LaNA is sourced from the TIMSS and PIRLS Assessment Frameworks.

Overarching concept

• The intended curriculum (the subject domain competencies and knowledge that students are expected to learn as defined by TIMSS and PIRLS countries’ curriculum policies and publications; the characteristics of the education system that facilitates this learning)
• The implemented curriculum (the mathematics and reading that are taught in classrooms; the characteristics of teaching and teachers)
• The attained curriculum (the mathematics and reading that students have learned; their attitudes towards the respective subjects)

Compared to the underlying TIMSS and PIRLS assessment frameworks, the LaNA assessment contains a higher percentage of items for domains more suited to student populations with emerging reading and numeracy skills. The percentages of items in each subdomain of the LaNA assessment are listed under the corresponding subheadings below.

The mathematics assessment frameworks

Content domains (specifying the subject matter to be assessed)

• Number (55% of items)
  • Whole numbers
  • Expressions, simple equations, and relationships 
  • Fractions and decimals
• Measurement and geometry (30% of items)
  • Measurement
  • Geometry
• Data (15% of items)
  • Reading, interpreting, and representing data
  • Using data to solve problems

Note. Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.

Cognitive domains (specifying the thinking processes to be assessed as students engage with the content)

• Knowing (54% of items)
  • Facts
  • Concepts
  • Procedures
• Applying (43% of items)
  • The ability of students to apply knowledge 
  • Students' conceptual understanding in a range of situations
• Reasoning (4% of items) - The logical, systematic thinking that students need to use to 
  • Generate and justify solutions to problems
  • Make inferences
  • Deal with complex relationships between mathematical objects

Note. Percentages may not total 100% due to rounding.

The reading assessment framework

Definition

Reading literacy is the ability to understand and use those written language forms required by society and/or valued by the individual. Readers can construct meaning from texts in a variety of forms. They read to learn, to participate in communities of readers in school and everyday life, and for enjoyment.

The basis for assessing reading is formed by two reading purposes and four comprehension processes:

Purposes for reading

The two overarching purposes for reading that account for most of the reading done by young students both in and out of school:

• Literary experience (39% of items)
  • Achieved by reading fiction
  • Readers engage with the text to become involved in events, settings, actions, consequences, characters, atmosphere, feelings, and ideas, and to enjoy language itself by engaging with text.
  • The reader must bring to the text his or her own experiences, feelings, appreciation of language, and knowledge of literary forms to understand and appreciate literature.
• Acquire and use information (61% of items)
  • Associated with informative articles and instructional texts.
  • The foremost function of the text is to provide information. 

Processes of comprehension 

The following four processes of comprehension are assessed for each reading purpose:

• Focus on and retrieve explicitly stated information (57% of items) – Reading tasks may include the following:
  • Identifying and retrieving information that is relevant to the specific goal of reading
  • Looking for specific ideas
  • Searching for definitions of words or phrases 
  • Identifying the setting of a story (e.g., time and place) 
  • Finding the topic sentence or main idea (when explicitly stated)
  • Identifying specific information in a graphic (e.g., graph, table, or map)
• Make straightforward inferences (26% of items) - Reading tasks may include the following:
  • Inferring that one event caused another event
  • Giving the reason for a character’s action
  • Describing the relationship between two characters
  • Identifying which section of the text would help for a particular purpose
• Interpret and integrate ideas and information (7% of items) - Reading tasks may exemplify include the following:
  • Discerning the overall message or theme of a text
  • Considering an alternative to actions of characters
  • Comparing and contrasting text information
  • Inferring a story’s mood or tone
  • Interpreting a real-world application of text information
  • Comparing and contrasting information presented within and across texts      
• Evaluate and critique content and textual elements (9% of items)
  • Reading tasks may include the following:
    • Judging the completeness or clarity of information in the text
    • Evaluating the likelihood that the events described could really happen
    • Evaluating how likely an author’s argument would be to change what people think and do
    • Judging how well the title of the text reflects the main theme
    • Describing the effect of language features, such as metaphors or tone
    • Describing the effect of the graphic elements in the text      
    • Determining the point of view or bias of the text     
    • Determining an author’s perspective on the central topic
  • In addition, online reading tasks may include the following:
    • Critiquing the ease of finding information 
    • Judging the credibility of the information