Choosing a test type and level

Choosing which subtests to administer

LASS 8-11 comprises nine subtests, each of which has a different function. Each subtest is there for a specific purpose and can give valuable information about the student.

If nothing is known about the student, it is strongly recommended that all subtests are administered, thereby accessing the fullest information. On average, this should take between 30 and 45 minutes to complete.

If the teacher already has useful information about the students (e.g., about reading or spelling attainment) it should be adequate to concentrate on the other assessment components.

There may be instances in which a teacher requires information about a student’s abilities in a particular aspect of attainment (e.g., reading or spelling) or a particular cognitive domain (e.g., memory or phonological processing). In such circumstances, it is perfectly acceptable for the teacher to carry out only the most appropriate subtests rather than administering all of them.

In order to make sensible choices about which subtests to administer and which to leave out, teachers first need to understand what each of the subtests is for. Please see the User Manual available in the Downloads section for detailed information about each subtest.

Order in which subtests are administered

The order in which the LASS 8-11 subtests are attempted is not particularly important. As teachers become more experienced with LASS 8-11, they will find that they develop their own views about what subtests are most useful to begin with, or to use in certain cases.

The subtests also do not need to be administered in one sitting session or sitting. Please see Timing of the session/s in When to test with LASS for more information on this.

LASS has been standardised for use with students aged 8 years 0 months to 11 years 11 months. It is one digital assessment for all children within that age range, however most of the subtests (7 out of 9) are adaptive and will adjust in difficulty based on the students’ performance through the test and in the practice questions. Most of the subtests contain a variety of different difficulty levels, making them accessible to children in this age range with varying levels of ability.