Cito tests at primary school.

Tests at school

At primary school, different types of tests are taken. One type is the student monitoring system test. These tests are taken once or twice a year in primary school and sometimes in the lower years of secondary school. They form the basis for the student monitoring system. A common student monitoring system test in primary schools comes from Cito. Most of these Cito tests are available both digitally and on paper.

Content

The student monitoring system “Student in view” focuses mainly on your child’s growth and not on comparison. The content suits the class your child is in. Group 7 tests different skills than group 3. The school tests language and math in any case. Language tests often include technical reading, reading comprehension, spelling, grammar, and vocabulary. Many schools also take the Three Minute Test. This test shows how fast your child can read. The new student monitoring system “Student in view” also allows schools to measure how your child develops socially and emotionally and the work and learning attitude of your child.

For preschoolers, there is a separate observation tool called “Preschoolers in view.” These are not tests like in group 3 to 8 but follow your child’s development in language, math, motor skills, and social-emotional growth.

Taking Cito tests

Cito tests are available from preschool age and are used throughout primary school. There are different test moments in the school year: at the start, middle, and end of the school year. The school chooses the number of tests and when to take them. If your child has support needs, many tests can be adjusted. Read more about this on the Cito website.

The results

The results provide information about the level your child performs at, called the performance level. The school chooses how to show the results: from A to E or from I to V. Cito uses an average score (B/C or III). In the overview, you can see when your child already masters more content (A/B or I/II) or has more trouble with some parts (C/D/E or IV/V).

A single score does not give a full picture. It is important to know if your child grows and keeps developing. Children’s development often happens in jumps. As a parent, you want to know if your child keeps improving. That is why Cito test results are also shown in graph form in the student monitoring system. As long as the line goes up, you do not need to worry. If the line suddenly goes up less, flattens, or goes down, it is good to check what caused it. Maybe your child was very tired or something happened during the test. Or your child just has trouble with new material. In the last case, extra help from the school is needed.

Following the development

Student monitoring system tests also show how your child performs compared to classmates. The tests include not only questions about material taught but also old and even future material. By including old material, the teacher can see if your child still knows it. And because tests have harder questions, your child can show what he can do and knows more of. Your child does not have to answer all questions correctly. It is not necessary to practice for these tests. But it helps to practice once with the test method so your child knows how the questions and answer choices look.

What does the teacher do with the test results?

Usually, nothing special happens after the results because the tests mainly follow your child’s progress. Only if the result is very different or much lower, extra research may follow. Student monitoring tests also give an early idea of the best secondary school type for your child. That is why these tests from group 6 form part of the school advice in group 8, along with work attitude and motivation.

Besides your child’s results, the teacher also gets a class score. This shows if and how much the class level differs from the average. This can inform the teacher where to focus extra attention. If the whole class scores lower on one part but higher on others, the teacher can adjust the lesson content.

Cito tests and school advice

The school includes the Cito test results from the student monitoring system in the secondary school advice given to each child in January of group 8. The school mainly looks at results from group 6. To get an idea of the best next education, the school does not need to take a separate entrance test in group 7. The advice is part of the group 7 test moment. After the school advice in January of group 8, your child also takes a secondary school transition test in February. The primary school must adjust the school advice if your child scores higher on the secondary school transition test.

Viewing the test

Your child and you as a parent (if your child is younger than 16) always have the right to view tests, exams, and final tests. The questions may not be shared. By viewing tests, you can see which parts your child finds difficult.
You may also always view the secondary school transition test as a parent. You can request to see the test your child took from the test provider. As a parent, you register with the test provider to ask for access. Viewing happens at the provider’s office.