Pupil A
67%
- Strength
- Number
- Developing
- Equivalent fractions
- Further evidence needed
- Geometry reasoning
- Opportunity to extend
- Number sequences
Illustrative example
Turn assessment into action.
- Know where every pupil is.
- Know what to teach next.
- Know whether it worked.
Nova Assessment is a diagnostic assessment service for primary schools, designed to turn assessment evidence into clearer teaching priorities.
Individual insight
Look beyond the overall score to build a clearer picture of pupil understanding.
Class patterns
Identify shared strengths, learning needs and areas requiring further attention.
Evidence of progress
Return to identified priorities and examine what the new evidence shows.
A score tells you how a pupil performed.
But does it tell you what to teach next?
Schools already gather a wealth of information about pupil attainment through assessment, testing and professional judgement.
The challenge is often not gathering more information, but turning assessment evidence into clear priorities for teaching.
67%
Assessment result
Illustrative example
But what does that result tell us?
- What does this pupil understand?
- Where are the important gaps?
- What should be prioritised?
- And, after teaching or intervention, has anything changed?
Nova Assessment helps schools move beyond the overall result to build a clearer diagnostic picture.
The score is the starting point.The diagnosis helps make it actionable.
From assessment evidence to teaching priorities.
Nova Assessment is a managed diagnostic assessment service designed to help primary schools understand not simply how pupils have performed, but what the evidence suggests should happen next.
Step 1
Assess
Gather evidence.
Step 2
Diagnose
Understand learning needs.
Step 3
Prioritise
Identify what matters most.
Step 4
Teach
Act on the evidence.
Step 5
Reassess
Return to priority areas.
Step 6
Demonstrate progress
Examine what changed.
Assessment without additional complexity.
Nova supports the assessment process and undertakes the diagnostic analysis, helping schools gain richer insight without placing the burden of interpretation on individual teachers.
See the pupil, not just the score.
The same overall result can hide very different learning needs.
Pupil B
67%
- Strength
- Geometry
- Developing
- Ratio reasoning
- Further evidence needed
- Fractions
- Opportunity to extend
- Measurement
Illustrative example
Same score. Different learning needs.
Nova looks beyond the overall result to help build a clearer picture of pupil understanding.
Sometimes the right conclusion is that we need to know more.
Five Questions to Ask of Any Primary Assessment
Download the Nova free guide
Assessment data can tell us how pupils performed. The more important question is often what the evidence should help us do next.
Download our practical guide exploring five questions that can help teachers and school leaders move from assessment results towards clearer teaching priorities.
From individual insight to the whole-class picture.
When individual diagnostic evidence is brought together, patterns begin to emerge.
- Individual pupils
- Shared patterns
- Teaching priorities
- Targeted action
Nova helps teachers and school leaders identify common strengths, shared learning needs and areas that may benefit from targeted attention.
What might the teacher discover?
Equivalent fractions
7 pupils show a similar developing pattern.
Ratio reasoning
5 pupils may benefit from further teaching.
Geometry reasoning
Further evidence is needed for 6 pupils.
Number sequences
4 pupils show an opportunity for greater challenge.
Illustrative example
Which pupils achieved the lowest scores?
Which pupils share the same learning need?
The question changes from the first to the second.
Insight is only useful if it leads to action.
Nova doesn't simply provide assessment information and leave schools to interpret it alone.
We work with teachers and school leaders to understand the findings, identify the priorities that matter most and consider what should be revisited.
Nova provides the diagnostic insight.Teachers decide how best to respond.
Decisions about teaching, intervention, grouping and classroom practice remain with the school's professionals.
Your Nova diagnostic consultation
- Understand the findings
- Identify the priorities
- Agree what to revisit
Better evidence. Clearer priorities. Informed professional judgement.
You identified the need.You taught it.Did it work?
Assessment should not end when a report is produced.
After an appropriate period of teaching or intervention, Nova can return to the identified priorities and help the school examine what the new evidence shows.
- Diagnose
- Act
- Reassess
Return to the priorities. Gather new evidence. Examine what changed.
Progress is more than a change in percentage score.
Nova focuses on the evidence of learning behind the result, helping schools consider whether identified needs have been addressed and what may need to happen next.
Assessment identifies the need.Reassessment helps show whether the response worked.
Built around assessment, curriculum and professional judgement.
Nova Assessment has been developed around a simple principle: assessment is most valuable when the evidence can inform what happens next.
Assessment insight
Look beyond the overall result to develop a clearer picture of pupil understanding and learning needs.
Curriculum understanding
Consider diagnostic findings in the context of the skills and knowledge pupils are developing.
Professional judgement
Use clearer diagnostic evidence to support, not replace, the professional decisions made by teachers and school leaders.
Managed service
Nova supports the assessment process, undertakes the diagnostic analysis and works with the school to explore what the evidence suggests.
Assessment should provide more than a result.It should help inform the next step.
Frequently asked questions
Is Nova Assessment another school assessment platform?
Nova Assessment is initially designed to be experienced as a managed assessment service rather than another system for schools to configure and manage.
Nova supports the assessment process, undertakes the diagnostic analysis and presents the findings in a form designed to help teachers and school leaders understand what the evidence suggests should happen next.
Does Nova Assessment replace teacher assessment or professional judgement?
No.
Nova provides diagnostic evidence to support professional decision-making. Teachers and school leaders remain responsible for decisions about teaching, intervention, grouping and classroom practice.
Nova's role is to help make the evidence clearer and the priorities easier to identify.
What information can Nova provide about an individual pupil?
Nova's diagnostic approach is designed to build a clearer picture of pupil understanding beyond the overall assessment result.
Depending on the available evidence, this may include areas of strength, developing understanding, learning priorities, opportunities for greater challenge and areas where further evidence may be needed.
How can Nova help at class level?
Individual diagnostic evidence can be considered together to identify patterns across a class.
This can help highlight common strengths, shared learning needs, possible teaching priorities, pupils with similar needs and areas where further evidence may be useful.
What happens after the initial assessment?
The assessment is intended to begin a cycle rather than end one.
Nova works with the school to explore the findings and identify priorities. Teachers then decide how best to respond through teaching or intervention.
After an appropriate period, agreed priority areas can be revisited so that the school can examine what the new evidence shows.
Ready to turn assessment into action?
Start with a conversation.
Tell us about your school's assessment priorities and we'll explore whether Nova Assessment could be a good fit.
Prefer to write? Email Nova
Arrange an initial conversation
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Prefer to write? Email contact@novaeducation.uk.