The table below provides a detailed overview of each test within the New Group Reading Test series.
Test | Age | Content | Area of Assessment |
Test 1 | Age 6 (Year 1 / Primary 2) |
Short phonic exercises: initial sounds supported by pictures, ‘sounds like’, initial sounds (single phonemes and digraphs), final sounds + Sentence completion items + 1 short passage with multiple choice comprehension questions |
|
Test 1B | Age 7
(norms from 5:00 to 7:11) Y2**P3 Y3 (NI) |
Short phonic exercises; rhyming; final letter sounds; initial letter sounds
18 sentence completion questions 1 comprehension passage and 10 questions |
|
Equivalent form tests 2A/2B | Age 7–9 (Y2–Y4 / P3–P5) |
20 sentence completion items
+ 3 short passages with
|
|
Equivalent form tests 3A/3B | Age 10–13 (Y5–Y8 / P7–S2) |
20 sentence completion items + 4 short passages with
|
|
Test 3C | Age 10 to 13
(norms 9:00 to 13:11) Y5 to Y8P6 to S2 Y6 to Y9 (NI) |
20 sentence completion questions
4 comprehension passages with total of 32 questions |
|
Test 3D | Age 9 to 11
(norms 8:00 to 11:11) Y4*** to Y6P5 to P7 Y5 to Y7 (NI) |
20 sentence completion questions
4 comprehension passages with total of 32 questions |
|
Equivalent form tests 4A/4B | Age 14–16 (Y9–Y11 / S3–S5) |
22 sentence completion items + 4 short passages with-
|
|
Test 4C | Age 13 to 14
(norms 12:00 to 14:11) Y8**** and Y9 S2 and S3 Y9 and Y10 (NI) |
20 sentence completion questions
4 comprehension passages with total of 34 questions |
|
*Exact number of questions depends on test used.
**Maybe used with children at the end of Y1 if they are ready to tackle the content
***Difficulty at level 3 but standardised with pupils in Y4 (to circumvent any ceiling effect at level 2)
****Difficulty at level 4 but standardised with pupils in Y8 (to circumvent any ceiling effect at Level 3)