Tuition Offered

Our Assessment Program

We know that all children are unique and with mixed abilities and needs. This is why we treat our assessments as the first-step towards understanding a child’s academic performance.

Our ideal, which is one of personal learning and progress, is geared towards assessing a child on their own merits and sets out to identify, explore and correct gaps in a child’s knowledge.  

Because of this, assessments are a part of our tutoring; as it is here that we begin to build a picture of a child’s progress according to age, peers and curriculum. This is a complex and sensitive process whereby the tests given allow a child to reveal ‘problem areas’ in their learning.

The tests used by us are approved and designed by professionals within the field. They are also recognised by psychologists and educational specialists alike.

The tests we use mainly cover Mathematics and English, reading and spelling and may include Verbal and Non-Verbal Reasoning. We also offer the COPS test, which is a series of computerised exercises that can help trace dyslexic tendencies.

Besides this initial assessment, we also do a reassessment every 6 months, free of charge, to check on a child’s progress and to adjust their lesson plan accordingly.

Does my child need an assessment?
Parents and children benefit from our assessments for many different reasons. Some of the most common reasons for taking an assessment are children who:

• have been away from school due to sickness/ other reasons
• have learning difficulties and wish to overcome them
• are entering exams like the 11+, SAT’s and the GCSE’s and need extensive revision and exam practice
• lack confidence and faith in their own abilities
• or simply want to find out where they are on the curricular scale

The assessment can help give children a better picture of what needs to be done, narrowing down the problem to one or two areas. An assessment can also reveal the reasons why some children find certain exercises hard. It can also help them focus on achievable goals, which is very important, as sometimes not knowing makes the problem appear much bigger than it really is.

Who will be assessing my child?
Our assessors are all fully qualified teachers who have been trained extensively by the ETC to understand the procedure of translating results. All our assessors are dedicated to understanding the ‘real problem’. Because of this, our assessors will talk with the child and their parents after an assessment. This takes place in the form of an informal talk where the results are explained. These talks give the parents the opportunity to ask questions and find out how the standardised scores reflect their child’s present ability. Assessors will also explain which areas revealed a weakness in knowledge, and offer constructive advice on how parents can help their child at home. The role of the assessor is to support, encourage and advise. This is also reflected in the written report that follows the assessment.

The Assessment Broken Down
We offer two types of assessments; a ‘general assessment’ that is compulsory and the COPS test, which is given if a child has or is suspected of having learning problems. All assessments take roughly 2 hours and parents can verify which areas their child has difficulties in. If during the assessment, an assessor identifies a certain pattern occurring in a child’s performance, they may give an extra test to check a particular area of understanding.

What next?
• Click here to learn more about the ETC Method.
• Read our case studies to see how we have help children fulfill their potential.