Frequently Asked Questions

This FAQs page is designed to help you understand more about NFER Online Assessments (NOA) and answer any questions you have regarding the price and purchase options available, the assessments, and technology and access setup.   

Page Contents

1. Price and Purchase Questions
2. Assessment Questions
3. Technology and Access Questions
4. Glossary of Terms

Price and Purchase Questions

What is the price of NOA?

Please see our tokens and subscriptions page for a price list.

Can we pay by invoice?

As with all NFER materials, payments can be taken via invoice or credit card.

What are the costs of NOA compared to the paper-based NFER tests?

The cost of either our paper and/or online assessments is likely to vary depending on several factors, for example your class/school sizes, use of teacher guides etc.

We would be very happy to advise further on the best product and price options for your class, school or trust. If you’d like to schedule a call to go into further detail on your options, please feel free to reach out to our Schools Partnership Manager, Nichola Giles at [email protected].

Can we purchase both paper and online assessments?

Both our online and paper-based assessments can be used together to best suit the needs of your organisation.

For the live launch in September we will also share some guidance for NFER Analysis Tool users on interpreting data across both our online and paper-based assessments.

I am a tutor/carer, can I purchase NOAs?

NOA is only available for purchase by schools and Multi Academy Trusts (MATs) to ensure that results remain valid and robust.

Do I need to purchase a separate teacher guide?

No. NOA comes with an on-screen teacher administration guide included in the price to help teachers navigate their way easily through the assessments and Reporting Tool. These guides will be available via our Helpdesk page when the product launches in September.

Can you purchase the reading material as hard copies for the online test?

Our online reading texts are built within the NOA Learner Portal, so we do not hold hard copies of them. They have also been designed for the online assessment environment so differ from texts in paper-based formats: there are shorter texts to reduce pupil reading load on one screen.

How quickly do I get access to NOA after purchasing?

After purchasing NOA you will shortly receive an email with your login details and information on how to access your school/trust’s account on the NOA Establishment Portal.

What is a token?

NOA can be purchased as tokens or as a subscription. Each token represents one individual assessment. For example, a year 3, autumn term, maths token will include access to the three test papers that comprise the overall assessment: arithmetic paper and mathematical reasoning papers 1 and 2.

Tokens can be purchased on a termly basis and there is no maximum limit to the number of tokens you can purchase.

How long are tokens valid for?

Tokens are valid for 365 days from the point of purchase.

How long are subscriptions valid for?

One-year subscriptions will be valid for 365 days from the point of purchase,

We plan to launch three-year subscriptions in autumn 2025 and these will be valid for 1095 days from the point of purchase.

Can I view a demonstration of NOA?

Yes, you can sign-up for your own demo account and can also register for one of our free demonstration webinars.

Assessment Questions

Is NOA replacing NFER Tests (paper-based)?

No. NOA adds to our existing portfolio of tests for key stage 2 to provide you with a choice over which format best suits you and your pupils' needs. 

Is NOA available in other year groups?

NOA will be available for years 3 and 4 reading and maths from September 2024 with years 5 and 6 in reading and maths due for launch in autumn 2025.

Do the online tests prepare pupils for the national curriculum tests i.e. SATs?

As with our range of paper-based tests, NOA questions are designed to reflect the questions and scenarios from the national curriculum tests.

Are the online assessments the same as the paper assessments or are they different?

Whilst both are curriculum-aligned, NOA has been designed specifically for the online assessment experience; therefore, the design, format and structure of our online question types are different to those of our paper-based NFER Tests.

What percentage of the assessments is auto-marked vs teacher-marked?

70% of the questions are auto-marked; the remaining 30% of the questions are teacher-marked to allow insight into pupils' responses on open-ended/show your working questions.

We also have a small selection of auto-marked verified questions, these are auto-marked initially but teachers have the option to check they are happy with marks awarded/not awarded and make amendments if they wish.

We follow a particular curriculum, will we be able to use NOA?

NOA has been written for the current national curriculum and questions reflect what pupils should be familiar with by that time in the academic year. The standardisation sampling includes pupils following different curricula in individual schools. This helps produce valid standardised scores from a wide range of pupils.

Which reports are available once my pupils have completed their assessments?

In the initial suite of reports users will have access to six different reports including:

1. Individual Attainment
2. Attainment – summary
3. Curriculum area – summary
4. Curriculum area – all learners
5. Question level – summary
6. Question level – all learners

Additional reports will be launched throughout the academic years ahead and will include: Age-Related Expectations and Common Error Diagnostic reports.

When and how was NOA standardised?

The standardisation trials for years 3 and 4 took place in November 2022 (autumn), March 2023 (spring), and June 2023 (summer). Over 30,000 completed assessments made up the standardisation sample for years 3 and 4. 

