International benchmarking with Progress Test Series

Introduction

The Progress Test Series (PT Series)® for English, maths and science are standardised against the UK school population. Many international schools have asked for an international school standardisation of these assessments. However, we feel that:

  • A single representative international standardisation is difficult due to the diversity of international schools – for example curriculum, geography, number of students with English as Additional Language (EAL) differ between schools.
  • And, more importantly:•Our UK standardisations, based on a diverse student population, have proven to be relevant and reliable for many international schools.

Standard Age Score

The Standard Age Score (SAS) is based on the student’s raw score, which is then adjusted for age and scaled to a mean of 100. When comparing SAS scores, a difference of less than 3 points is not usually seen as statistically significant.

Analysis

In 2018 and 2019 we carried out benchmarking exercises to compare the scores achieved by thousands of international students globally against the standardisations for the Progress Test Series.

Tables 1 and 2 show the mean Standardised Age Scores (SAS) for different levels of the Progress Test Series of assessments for English, maths and science.

The distribution of international scores for the PT Series is higher overall for international schools when compared with the UK standardisation profile. Results show that typically international school students tend to score more highly across English, maths and, in particular, in science.

Differences of over 3 points are statistically significantly higher for the international sample compared with the UK. The increased size of the differential might be attributed to several factors such as value added by the teaching in these schools or higher aspirational levels.

Table 1: PT Series international benchmarks 2018

Progress Test Mean SAS Difference UK v International
International UK
English PTE7 105.1 100 +5.1
PTE8 105.7 100 +5.7
PTE9 103.6 100 +3.6
PTE10 101.3 100 +1.3
PTE11 105.6 100 +5.6
PTE12 98.8 100 -1.2
PTE13 101.7 100 +1.7
PTE14 100.6 100 +0.6
Maths PTM7 105.4 100 +5.4
PTM8 103.1 100 +3.1
PTM9 103.8 100 +3.8
PTM10 104.6 100 +4.6
PTM11 101.1 100 +1.1
PTM12 105.6 100 +5.6
PTM13 105.5 100 +5.5
PTM14 109.8 100 +9.8
Science PTS8 111.1 100 +11.1
PTS9 105.1 100 +5.1
PTS10 107.5 100 +7.5
PTS11 104.3 100 +4.3
PTS13 103.9 100 +3.9
PTS14 115.1 100 +15.1

Table 2: PT Series international benchmarks 2019

Progress Test Mean SAS Difference UK v International
International UK
English PTE7 104.5 100 4.5
PTE8 106.3 100 6.3
PTE9 104.7 100 4.7
PTE10 102.1 100 2.1
PTE11 105.7 100 5.7
PTE12 99.1 100 -0.9
PTE13 102.0 100 2.0
PTE14 100.9 100 0.9
PTE15 103.5 100 3.5
Maths PTM7 105.5 100 5.5
PTM8 104.4 100 4.4
PTM9 105.0 100 5.0
PTM10 105.0 100 5.0
PTM11 101.4 100 1.4
PTM12 106.4 100 6.4
PTM13 106.0 100 6.0
PTM14 110.1 100 10.1
PTM15 109.0 100 9.0
Science PTS8 113.6 100 13.6
PTS9 109.0 100 9.0
PTS10 109.4 100 9.4
PTS11 106.1 100 6.1
PTS13 105.2 100 5.2
PTS14 114.7 100 14.7
PTS15 110.6 100 10.6

How can schools use the data?

Plan resourcing at a cohort level

Does one year group appear to be significantly below average or less able than your other year groups? Can you provide additional teaching support for this cohort?

Take advantage of the combination reports

Quickly identify students who are under performing by using the automatic combination reports for the Progress Test Series and CAT4 together. 

Set realistic but challenging targets

PT Series reports provide a useful range of likely outcomes for each student. Some schools use these as a basis for a discussion with students helping them take ownership of their targets.

Your point of reference

The original UK standardisation is a reliable and valid benchmark for international students. Schools may additionally wish to compare their own data to the findings of this benchmarking exercise to see how their own school results compare those internationally.