When to test with CoPS
When in the school year?
CoPS can be used much earlier than most conventional methods of assessment. It should ideally be used as a screener on school entry, or shortly thereafter.
It can also be used after using Rapid, with automatic integration of Rapid results into CoPS analysis. Rapid can be administered as a general screener, and CoPS can then be used for a more detailed picture of the learning profile of individual students.
The program can be used as many times as required for different students without the recurrent expense of test booklets.
As this assessment is designed for young students, we recommend either individual or small group administration.
Timing of the session/s
The complete suite of subtests takes an estimated 45-60 minutes to complete. However, since the CoPS subtests can be mentally demanding and level of effort can diminish throughout long testing sessions, it is recommended that no more than two subtests are given to a student in a continuous session. This may vary according to the concentration level of the student and other factors – the teacher should use their discretion.
It is also preferable to spread the administration of the whole suite of tests over several days. Where any individual subtest result appears anomalous or unrepresentative the subtests may be re-administered after a suitable time period has elapsed.
Problems of time-shortage for testing
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 – there is also the option to administer a shorter testing procedure known as Quick CoPS where only four of the nine subtests are used. Please see the Quick CoPS section in Choosing a test type and level for more information.
Retesting with CoPS
If the teacher has good reason to believe that a given result is not truly indicative of a student’s ability because of some hindrance factor, then retesting can take place as soon as is convenient.
If the teacher wants to retest to see if a student has improved as a result of intervention, then a sensible interval should be allowed before retesting. Three months would usually be recommended as the minimum interval but this could be less if there is good reason for doing so.
Continuous or repeated testing is not advisable since practice effect would likely improve results independent of student ability.