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Welcome to International
Assessments for Schools
The International Assessments for Schools
more popularly known as IAS
is a leading educational measurement and assessment service that
helps students realise their optimum potential to grow and reach
global competitive standards
IAS is brought to you by
Macmillan Publishers India Ltd.
in partnership with
Educational Assessment Australia (EAA)
University of New South Wales
Sydney, Australia
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Partners
Macmillan Publishers, synonymous with quality education in India since
1893, has partnered with Educational Assessment Australia (EAA) to
bring to India, a well-researched, structured, accurate and reliable
module for educational measurement and assessment.
EAA an educational assessment organisation with ISO accreditation and a
division of the University of New South Wales, Sydney, a leading
teaching and research university in Australia.
EAA is a prime provider of quality educational measurement and
assessment services in Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific, Brunei,
Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, other Asian countries, South
Africa and the USA.
EAA has been involved in educational measurement since 1967 and is
the largest independent provider of school assessments in the region.
EAA is known for its objective, well-researched, international test
construction as well as analysis and reporting of test results.
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Programme Mission
IAS aims to assess the academic skills of the students in key learning areas
that are essential for success at school, as well as in the wider community.
 Critical Thinking
 Comprehension
 Creativity
 Reasoning
 Problem Solving
IAS programme does a complete SWOT Analysis across the learning
spectrum of students in order to bring them at par with international
standards.
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Programme Coverage
IAS is conducted every year in over 5,950 schools in India and other Asian
countries including
lBangladesh lNepal lBhutan lSri Lanka lMaldives lMauritius lUAE
lKuwait lQatar lOman lBahrain lSaudi Arabia lIran lIraq
Participation by over 24,00,000 students from Australia, New Zealand,
the Pacific, Brunei, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa
and the USA make it one of the largest school assessments in the world.
IAS is an excellent opportunity for all students to achieve international
success and recognition
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Unique Features

Tests a wide range of skills and outcomes

Increasing level of challenge as the paper progresses

Graded questions to cater to a wide range of student’s abilities

Students at all levels of competency stand to benefit

Standardised, accurate and reliable

Global assessment set against global paradigms of excellence

Diagnostic in outcome
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No Special Preparation Needed
The testing pattern assesses the ability of the students to employ the
academic, lateral thinking, and creative skills acquired by the student
through the regular curricular and co-curricular sources including
textbooks, lab notes, projects, library reading etc. Hence, no special
preparation through any specific study material is required.
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Benefits
Comprehensive analysis of student performance benefits students,
parents, schools and teachers.
Benefits to Students
The diagnostic report enables students to
 Identify their academic strengths and weaknesses
 Compare their achievement with other students
 Monitor their own progress year on year
 Gain valuable experience in taking external tests
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Benefits
Benefits to Parents
Student diagnostic report enables parents to

Understand and analyse their child's academic strengths & weaknesses

Design and plan meaningful educational activities for their child
Benefits to Schools and Teachers
The detailed statistical report enables schools and teachers to

Monitor and compare students’ performance within the school and with
others in the region

Discover students’ latent potential and inherent talents

Identify growth areas and follow up with revision

Modify classroom activities and develop appropriate teaching/learning
programmes
The larger the number of student entries there are from a school,
the more comprehensive the analysis
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Rewards
Certificates
Every student who enters IAS receives a Certificate. The certificate is
awarded on the following basis for each Assessment:

High Distinction – The top 1% of entrants in each class across the region

Distinction – The next 10% of entrants in each class across the region

Credit – The next 25% of entrants in each class across the region

Participation – All other participating students
Medals


UNSW Gold medals are awarded to the toppers among all participants,
in each subject, at each class level across the region
EAA-Macmillan medals are awarded to the toppers of each country, in
each subject, at each class level
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Testing Pattern

Multiple-choice and free-response questions

Each question is worth one mark

Total score is the number of correct answers

No negative marking

Increasing level of challenge as the paper progresses
To view sample questions, diagnostic reports, e-brochure and for
more information please visit our website
www.iais.emacmillan.com
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Subjects for IAS

English

Mathematics

Science

Computer Skills
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Skills Assessed & Format
English Assessment
Skills Assessed

Reading for Meaning in Literary texts

Reading for Meaning in Factual Texts

Textual Devices

Syntax

Vocabulary
Format and Duration of the Papers
Classes 3 & 4
45 multiple-choice questions
45 minutes
Classes 5 & 6
50 multiple-choice questions
50 minutes
Classes 7 & 8
55 multiple-choice questions
55 minutes
Classes 9 to 12
60 multiple-choice questions
1 hour
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Skills Assessed & Format
Mathematics Assessment
Skills Assessed

Number & Arithmetic

Algebra & Patterns

Measures & Units

Space & Geometry

Chance & Data
Format and Duration of the Papers
Classes 3 to 5
40 multiple-choice questions
1 hour
Classes 6 to 12
35 multiple-choice questions
5 free-response questions
1 hour 20 minutes
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Skills Assessed & Format
Science Assessment
Skills Assessed

Observing/Measuring

Interpreting Data

Predicting/Concluding from Data

Investigating

Reasoning/Problem-solving

Knowledge
Format and Duration of the Papers
Classes 3 & 4
30 multiple-choice questions
45 minutes
Classes 5 & 6
40 multiple-choice questions
55 minutes
Classes 7 to 12
45 multiple-choice questions
1 hour
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Skills Assessed & Format
Computer Skills Assessment
Skills Assessed

