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Tēnā koutou – we hope you can see the finish line for 2026 off in the distance, but we know there’s a lot to get through this term before you can wrap up the year. We’ve been all around the motu this year, and heard from so many of you about what’s working and what you’d like to see in the assessment space.
We’ve been taking on board your feedback, and have quite a few new PAT features and assessments – here's what you can look forward to in Term 4!
Three new PATs – all free for Term 4!
We now have PATs for reading and writing all the way from Year 3 to Year 8. Last term we released PAT Tuhituhi Te Pihinga, a paper-based standardised writing assessment for year 3-4 ākonga, with its own specially developed rubric. You can read all about that here.
Additionally, this term will see the introduction of PAT Pānui for Year 3, with all new content and questions.
Finally, we have PAT Rational Number – a subset of PAT Pāngarau that focuses on rational number and aligns to key areas of the new curriculum.
All three of these assessments will be free to use in Term 4 (no per-assessment costs). If you’re new to PATs and want to try them out, we’re also pro-rating subscription fees for NZCER Assist, and there is no subject fee for PAT Rational Number or PAT Tuhituhi Te Pihinga.
So if you’re interested in seeing what PATs are all about, or trying out one of these assessments before committing to PATs in 2027, now’s the time to get involved.
PAT Tuhituhi norms have been released (and applied to 2026 tests)
Thank you for your patience with this one – we have finally updated the norms for PAT Tuhituhi based on Term 1, 2026 assessment data! This replaces the previous norms, which were based on trial data.
You may see some changes in the reporting in NZCER Assist, as these norms have been retroactively applied to assessments that ākonga have already sat. This means you now have average scale scores based on what students did in PAT Tuhituhi this year. Do note that this doesn’t apply to PAT Tuhituhi Te Pihinga, which will have norms developed next year.
Curriculum alignment – interim mapping update
We know how much you want interim mapping to progress descriptors – our Term 2 mapping was far and away the most popular thing we’ve released this year!
At this stage, we are still working on an update to this mapping. That’s because we have to wait for similar work to happen for the SMART Tool, to ensure that you get consistent assessment information no matter what you use in the classroom. Unfortunately, it continues to be a “watch this space” piece, but you can find our interim mapping for PAT Pānui and PAT Pāngarau here.
Find us around the country (and online) in Term 4
Finally, we will be out and about hosting leadership workshops on running PATs, understanding reporting and NZCER Assist features, and how to use your assessment data to improve teaching and learning. See the dates and locations below and registration links.
Week 1
Free webinars for secondary assessment leaders – more information here
Week 5:
Wellington leadership workshops – register at this link
Kapiti leadership workshops – register at this link
Week 6:
Auckland leadership workshops – register at this link
Schools new to PATs leadership workshop – register at this link
As always, contact us at education.advisor@nzcer.org.nz if you have any questions.We hope to see you soon!