Task 1: Diagnostic Assessment Interview

• For this task, you will need to arrange to interview your MST at a time convenient to her. The focus
of this task is to understand:
- what diagnostic assessment has taken place this school year in your class,
- who developed the diagnostic assessment (teachers, school management, ADEC/MOE, etc.),
- how the diagnostic assessment was carried out,
- what the purpose of that diagnostic assessment was/is, and
- what decisions the teacher made as a result of the diagnostic assessment.

• You need to prepare a minimum of 10 questions prior to the interview. You may add additional
questions during the interview based on your teachers responses, i.e. to clarify answers or garner
further information.

• You will need to record your teacher’s responses – use the strategy that works best for you. If you
are using a voice recording device, you MUST inform your MST.

• The interview must be typed and included in your Portfolio.

• You may develop your own questions specific to your context, however the following may give you
some ideas.
Example Interview Questions
1. What diagnostic assessment has taken place this semester?
2. When did this occur?
3. What types of assessments were conducted? (written, oral, practical, etc.)
4. Who developed these assessments?
5. Who conducted the assessments? (classroom teacher, Arabic teacher, classroom
assistant, etc.)
6. Were the assessments completed by students individually?
7. What information did you hope to get from the assessments?
8. What decisions did you make based on the assessments?
9. How did you group your students? (same/different academic levels, friendship groups,
similar interests, etc.)
10. Do the groups change for different learning subjects/topics?

After the Task - Reflection

Reflect on the interview and the information gained about diagnostic assessment from your MST.
Consider how/why you would implement diagnostic assessment in a UAE primary classroom in the
future. Explain how this practice will affect student learning in a primary class.
 1. What diagnostic assessment has taken place this semester?
New pupils had to take a CATS test conducted by the deputy head teacher. The CATS test gives
general information about the students’ knowledge and it examines four areas ; verbal,
quantitative, non-verbal and spatial. For Maths, students do a PUMA test at the beginning of
the year to see gaps in knowledge. Before studying a new unit, students do a cold task before
teaching anything and then they take a hot task which tells what they’ve learned.

2. What other subjects have students been assessed on?

English: cold writing task. Students watch a short clip and then write about it. They were given
things to include and given hints. They had 45 minutes to write and this was to see whether
they’ve used the correct punctuation and so on. Then, they’ll be given a hot task in the middle
of the term to see whether they are using all that they’ve been taught in their writing.
(expanded noun phrases, subordinate clauses, adverbial phrases, etc...)

3. When did this occur?

The tests occur at the end of the first week of school. They had a few lessons and then they had
the test.

4. What types of assessments were conducted? (written, oral, practical, etc.)

The diagnostic assessments are written, while oral assessments are done throughout lessons
through asking students questions and having discussions with them.

5. Who developed these assessments?

PUMA assessments are bought by the school from a company and are the same for all students
across the school. The cold tasks are created by the class teachers based on what they will be
teaching throughout the term. For Maths, students are given questions similar to what is in
their textbook so that teachers can see how well they will be able to deal with those particular
questions.

6. Are cold tasks done to test prior knowledge, or how well students can cope
with content that will be taught?
It is a mixture of both; testing prior knowledge and how well students have retained it. It’s to
see the gaps in students’ knowledge.
 7. Who conducted the assessments? (classroom teacher, Arabic teacher,
classroom assistant, etc.)
The diagnostic tests for students who were new to school were conducted by the deputy head
teacher and they are done on the computer. The PUMA and cold tasks are done in the
classroom and are conducted by the class teacher and they are paper based.

8. Were the assessments completed by students individually?

Yes, they are completed individually and speaking is prohibited during the assessment. If it is
not a reading test, a TA or adult can read the questions to them because they are not being
tested on their reading ability, rather how well they can answer the question and comprehend
it. In Maths, some questions can be read, like word problems. Other questions which may
include numbers and decimal values need to be read by the students independently.

9. What information did you hope to get from the assessments?

The main aim of the cold task is to check for gaps in knowledge and to inform planning so
teachers know what it is they need to work on. The hot tasks are to assess what they’ve
learned.

10.What decisions did you make based on the assessments?

For the cold and hot tasks in Maths, they were used to determine how children are going to be
grouped based on their levels as they are in sets. After each topic, students are examined and
then moved to a different classroom based on their improvements. On the other hand, English
cold tasks are used to group students within the classroom. If they struggle with certain topics
then they are placed in a group that is provided with more adult support.

11.How did you group your students? (same/different academic levels,

friendship groups, similar interests, etc.)
In terms of Math, they are grouped based on cold task results, as well as their CATS scores. For
English, they are grouped based on markings; depending on how well they are moving forward
with their work.

12.Do the groups change for different learning subjects/topics?

For topic subjects such as geography and science, they are in mixed ability groupings depending
on the tasks.
After the Task - Reflection
Reflect on the interview and the information gained about diagnostic assessment from your MST.
Consider how/why you would implement diagnostic assessment in a UAE primary classroom in the
future. Explain how this practice will affect student learning in a primary class.

After interviewing my MST, I realized how important it is to know the students’ levels in order
to provide them with the appropriate support. Diagnostic assessments play a vital role in
students’ learning, because if learners are not taught topics in the correct order and manner,
then they might not be able to grasp the content fully and successfully. I also learned that it is
important to teach students based on their levels. For example, pupils who are weak in Maths
are placed in a group that is given more support, while those who are more capable get to
move forward and are given more complex problems based on the scores they get in the tests.
Learning in a primary class is where the initial foundation of subjects is built. Therefore, if
something goes wrong and students are not given the support and attention needed, they
move to higher grades while struggling in certain subjects. I have noticed that in some schools
in the UAE, the implementation of differentiation is not very apparent. However, diagnostic
tests are there so that teachers can see the areas for development in students’ learning and
work on filling the gaps while looking at each students’ weaknesses. The more support the
weaker students receive, the less trouble they will have with future topics.