Proficiency level models

To ensure a clear presentation of the results obtained in large-scale school performance assessments, student results are usually shown both as point scores that relate to a continuous proficiency scale and as levels that refer to proficiency level models. To develop the models, subject experts divide the continuous scale into multiple sections that can be usefully isolated according to content and are then referred to as proficiency levels (standard-setting). The experts work by systematically analysing the cognitive requirements of items that students with a given test score are very likely to have completed. Each level description sets out the cognitive requirements that students can fulfil once they reach that proficiency level. This makes it possible to produce qualitative descriptions of the competencies that students have acquired, and can show what percentage of students are most likely to be able to fulfil specific requirements.