Support
Requesting a Test
The data landscape is ever-changing and every school is different: therefore we are pleased to add new tests as requested by schools using Scorelink. However it isn’t just anything goes: we want to make sure that data that is entered is of high quality, and suitable for the sort of analysis we do.
As a general rule of thumb, ask yourself this question: “if this test were used in many different schools, would it always be the same, and would the data always mean the same thing?”. If the answer is yes then send it through and we’ll have a look; if the answer is no, then it doesn’t sounds like the right fit for Scorelink.
The process for requesting a test to be added to Scorelink is as follows. If you have any additional questions, please refer to our New Test FAQ.
- Make sure you have all of the data we need (see below) – chat to other leaders at your site or colleagues to get a thorough understanding, if you aren’t 100% sure
- Review which score types the test will need: sometimes a test may have more than one (such as stanine and raw score)
- Gather any supporting documents or reference material you think is relevent. This will typically include any applicable conversion tables or sometimes a copy of the test paper(s)
- Collate the above into an email and send it to support@scorelink.com.au for our team to review
We typically add new tests at the start of the month, but we will reply to confirm that we’ve received everything and with any additional questions we may have. Once the test has been added, we’ll flick you a quick email to let you know.
Required Fields
In order to setup a new test for you correctly we will require the following information:
Test Name
The full name of the test to be added
Category
The most appropriate category the test falls under:
- Reading
- Writing
- Spelling
- Grammar
- Literacy (if it’s a more general literacy test)
- Numeracy
- Other
Score Type
The score type(s) that are used to grade the test. Examples of score types are:
- Raw
- Scale
- Stanine
- Reader
- Spelling Age
Range
We need to know the exact minimum and maximum possible values for the test for each score type – this helps us to validate data entry and provide effective benchmarking tools. For most score types this will be a numerical range, like 0 – 100. For other tests that use a non-numerical range (like Fountas and Pinnell or Magic 100 Words), please supply a list of all the possible values, in the order they occur (low to high).
Does it convert?
Some tests need to convert an input value (such as a raw score) into a different output value (like a reading age): this is most common with spelling/reading/maths age tests. There is usually a conversion table that goes with the test to do this conversion: we need a copy of this so we can configure Scorelink to do the conversion for you. Some tests may have a different table depending on which variation of the test was sat (Form A and Form B, as an example) – we need copies of each one, with an indication of which test paper it relates to.
Supporting Documents
If you have any other supporting documents you think are relevant, please supply them: this can be a copy of the test paper, norm tables, and other similar material. We don’t want the war-and-peace book of how and why to do the test, just items related to the scoring of the test. We keep these on file to assess future requests.