The standardisation trials for years 5 and 6 will take place from November 2024.

Can pupils and teachers see the individual questions and their answers after the tests have finished?

After a pupil has completed the assessment, teachers can view the marks awarded for each question as well as view the correct answer for each question. This information is stored in the Question level – all learners report and can be narrowed down to a particular pupil (via the search function) in case you would like to go through the questions together.

An individual learner response report showing the answers provided by each pupil for each question in a selected test will be available in summer 2025.

How many maths tests are there? 

For years 3 and 4 maths assessments there are three tests: arithmetic, and reasoning 1 and 2 tests. 

How many reading texts are there in the reading assessment?

For each reading assessment there are four texts; two in test one and two in test two.

Is there an option for the children to show their working out in a column method in maths?

Pupils can present their working similar to a column method on paper or whiteboards and then transfer number sentences/calculations to the NOA tests on screen, as there is not an option for children to show a column method on screen.

Why are the tests timed?

The tests are time-limited because this achieves a standardised score - this is based on the same time-limit used during our years 3 and 4 standardisation trials. They are not speeded-tests so the times allocated (see below) are based on the expected time required for the majority of pupils to attempt all of the questions. 

How long will the tests take?

Will you be producing online grammar, punctuation and spelling tests?

We don't currently have any plans to introduce online grammar, punctuation and spelling tests but we are always looking at ways we can develop our range of assessments so we will take note of schools'/trusts' interest in this subject.

Do the reading tests reflect the children's attainment term by term e.g. are the tests more difficult in the summer compared to autumn?

NOA reading tests increase in challenge as they move through each term and in each year group.

On the arithmetic papers, are squared answer boxes available for the pupils to use to do their working out on a touch screen device?

Not on arithmetic papers, there are grid boxes where pupils can show their answer. We recommend pupils to work out their answers on paper or whiteboards before submitting their answer on the Learner Portal.

What is the tolerance for misspelling answers in the reading tests?

When instances of misspelling occur the majority of these would be within our teacher-marked items, so the teacher can determine the tolerance for misspelling when it comes to marking those items.

Technology and Access Questions

Which devices are compatible with NOA?

NOA can be used on either desktop or tablet Windows or Mac devices with the latest versions of either Chrome, Edge, Firefox or Safari.

If the children have touch screen laptops, can they write directly in the box for working out?

Pupils will be able to select the relevant answer box on-screen and then type in their answer.

Is there a way learners can hear the questions on the screen?

We recommend that a teacher or teaching assistant reads the question aloud to the relevant pupil(s) in a scenario like this; our online assessments do not currently include an audio track.

Can pupils use a drawing tool to draw their working in the box?

For ‘show your working’, pupils can enter their working using their keyboards. They are also able to select from the mathematical symbols on screen. Within the learner portal there is no drawing tool available.

Are the tests suitable for children with visual impairments?

NOA has been designed to address visual impairment needs such as providing alternative colour schemes, images, and customisable layouts.

Background and text colours are available for pupils to select in the following combinations.

• Black text on white background
• White text on black background
• Black text on yellow background
• Blue text on yellow background

Pupils can also use the Tools bar to zoom in or zoom out on the screen. 

Glossary of Terms

• Establishment Portal – the online platform where Admin and Establishment Teachers of NOA can administer all purchased NOA products, including adding new and amending existing users (in the case of Establishment Administrators), uploading class lists, launching assessments, and viewing assessment data and reports via the NOA Reporting Tool.

• Learner Portal – the online platform where learners undertake the NOA tests.

• NOA Reporting Tool – this refers to the assessment reporting function that sits within the NOA Establishment Portal and where Establishment Administrators/Teachers Users can view data and reports based on completed NOA assessments. Note, this is not to be confused with the “NFER Tests Analysis Tool” which is a separate tool used to record results and view assessment data and reports for our paper-based assessments.

• Passcodes – the passwords pupils enter on the Learner Portal in order to start their assessments. Teachers assign pupils passcodes from their pool of tokens or subscription (s) via the NOA Establishment Portal. Teachers can chose to select whether passcodes appear in either word or numerical format e.g. noatest for word; 304940 for numerical.

• Subscription – a product option for customers who want to subscribe to one year’s/three years’ worth of NOA assessments. Each subscription will cover the subject and the three terms within the academic year: autumn, spring, and summer.

• Token – a credit equivalent to the value of one assessment per pupil.

• Test – an individual test being a component of an assessment e.g., maths, mathematical reasoning – paper 2.

Want to find out more about NOA?

Visit our NOA home-page to find out more and get your free demo account.