PAT: Mathematics

Teacher Guide now available for PAT: Mathematics Refreshed - click here.

To purchase PAT: Mathematics (Standard or Refreshed) in digital format, please sign up or log in to NZCER Assist.  To purchase paper assessments for PAT: Mathematics Standard, please click here.

About PAT: Mathematics 

PAT: Mathematics helps teachers determine ākonga levels of achievement in the knowledge, skills and understanding of mathematics in the New Zealand curriculum and targets the important content ākonga need to understand in order to make progress. 

PAT: Mathematics assesses: 

• Number 
• Algebra 
• Measurement 
• Geometry  
• Statistics 
• Probability 

From January 2023, NZCER is offering two versions of PAT Mathematics: Standard and Refreshed. On this page you will find information about both of these, as well as PAT: Mathematics Supplementary, our Computer Adaptive Testing, and how to access all PAT assessments.

PAT: Mathematics 2023 Teacher Guide (updated throughout the year)

Understanding PATs (for parents, whānau and community)

Read our 2023 PAT: Mathematics Brochure

 PAT: Mathematics Refreshed (online only for 2023) 

From Term 1 2023, NZCER is offering a refreshed set of PAT: Mathematics assessments through NZCER Assist. These have been redesigned and the assessment content reviewed with an explicit equity focus, ensuring that the languages, cultures and identities of ākonga are better represented in the assessment material.  

The refreshed content continues to target the big ideas ākonga need to know and understand in order to make progress through the curriculum and has all the same features and benefits as our previous assessments.  

It has been piloted and trialled with schools around Aotearoa, and rigorously assessed in the same manner as PAT: Mathematics Standard assessments.  

Reporting remains the same as with standard PAT: Mathematics, and results between the two are directly comparable.  

Features of PAT: Mathematics Refreshed  

• The same robust assessment and reporting schools are used to, with redesigned content and illustrations 
• More opportunities for diverse ākonga to see themselves reflected in the assessments  
• Available in Computer Adaptive mode (see more below)  

To begin with, PAT: Mathematics Refreshed will only be available digitally through NZCER Assist, with paper assessments to be introduced from Term 1, 2024. Schools with an existing account can purchase assessments in the same way they would PAT: Mathematics Standard, instead selecting the Refreshed assessments.  

If you would like to know more about PAT: Mathematics Refreshed, please contact our Assessment Services team.  

PAT: Mathematics Standard 

Our regular assessments for years 4-10, available in paper or digital format through NZCER.   

Features:  

• Diagnostic reports allow for formative as well as summative reporting. 
• Scale scores enable ākonga achievement levels to be tracked from year to year. 
• Diagnostic reports are provided in the teacher manual. 
• The assessments can be used at any time between February and November each year. 
• Assessments can be used at two or more year levels. 
• The assessments can be administered online or as reusable booklets with separate answer sheets. 

Benefits 

• Multiple assessments allow progress to be tracked over time. Teachers can choose the assessment that best suits ākonga needs. 
•  Ākonga results end up on the same scale no matter which assessment they sit. This allows for accurate school-wide and/or kāhui ako-wide reporting for strategic goal setting and planning. 
• Kāhui ako/multi-school analysis reporting for trends, patterns and shifts using ethnicity, gender and year level filters for targeted improvement in teaching and learning. 

PAT: Mathematics Supplementary Assessments 

Please note: Supplementary assessments are incorporated within our PAT: Mathematics Refreshed, but not PAT: Mathematics Standard. If you are accessing our Standard assessments and wish to have more flexibility, Supplementary assessments are an excellent addition.  

In 2015 we added six more assessments to the PAT: Mathematics Standard range. Assessments 2A, 3A, 4A, 5A, 7A and 8A offer you more options about who, when and why you assess. 

The supplementary assessments allow teachers to use PAT: Mathematics at different times of the year or at different difficulty levels without having to repeat a previously administered assessment.  

These supplementary assessments fit in between the existing PAT: Mathematics Standard assessments. They are each targeted at a particular difficulty range and complement an existing assessment. Purchasing the supplementary assessments gives your school more choice and flexibility in their assessments. 

PAT: Mathematics Adaptive (available for both Standard and Refreshed) 

PAT: Mathematics Adaptive assessment is available for PAT: Mathematics. It is the first truly computer adaptive assessment for schools in New Zealand.  

This continuously adapts the assessment to give ākonga questions that best fit their overall level of achievement. They are given an initial question and if they get it right they’re given a harder one, or if they get it wrong they’re given an easier one.  

It is not helpful from a learning point of view to always get everything right in a assessment. But getting everything wrong is equally unhelpful. Adaptive technology means everyone gets the assessment that is right for them. 

Our PAT: Mathematics Adaptive assessment also benefits from the refreshed content. From term 1, 2023 the Adaptive assessment will include the new refreshed items (Tests 1-8), existing online only items (interactive), and many items from our supplementary tests. You can read more about this in our online knowledge base article.

How to access PAT assessments

Online assessments

Schools must sign up and log in to our NZCER Assist platform to access online PAT assessments. Please note that PAT: Mathematics Refreshed is only available online in 2023.  

Schools subscribe on NZCER Assist then choose their subjects, then can purchase individual assessments for each ākonga. From January 2023, schools will have the option to choose either PAT: Mathematics Standard, or PAT: Mathematics Refreshed.  

NZCER Assist also gives schools our comprehensive diagnostic reporting and ongoing support from our Assessment Services team.  

Paper assessments 

Assessments can only be purchased by schools, registered teachers, or parents/caregivers of homeschooled children with a current exemption certificate.   

If you can't shop for assessments online, you can download the order forms below and email to sales@nzcer.org.nz. 

Find out more information on pricing and assessment online. 

Order forms: 

See order form downloads at the bottom of this page. 

Support for PAT: Mathematics  

Schools can get the most out of this assessment by registering for one of our workshops or contacting our Education Advisors for bespoke support on PAT implementation and reporting.  

For full information you can download the PAT: Mathematics brochure page, or see our PAT explainer for whānau and community.