Assessed competences

French reading comprehension

The test evaluating French reading comprehension in grade 7 is based on the two sub-skills “identifying and applying information presented in a text” and “construing information and activating reading strategies / techniques”. The test provides between five and eight texts with continuous (e.g. literary or factual texts) and discontinuous forms (e.g. tables, illustrations or maps), consisting of an average length of 50 to 500 words and dealing with topics such as hobbies, society, friendship or family. As the ÉpStan refer to the content of the last learning cycle of fundamental school, a single test version has been developed covering all the school tracks of secondary education (ESC, ESG, ESG-P).

Mathematics ability

The test evaluating mathematical skills in grade 7 contains tasks referring to the following areas of competency: “numbers and operations”, “space and form” as well as “quantities and measures”. It focuses on skills to be achieved by the end of fundamental education. Thus, tasks are presented according to the proficiency levels described in the curriculum related to cycle 4.2. To reduce the influence of reading comprehension on mathematical tasks, students can choose to solve tasks in German or French. As the ÉpStan refer to the content of the last learning cycle of fundamental school, a single test version has been developed covering all the school tracks of secondary education (ESC, ESG, ESG-P).

German reading comprehension

The test evaluating German reading comprehension in grade 7 is based on the two sub-skills “identifying and applying information presented in a text” as well as “construing information and activating reading strategies / techniques”. The test provides between four and six texts with continuous (e.g. literary or factual texts) and discontinuous forms (e.g. tables, illustrations or maps), consisting of an average length of 100 to 550 words and dealing with topics such as hobbies, society, friendship or family. As the ÉpStan refer to the content of the last learning cycle of fundamental school, a single test version has been developed covering all the school tracks of secondary education (ESC, ESG, ESG-P).

Test development and pre-testing

The tests evaluating language and mathematical skills are drawn up by experienced elementary and secondary school teachers together with scientific staff from LUCET. New items are continuously developed for the ÉpStan every year. To validate the content, format and practicability of the newly developed test material, it must be tested on students at the

relevant grade level. After the competence tests, therefore, a pre-test is arranged where students answer the new test material. Students’ performance in the pre-test is not included in the ÉpStan results and is not reported back, as the focus here is on the testing and the psychometric evaluation of the new items rather than on individual performance.