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Measure whether Grade R children are on track for their age in key areas of development.
The ELOM 6 & 7 Years Assessment tools measure the development of children at the end of their Grade R year or at the start of their Grade 1 year (aged between 70 and 89 months old). There are two tools which can be used independently, but are most effective when used together to understand fully how well a Grade R programme is preparing children for Grade 1. The ELOM 6 & 7 Years Mathematics tool focuses on performance in early Mathematics, while the ELOM 6 & 7 Years Literacy tool focuses on early Language skills. Underlying cognitive skills are assessed in both tools.
The items that make up each tool were developed using the Grade R Curriculum Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS), as well as extensive research into the Grade 1 skills that predict children’s future reading and mathematics abilities as they progress through the Foundation Phase. The ELOM 6 & 7 Assessment tools were developed in partnership with the National Department of Basic Education (DBE).
The tools are intended for use with groups of at least 15 children, and the scores provide an indication of the percentage of learners within a Grade R setting who are academically ready for Grade 1. Results can be used to inform enhancements to the Grade R programme, to optimise resource allocation, to compare the relative effectiveness of different types of Grade R interventions, to inform systems enhancements and to enable population-level surveillance of child outcomes.
The ELOM 6 & 7 Years Assessment tools are available in all of South Africa’s 11 official languages. They are designed to be used by an accredited ELOM assessor or trained professional psychometrist e.g. occupational therapist.
Because social and emotional functioning cannot be satisfactorily measured by a person unfamiliar with the child, we recommend also using the ELOM Social-Emotional Rating Scale (alongside the ELOM 6&7 tools) to measure these important aspects of development. This rating scale is completed by an adult who knows the child well.
Apply here to use these tools or to access the menu of support options.
Final psychometrics for these tools are underway and the Technical Manual is pending.
Each tool contains items in a game-style format that children generally find fun and engaging. The Literacy tool contains 10 items and the Mathematics tool contains 18 items. The children are assessed one at a time, in a quiet, appropriate space at their school, ECD centre or elsewhere. Data capture is fully digitised using Survey CTO (on an appropriate tablet). Instructions for assessors are colour-coded for ease of use, and stop rules are hard coded into the tool in such a way that if the child does not succeed on a specific item, the system automatically progresses to the next relevant item.
It takes approximately 25 minutes to complete the ELOM 6 & 7 Years Literacy tool and about 40 minutes to complete the ELOM 6 & 7 Years Mathematics tool.
The tools were originally developed for use by the Department of Basic Education. They can also be used by education researchers and funders to evaluate the effectiveness of Grade R programmes in preparing children for Grade 1.
ELOM 6 & 7 tools’ items were informed by the Grade R Curriculum Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS), the Foundations for Learning Assessment and research into the skills that are most important for coping in Grade 1 and predictive of reading and mathematics abilities during the Foundation Phase. Items were also selected for ease of measurement and appropriateness within the South African context.
Costs depend on the amount of support required from the DataDrive2030 team and a cost estimate is provided once a request is received. We aim to keep the costs as low as possible and to subsidise costs for smaller non-profit organisations to enable their use of the tools.
The tools are designed to be used by an accredited ELOM assessor or trained professional psychometrist e.g. occupational therapist. Training to use both the Mathematics and Literacy tools takes 4 days.
The ELOM 6 & 7 Assessment tools are available in all of South Africa’s 11 official languages.
The following case studies illustrate how the ELOM 6 & 7 Years Assessment Tools can be used.
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