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SOSCA:                                                              Info Sheet pdf download                      Example Feedback pdf download
                                                                          Information sheet   Example Feedback 
Secondary On Screen Curriculum Assessments

SOSCA is a suite of curriculum-based assessments designed to measure pupil progress in Maths, Science and Reading at age 14 (Year 9*/S2). It offers an efficient and cost effective alternative to Key Stage 3 SATs and is administered via the computer during a pre-defined testing window in April/May each year.  *In Northern Ireland this is Year 10.
 
Who can participate?
  • Any school that wants to know how their pupils are performing relative to the curriculum and against other pupils in the sample;
  • Schools that are interested in seeing how much progress (value-added) their pupils have made, both during the lower part of secondary school (from the MidYIS baseline test) and during the last two years of compulsory schooling (from SOSCA to external examinations).
Curriculum coverage
We have paid careful attention to the different curricula in different countries to make SOSCA suitable for schools following:
  • The English National Curriculum
  • Scottish 5-14 Curriculum Guidelines
  • Independent schools' curricula
  • The National Curriculum in Wales
  • The Northern Ireland Curriculum
  • International schools following any of the above
Particular care has been taken to cater for a wide range of abilities. 
 
The tests themselves are adaptive, ensuring that pupils are presented with items suited to their ability, meaning a more pleasant testing experience for all.
 
SOSCA is one of the latest monitoring systems offered by the
Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring at Durham University home of MidYIS, Yellis and Alis.
See the Introduction for a more detailed description of SOSCA.
See the SOSCA Site Map to see what web pages are available. 
SOSCA's home page is www.soscaproject.org.

                Latest News - updated 8th June 2009

SOSCA Baseline Feedback ready (8th June)

We are pleased to announce that assessment feedback, predictions to GCSE, and attitudinal feedback are NOW available for the INSIGHT and SOSCA curriculum based assessments.

INSIGHT and SOSCA, taken at the end of Year 9, are alternatives to KS3 SATs. They offer computer-delivered adaptive assessments in Maths, Science and Reading. Results are reported as Key Stage 3 equivalent levels and standardised scores against nationally representative norms. Progress measures from the MidYIS assessment at the start of secondary school to the end of Year 9 and from the end of Year 9 to GCSE are also included in the cost. Additionally INSIGHT provides informative measures of developed ability to provide a full picture of what your pupils know and can do.

To find out more visit www.ceminsight.org and www.soscaproject.org or email insight@cem.dur.ac.uk or sosca@cem.dur.ac.uk

SOSCA FAQs include much updated information.
See our FAQ page.

SOSCA secure access now uses Secondary+
Secondary+ is CEM's secure website for easier, single-point access to all our secondary pre-16 information systems, including SOSCA.

SOSCA testing underway, 20th April to 15th May
Schools in UK and overseas are now using the SOSCA assessments in the 2009 Testing Window

CEM Centre conferences now include SOSCA.
Our secondary conferences are now planned to include information about using SOSCA. 
E.g. 3 - 4th June 2009 in London (Using Data for Self Evaluation and Improvement)
For full details see the
Conferences web page, Secondary Conferences or International Conferences.

14 Oct 08: Ed Balls announces an end to compulsory national tests for fourteen year olds in England.

SOSCA offers independent assessments instead of KS3 SATs

SOSCA is independent, efficient and informative. Adaptive and computer-based, it is quick to administer and covers a wide range of pupil attainment. Its feedback arrives promptly and securely.

It backs up teachers' judgement with objective evidence; it provides a detailed breakdown of pupils' individual attainment relative to nation-wide norms, and gives reliable subject-level and school-level measures of value-added performance.

And it's ready now and in use in schools throughout the UK and abroad.





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