NZCER has updated the item calibrations used to calculate scale scores for PAT Pānui | Reading Comprehension on the NZCER Assist platform, which may mean changes to 2025 scores.
A revised series of PAT Pānui tests was introduced in 2024, with most schools using these tests for the first time in 2025. These new tests were initially calibrated in reference to the earlier test series so schools had continuity between the older PAT Reading Comprehension and the newer PAT Pānui. We have now completed further calibration work to improve alignment across the new tests in the series.
The updated calibrations support more accurate comparisons when students have sat different PAT Pānui tests—for example, when tracking progress as students move through year levels. As a result, we have applied the updated calibrations to all PAT Pānui results from 2025.
Following this update, students’ scale scores may change by between 0 and 3.5 scale score units, with an average change of around 2.3 units. Stanine scores are expected to remain relatively stable.
Because the updated calibrations have been applied from 2025 onwards, there is a break in the scale between results recorded before 2025 and those recorded from 2025. Schools should take this into account when interpreting trends across this point in time.
NZCER will continue to monitor the new tests and make updates as required as the tests and curriculum continue to bed in.
What this means for schools
- 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.