Pre-testing essentials

CoPS runs on the GL Ready Platform at www.glready.com. GL Ready is an intuitive and user-friendly online testing platform. It can be accessed on most browsers and on most devices, including touchscreen tablets and iPads, via a secure login.

After being set up with a GL Ready account and a subscription for CoPS, an email will be sent directly from [email protected] with information on how to access the platform.

Before logging in, set a new password via the ‘Set or reset your password’ link – www.glready.com/password/reset. Once this is done, log in to your GL Ready account to start setting up students and assigning CoPS.

To check the status of the school’s subscription to CoPS, go to the ‘Manage school’ tab at the top of the GL Ready page.

For further information about accessing and using the GL Ready platform, please click here.

The ideal testing environment is reasonably quiet, with minimal distractions. The test was however designed for use in the ordinary classroom. Visual and auditory distraction should be minimised, for example by positioning the student away from others in the classroom and by using headphones (not the type that are inserted into the ear).

The student should be sitting comfortably at a suitable level in front of the screen.

Please note that each test contains audio instructions. If you intend to administer the product to multiple students in one room, every student will need access to a pair of headphones.

For further detail please see the User Manual in the Downloads section.

Teachers should be thoroughly familiar with each subtest before they attempt to administer it. The CoPS subtests are extremely easy to deliver, but before administering the subtest to a student, it is essential for teachers to become thoroughly familiar with them. The best way to do this is for teachers to add themselves as a 'student', assign the product to themselves and run through all subtests personally. Teachers should carefully consult the details of each subtest given in the 'About the subtests' section in the User Manual available in the Downloads section.

Ensure the student/s understand the nature of the task, how to indicate responses, and when to respond. Students should not be allowed to take the subtests if they are unwell.

Before carrying out any screening with your students, you should ensure that your machines are appropriately set up to run the subtests.

• Run the Diagnostic tool (available from glready.com/student) on all machines that will be used for testing. We recommend you do this while logged in to each machine as a student.
• Check that the screen is clear and colours appear correctly.
• Ensure that the speakers are working, or that the student has access to working headphones, and that the sound is clear and a suitable volume.
• If using a mouse, ensure that it is functioning correctly and positioned on a suitable surface.
• The minimum system requirements and system requirements checklist can be found here.

For further information please see ‘Is the equipment functioning correctly?' in the User Manual available here.

There are two options when assigning CoPS to a student:

• Option 1: Use this computer. The Assign and start button will assign and begin the test on the current device, immediately. This option is useful for testing individual students.
• Option 2: Use another computer. The Assign button will allocate CoPS to the student but will not begin the test session. This is most useful when assigning CoPS to multiple students, or for when the student will sit the test later, or on a different device.

Please see the Quick Start Guide available here for step-by-step guides to this process.

The Assessment in its entirety takes approximately 45-60 minutes to complete, however we recommend administering over more than one testing session due to the age of the cohort being tested.

In cases where teachers wish to administer all the subtests in the CoPS suite but are prevented from doing so due to lack of time, there are some useful strategies in the User Manual available here.

Quick CoPS

If teachers feel that there is insufficient time available to administer all of the CoPS subtests, a shorter testing procedure known as Quick CoPS may be adopted. In this procedure only four of the nine subtests are used, and the assessment will usually be completed in less that 30 minutes overall.

For further information on this please see the relevant section in Choosing a test type and level.  

Please check the minimum system requirements here to ensure system compatibility.

Materials to prepare:

• Computer and a mouse, a laptop or a touchscreen device for each student participating, fully charged and in good working order. Alternatively, you can use one device and have students take it in turns to use the device under appropriate supervision.
• Headphones if administering in a classroom or group environment.
• An additional pair of headphones for the teacher and a splitter may also be useful.