educational assessments

LITERACY
British Spelling Test Series: Second Edition
Denis Vincent with Mike de la Mare
quick guide
Age Range:
6–13 years
Suitable for:
Teachers, Literacy
Co-ordinators and SENCOs
Administration:
Group
Timings:
Untimed, 30 minutes approx
Also Available:
Single Word Spelling Test
See page 41
The second edition of GL Assessment’s highly regarded and widely
used spelling test series, the British Spelling Test Series: Second Edition
(BSTS2) assesses spelling at word, sentence and continuous writing
level, and contains a wide mix of questions and tasks that test pupils’
ability to spell in different contexts – an element that is unique to this
series. The group test contains a mix of tasks some of which require
pupils to draw on their own vocabulary and is straightforward to
administer and score.
The series contains four tests, each with two equivalent forms that
cover a range of year groups (see table below for details). Each test has
a Teacher Guide explaining how to administer, mark and score the test,
as well as how to use conversion tables to obtain standardised scores
and spelling ages. Guidance is also given on assessing the severity of
the spelling problems of pupils
who performed poorly on the
test.
Each test has been carefully
tailored to the age of the pupils
and comprises an extended
range of tasks that assess
spelling based on classroom and
teaching activities.
Why use BSTS2?
• BSTS2 provides teachers with an engaging and rigorous way of
monitoring their pupils’ progress and highlighting those for whom
spelling is especially difficult.
• Fully standardised in 2008 – BSTS2 produces Standard Age Scores,
age equivalent scores and percentile ranks
• It is ideal for year on year screening and monitoring and for testing at
key transition points, including the transition from primary to secondary
school
• Full colour illustrations for BSTS2 AB and CD make the tests very
attractive and engaging to younger learners
• The test has been developed by experts in literacy who are seasoned
test developers, so you can be assured the new material assesses
spelling in an engaging and relevant way
Our brand new Online Marking Tool (OMT) is available for BSTS2, offering
a higher level of accuracy than scoring by hand and reduces marking time
significantly. Please call 0845 602 1937 for further information.
BSTS2 – levels and corresponding year groups
Standardised England Northern Scotland
Score Range and Wales Ireland
BSTS2 AB 5:00-8:04 Y1*/Y2 Y2*/Y3 P2*/P3
BSTS2 CD 6:00-9:09 Y3/Y4 Y4/Y5 P4/P5
BSTS2 EF 7:06-11:09 Y5/Y6** Y6/Y7** P6/P7**
BSTS2 GH 10:00-14:00 Y6, 7 & 8 Y7, 8 & 9 P7, S1 & S2
*Recommended for use in the second half of the school year
**Recommended for use in the first term of the school year
a complete approach
BSTS2 in our portfolio
The British Spelling Test Series: Second Edition is often used by
teachers who want to go beyond the straightforward single word
format of the Single Word Spelling Test (page 41) and offers
choice to teachers who want to test spelling as part of a
comprehensive literacy assessment.
Contents: Evaluation Packs contain: Teacher’s Guide, At-a-Glance Guide and a
Sample Pupil Booklet
Prices
*+VAT
Evaluation Packs
Evaluation Pack A/B 978 07087 19190/GLA500 £24.00
Evaluation Pack C/D 978 07087 19206/GLA500 £24.00
Evaluation Pack E/F 978 07087 19213/GLA500 £24.00
Evaluation Pack G/H 978 07087 19220/GLA500 £24.00
Pupil Booklets (Packs of 10)
Pupil Booklet A 978 07087 19237/GLA500 £16.50*
Pupil Booklet B 978 07087 19244/GLA500 £16.50*
Pupil Booklet C 978 07087 19251/GLA500 £16.50*
Pupil Booklet D 978 07087 19268/GLA500 £16.50*
Pupil Booklet E 978 07087 19275/GLA500 £16.50*
Pupil Booklet F 978 07087 19282/GLA500 £16.50*
Pupil Booklet G 978 07087 19299/GLA500 £16.50*
Pupil Booklet H 978 07087 19305/GLA500 £16.50*
Online Marking Tool 978 14060 75113/GLA500 £80.00*
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