term 4 as your scheduling allows.
We recommend Term 1 use of PATs because our national reference information (nationwide average scale scores) is based on Term 1 data, so testing at the same time gives you more reliable information on ākonga progress.
Schools usually assess again in Term 4 to put as much time as possible between the two time points, while still completing twice-yearly assessments. Having two PATs sat close together can increase the margin of error, while also introducing practice effects. Practice effects can still be present if your ākonga sit the same static test twice in the same year, which is why – where possible – NZCER recommends using adaptive testing.
Note: A practice effect in assessment refers to improved test performance when a student takes the same test more than once — not due to learning or progress, but because of increased familiarity with the test format or content.
Update to PAT Pānui | Reading Comprehension scale scores
NZCER has updated the item calibrations used to calculate scale scores for PAT Pānui | Reading Comprehension, which will result in some 2025 score changes in an upcoming NZCER Assist update. The main things for you to know are:
- Scale score changes in 2025 are small and reflect improved alignment of the new PAT Pānui tests, not changes in student achievement.
- Stanines remain stable and continue to provide a reliable guide to performance.
- Results from 2025 onwards are directly comparable, while comparisons with results from before 2025 should be made with care.
You can read our full update about these changes here.
Before you assess, consider why you’re doing it
When deciding on twice-yearly assessments, schools should give careful thought to the purpose behind each assessment period, to ensure their use supports improved teaching and learning. For example, consider if your goal is to:
Monitor progress over a 12-month period
Identify concept strengths and next steps like:
- Monitoring individual/cohort ākonga progress
- Monitoring evidence against annual plan goals
- Providing a source of evidence for monitoring impact of kaiako professional learning
Identify the assessments that will be undertaken, ensuring a clear purpose for their use; for example:
- baseline monitoring and tracking
- data for focused inquiry
- subject focus
- school level review of progress and achievement.
Also keep in mind that PATs are not designed to measure short-term progress in a single school year. They build trend information over a student’s time at school, including alongside year-level cohorts, to provide overall insights into their learning progress.
How NZCER can support you with the PATs
We have an expert team of Education Advisors, who know our assessments inside out and can help you with anything from getting started with PATs to understanding your schoolwide data and what it means for teaching and learning. They are accredited PLD facilitators, and will also be regularly releasing supporting resources that are free for schools to use.
You can make an enquiry with them by using the form on this page – either for a specific PLD workshop on offer, or for custom PLD support.
You can also use our PAT Solutions Centre here, which is filled with frequently asked questions, kaiako guides and technical information for all of your administration needs.
If you need to speak with us, our Assessment Services team is always on hand to help. You can email them here with any questions you might have.
We’ve also developed a series of equity-focused resources to support kaiako to administer PATs, as well as some useful information for parents and whānau. You’ll find those here.
The ARBs - over 2,600 online resources to support your mathematics, English and science classroom assessment
The Assessment Resource Banks (ARBs) continue to serve as an invaluable resource to support formative assessment in the classroom.
The ARBs are focused around mathematics, English and science, and provide research-based resources that align to the curriculum learning areas. They are in the process of being mapped to the current New Zealand Curriculum, and connect closely to conceptual learning ideas in our Progressive Achievement Tests (PATs).
The ARBs website also hosts a range of articles about learning and assessment, and conceptual maps with links to related assessment resources.
In short, they’re a must for anyone doing classroom-based formative assessment - check them out here!