General Skills

Word Processing

Graphics/Multimedia

Internet/Email

Databases/Spreadsheets
Format and Duration of the Papers
Classes 3 & 4
30 multiple-choice questions
30 minutes
Classes 5 & 6
35 multiple-choice questions
35 minutes
Classes 7 & 8
40 multiple-choice questions
40 minutes
Classes 9 & 10
45 multiple-choice questions
45 minutes
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Eligibility


All students from classes 3 to 12 are eligible to appear for English, Science
and Mathematics
Computer Skills is available to students of classes 3 to 10 only
IAS is highly recommended for all students regardless of the board of
examination that their school is a part of.
Registration

Registration is now open for 2011 IAIS

Registration closes on 15th October, 2011

Macmillan will provide School and Student Registration forms to schools

Schools are requested to compile the student data in an excel format (to be
provided by Macmillan) for proper accounting

Macmillan will arrange to collect the consolidated payments from schools
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Registration Fee

PKR_____ for 1 subject

PKR_____ for 2 subjects

PKR______ for 3 subjects
PKR______ for 4 subjects
Assessment Dates

Friday, 21st November 2011- Science & Mathematics

Saturday, 22nd November 2011-English & Computer Skills
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Venue for the Assessments
The assessments shall be held in the premises of the participating
schools only on the specified dates and under the direct supervision of
the school authorities. Schools must ensure that standard invigilation
procedures are followed during the examinations.
Timings for the Assessments
The participating schools are free to decide on the time of
commencement of the assessments as well as the duration of the breaks
to be given in between the assessments.
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Results and Reports
Results and Reports will be made available
by March 2012
Schools and students can access the results online
by logging on to http://www.results.eaa.unsw.edu.au
Schools and students are given unique IDs and passwords to access their
IAS reports online-anytime, anywhere.
Among the many benefits, schools and students can also use the facility to
track their performance over a period of time-a unique feature of IAS
For report interpretation, schools may download the “Getting the Best Out
of
the
Diagnostic
Reports”
document
from
the
website
www.iais.emacmillan.com This document interprets the results using
simple language in highlighted boxes on each page.
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FAQs
Isn't it going to add to the child's
stress levels?
It is a pity that all of us view any diagnostic test as
stressful. Taking part in diagnostic tests is far from
stressful. In fact, it provides a much needed impetus
to get on with life.
It is not at all competing, but parental expectation
about winning that creates stress. Educating adults not
to pass on this stress to children is more in order.
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How can you test National, State and
International Board students on the
same parameters?
The essential outcome of learning processes in any
system is the same. Since we are not testing content, it
does not matter which syllabus the student is
following.
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Will students have a specific book or
study materials to learn from?
Not really, because the skills being tested will be
referenced against the child's usual learning. The
questions are drawn from the child's regular
curricular and co-curricular learning including
textbooks, lab notes, projects, and other sources.
The skills are acquired by the standard school
education that any child is put through regardless of
the board of examination that the school is a part of.
Specialised preparation through specific study
materials is not necessary.
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Do students really need an external
assessment?
Let us look at the typical school paper:

They test 'content' as opposed to 'skills'

They can be time consuming

The numbers of questions that can be included are limited, thus
narrowing the range of topics examined

They can be pitfalls for students with inadequate writing skills

They can result in cramming
So, used in isolation, school papers cannot reveal the 'whole candidate'.
They should ideally be complemented with an alternative, external test,
comprising of Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs).
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What are the advantages of Multiple
Choice Questions?
MCQs have many advantages:

They are quick to score

They are accurate and objective

They are specific yet versatile and can be used for testing a wide
variety of outcomes

Expert agreement on the correct answer

Allows examination of why students went for incorrect responses

They can be machine scored


They call upon the child to become aware of the thinking processes or
skills needed to solve problems
They generate critical statistical data which can be used for generating
diagnostic analysis
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There are other testing services available
today. What makes IAS different?
Let us answer that by looking at the unique features of IAS Testing.

Engaging, interesting, stimulating

All questions are supported by visual inputs

Optimum mix of multiple-choice and free-response questions

No negative marking

Equal mark allotted to all the questions

Increasing level of challenge

Students at all levels of competence can participate meaningfully

Standardised, accurate and reliable

Tests a wide range of skills and outcomes

It is a global examination set against global paradigms of excellence

It is diagnostic in outcome
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Is it fair to test students on
international parameters?
Why not? After all, research has revealed that what is
being taught across the world is largely similar. It is
only the method that is different. Then, why not
expose them to global parameters and paradigms of
excellence?
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Are these tests suitable for students?



The tests are definitely appropriate to the
relevant age and curriculum levels of students.
Macmillan has pre-tested the competitions with
different ability schools to assess the feasibility
and suitability under actual test conditions.
A panel of teaching professionals
reviewed and certified the tests.
have
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Isn't the pricing too steep?
This is a value-added service involving huge logistics
across two continents and involving large manpower
and sophisticated technology. Secondly, it is an annual
cost. Viewed against the other costs, which go into
enhancing a child's future and potential, wouldn't you
agree that the pricing is reasonable?
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Is it necessary for the students to take
all the tests?
Well, it is not a condition of entry and a student can opt for
the subjects of his choice. But yes, we do definitely
recommend that a student takes all the subjects so as to get
a complete analysis on his or her areas of strengths and
weaknesses.
Starting early and taking the tests annually will give a
student comprehensive and progressive measure of his or
her achievement.
Needless to say, the subject-wise reports and certificates
will certainly enhance their academic portfolio.
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