NOTE: For best experience, please use desktop/laptop and Google Chrome web browser when accessing and using the Phonics diagnostic online tool.

Overview

  • Teachers are able to select a word list to assess.
  • Teachers are able to re-administer and re-lodge any of the word lists multiple times.
  • Teachers are able to mark each question as correct or incorrect. Each page displays four words at a time (student is asked to read each word from the printed student materials).
  • Teachers are able to mark multiple questions words at a time as correct or incorrect.
  • Teachers are able to save their progress, exit the assessment and resume the assessment later.

Watch the how-to video


Administer and lodge the assessment

Open the Phonics diagnostic assessment online tool then follow these steps:

1. Select the Year level, Class or group and Word list you want to assess. A student list will display.


2. The student list will display each student's assessment completion status and score


3. If a student is not yet assessed for the selected Word list, the student is marked 'not assessed' and their score will display as 'na'. To start the Phonics diagnostic assessment for this student, select the 'Start' button.

4. If you have started and paused a student's assessment, the student will be marked 'paused' and their score will display as 'na'. To resume the Phonics diagnostic assessment for this student, select the 'Continue progress' button.


5. Once a student's assessment has been completed and lodged, the student's score (count of correct responses) will be displayed in the orange circle beside the student's name in the student list. For students re-assessed multiple times, their score from the most recently lodged assessment will be displayed. To re-administer the Phonics diagnostic assessment for a student, select the 'Re-assess' button.


6. The first page of the assessment displays the name of the student, confirming your selection. Click the 'Start' button to start, or 'Continue progress' button to proceed with the assessment.



7. You will be able to use these functions in the assessment screen:

    a. view the word list and the name of the student you are assessing

    b. a text under each word provides information on how to pronounce the word


    c. mark each word as correct or incorrect

    d. if there are any additional comments, enter them in the Comments field (this is an optional field). When the Comments box is clicked, suggested quick comments are displayed. To select from a list of more keys, click on the vertical dots. Clicking on the quick comment keys will auto-fill the comments box.

e. Capture of students’ responses for individual phonemes is improved so that it caters for the circumstances where the student may have recognised all phonemes correctly but did not say the whole word or added extra phonemes while pronouncing the word. The feature will help teachers in assessing students' phonemic awareness and provide a targeted teaching approach to improve phonemic awareness. 


 

    f. mark the next set of four words by clicking the up arrow or down arrow button (your progress is saved after clicking the arrow button)

    g. view the progress bar. Note that each time a question is answered, the progress bar at the top will indicate the number of questions answered out of the total. 

    h. lodge the assessment (the Lodge button is enabled once all words have been marked)

    i. view the list of answered and unanswered words by clicking the 'Go to...' button

    j. mark the remaining unanswered words by clicking the 'Mark remaining as...' button 

    k. Save your progress

    l. go to the ALAN helpdesk website by clicking the 'Help' button

    m. save and close the assessment by clicking the 'Exit' button







Lodge the assessment

  1. Once all questions have been completed, the Lodge button in the assessment screen will be enabled. The Lodge button is located at the top of the assessment screen as well as at the bottom of the page displaying the last 4 words of the word list.

  2. Click the Lodge button to lodge the assessment. A pop-up screen will display to confirm the action. Click 'Yes, lodge assessment' button to proceed.


  3. A pop-up screen will display to confirm that the lodgement has been successful. Click the OK button to close the assessment and return to the main screen.


  4. In the main screen displaying the student list, students with lodged assessments are moved to the bottom of the list. The student's score will be displayed.


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