The Progress Test in Maths (PTM) provides a clear, independent snapshot of maths attainment, helping you track progress and identify learning gaps at both individual and cohort levels. Standardised on over 40,000 students, it enables you to measure how your school and students are performing, student by student, class by class and year by year, while reliably comparing results with national data.
PTM can be used at different points in the school year to track in-year progress, identify learning loss between academic years and measure the impact of teaching. Reports offer detailed insights into mathematical knowledge and processes, supporting targeted interventions and curriculum planning.
How do you measure the success of your maths curriculum? PTM covers all key domains, ensures thorough curriculum coverage, and includes a variety of question types to assess different skills. It helps you evaluate the impact of your maths curriculum with confidence. Results are compared against a nationally representative sample of over 40,000 students, giving you reliable benchmarks from which to track performance and adapt teaching.
PTM provides a consistent and rigorous attainment measure that allows schools to verify their teacher assessments of students’ maths learning. Benchmarks are regularly verified by digital test results from schools like yours, so you can be confident they are robust and reliable.
Key metrics, including age-standardised scores and indicators of most likely future academic attainment are available at the click of a button.
Are your students on track to meet mastery? PTM enables you to measure attainment and track progress year-on-year at both individual and cohort levels.
By comparing progress against students with similar levels of prior attainment, you can easily identify who’s on track and where intervention is needed most
How confident are you in pinpointing the areas where students need the most support? PTM provides in-depth reports that highlight gaps in knowledge and understanding, helping you identify key skills to focus on. Whether at an individual or cohort level, the insights support targeted teaching and planning, ensuring students stay on track. Different report types give you a clear view of progress and areas for development, so you can adapt teaching strategies and address learning needs effectively.
Identify where group and individual student performance is significantly different to that of our nationally representative sample.
Parents and carers play a key role in supporting learning. PTE provides reports designed specifically for them, offering clear insights into English attainment and progress. The Individual Student Report for Parents includes an explanation of why the test was used, a breakdown of scores with a visual comparison to national averages and supporting information to help interpret results.
Easily share trends and anticipated outcomes with school leaders, governors and external stakeholders to inform and foster positive engagement.
Handy information relating to why PTM may have been used, a full description of scores or simply a visual presentation of overall attainment versus the national average and supporting narrative to explain the implications of a student’s test performance are all available in our discrete reports for families.
Use PTM alongside Progress Test in English or Progress Test in Science to build a consistent and reliable picture of student attainment across core subjects. Together, they help you assess both knowledge and skills with greater confidence.
For deeper insight, you can combine PTE scores with data from the Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT4). This combination report reveals hidden strengths, uncovers potential barriers to progress and highlights where additional support may be needed.
Placing PTM and CAT4 data side-by-side enables you to spot discrepancies between maths attainment and students’ underlying ability. Statistically informed discrepancy categories help highlight learners with untapped potential, supporting more targeted and effective intervention.
Education Specialist Andy Small explains how maths anxiety and curriculum overload can be tackled by using targeted assessments and teaching and learning tools.
By Charlotte Karara, Deputy Academic Head and Admin/ HPL Lead at the New Cairo British International School
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Measures your students’ mathematical skills and knowledge in areas such as number, shape, data handling and algebra, as well as their mathematical reasoning and problem-solving skills.
It’s statistically robust. PTM was standardised against a UK sample of over 40,000 students, with benchmarks verified every year based on analysis from over half a million students
PTM can be used twice a year to support individual interventions and curriculum planning and to measure cohort progress.
It supports school improvement initiatives by showing the relative performance of your students compared to national benchmarks. Testing year-on-year enables you to track individual and group progress. Transition tests provide an accurate profile of your students and set a baseline from which to monitor progress.
To compare ability with current attainment, our Combination Reports combine data from CAT4 with PTM. These valuable reports allow you to identify students who are under-achieving or exceeding expectations in Maths, guiding interventions.
The tests are designed for students aged 5 – 15 years. They can be taken online (PC) or on paper. Results for digital tests are generated automatically on completion. Paper-based tests are supported by GL Assessment’s marking and standardisation service.
Easy to access reports are matched to the needs of different stakeholders, for groups, individuals, parents and clusters. The CAT4 Combination Report allows you to compare attainment and ability in Maths.
Over half a million students take the PT Series each year. Because the data is robust, it supports feedback and planning discussions with senior leaders, students and parents.
For guidance on which test level you should be using please see our test level age guide