For many, “advent” means a countdown to Christmas , coming from the Latin adventus, which is about a “coming” or an “arrival” or “preparation.”
As SpLD assessors, we have our own advent: we need to prepare. Fortunately, we have longer than 24 days and these quick tips will support and prepare you with report writing all year round!
Day 1: Review my tests against the SASC list for those under review from May 2026
Day 2: Am I using the correct mandatory headings and wordings in my reports?
Day 3: Am I following the new SASC 15 point criteria? Use the checklist to help- it really can help us!
Day 4: With so much information coming up, I am definitely signed up to receive SASC news– straight to my inbox. Be the first to know so you can act upon the changes! There have been two ‘news’ items that will impact our practice already in December and it is only the 4th!
Day 5: Accessibility
To ensure the report is useful to the individual and to other relevant people, I need to keep checking my use and explanation of terminology, the length of my report, use of recommendations and my conclusion. Are you keeping accessibility in mind?
Day 6: Definitions
Out with the old and in with the new. The 2025 SASC definition for SpLD in maths/ dyscalculia and Delphi dyslexia study, provides the most recent UK consensus definitions. Any definition must be current (within the past 15 years) and quoted and referenced in full. See also:
https://educationaccess.co.uk/european-dyslexia-association-eda-dyscalculia-working-definition-june-2025/) and for dyslexia (https://dyslexiaida.org/definition-of-dyslexia/ and https://dyslexiascotland.org.uk/what-is-dyslexia/)
Day 7: Professional boundaries
We need to keep ourselves safe: assessors should not attempt to identify DCD / dyspraxia in children under the age of 16, nor should formal diagnostic labels be used in the assessment report. Rather, any child with suspected movement difficulties should be referred in the first instance to a medical practitioner (onward referral), using the letter templates provided by SASC (see Additional Guidance 6, 24, 77 and 80)
When considering a referral for a possible diagnosis of DCD / dyspraxia within a post-16 years setting, assessors should evaluate the extent of their own skills, following professional and ethical guidelines, to ascertain whether they have knowledge and training
Day 8: Flexibility: Part 1
With flexibility comes responsibility. I need to ensure I am not over-testing or undertesting. For example, I will normally test both receptive and expressive language skills (AG 46) and I need to select tests on the basis of emerging priorities for assessment derived from the background information and the outcomes of assessment as it is being conducted. Therefore, I am spending longer planning what I will do, basing the ‘flexible’ parts on the ever so important background information; “as it is being conducted” can be tricky, but this comes with practice. We will all get there!
Day 9: Flexibility: Part 2
With flexibility comes responsibility. To reflect different priorities, there is some flexibility regarding the order in which assessment areas may be reported (AG 4). For example, you can choose to put phonological awareness in three different places:
Day 10: Unexpectedness
I think this is well explained in the risk and probabilities framework and really helped me think about this in different ways; it is more than what the scores tell us. I probably use the document in most assessments, highlighting the probabilities in green and the risks in orange to help me provide a holistic, consistent and accurate diagnosis.
Day 11: Genetics and environment
I see students with similar profiles, but a different environment means that the presentation is different. Why is this? This is due to the interactions (rather than being opposing forces) between genetics and environment. The starting point for me? That ever so important background information, accompanied by a listening ear.
Day 12: Maths in a dyslexia assessment
When assessing for dyslexia, I need to be alert to the fact that literacy difficulties can impact aspects of mathematics, due to variance and co-occurrence. An assessment primarily focusing on literacy would not usually include all assessment areas of mathematics (over-testing?), but it might explore specific areas of impact with the goal of making recommendations for support. If there are no recorded or, at assessment, emerging concerns about the individual’s mathematics attainment, testing in this section can be omitted as deemed appropriate and justified by the background information or unfolding test outcomes. It is an adaptive process (AG 60) What assessments have you got to cover this?
Day 13: Adaptive process
EEF discusses adaptive teaching and we can apply this to assessing: adaptive assessments (See advent day 12). Yes, I need to do core tasks but “It’s reading the room, responding to the evidence, and trusting professional judgment to guide what comes next.” I need to be ready to adapt and learn when to move on and when to dig further, all of course coming with guidance, practice and experience. Preparation is key!
Day 14: Flexibility- Part 3
As stated on day 8 and 9, with flexibility comes responsibility. When I add tests in (actually for all tests), I need to be clear on my justification for using it. I ask myself three key questions: why is a test chosen; what is it measuring (ensuring what I am saying matches what STEC is saying); and what is the impact on my student? Guidance for choosing tests in each area of testing is available from the SpLD STEC Test List and additional guidance is given in the Report Format document (AG 4).
Day 15: Confidentiality
This can be protected in three ways:
- We need to ensure that we do not inadvertently disclose sensitive test details (e.g. the wording of test items) when reporting performance in assessment reports. Feigning or preparation/practice effects in cases where examinees have detailed prior knowledge of test constructs can affect and sometimes invalidate assessment outcomes (AG 94). Check our appendices too.
- We do not reveal confidential information about family members, e.g. “the mother has dyslexia.” We do not know who will read the report.
- It is recommended that reports should be headed: Confidential Diagnostic Assessment Report (AG 11)
Day 16: Background information
This has always been extremely important, even more so with the flexibility (see Advent day 14) involved in choosing optional assessments, with reference to the background information, observations and other tests administered. It places the assessment data in context, eliminates other possible explanations and allows us to explore the history of difficulties (Dyslexia Assessing and Reporting: The Patoss Guide, 2017). This background information needs to be from all sources, including the ever so important student voice; they can tell us some real gems of information! I need to ensure all voices are heard and reported.
Day 17: Qualitative analysis
Qualitative is mentioned a whopping 13 times in the SASC additional guidance document, (AG 57, AG 60, AG 61, AG 68, AG 70) regarding analysis for literacy and numeracy and for range descriptors. The scores are only one part of the story and as we know, tests don’t diagnose, assessors’ do. I need to carefully consider the background information (see Advent day 16), the scores and what I observe. Therefore, all areas of assessment discussed will be accompanied by relevant qualitative analysis, i.e. observation and evaluation of performance, noting the possible effect on test results of any compensatory strategies that might have been used.
Qualitative is also important as I could obtain very different results depending on the choice of assessment, making it important to bear all this in mind when qualitative analysis is carried out. The KTEA-3 maths fluency gives me different results to WIAT 3UK maths fluency: KTEA3 is mixed operations (the instructions tells us to say to the student to be mindful of this), whereas WIAT 3 UK is one operation at a time. Does the ability to filter and adapt therefore impact more on KTEA 3?
The qualitative is also important for honing in on those specific recommendations- use these observations to help write the recommendations! The final word is in AG 80: “In general, a diagnostic decision and the potential for the allocation of resources should never be based on a single standard score but on the weight of converging evidence, qualitative and quantitative, from the assessment as a whole, including the background information.”
Day 18: Compensatory factors
Qualitative information is so important (see Advent day 17) and within this we need to note any compensatory strategies that might have been used, as per SASC criterion 9 (see Advent day 3).
What does this mean?
Assessment investigates an individual’s profile of strengths and weaknesses and considers how the strengths might support that individual. For example, visual reasoning can be a compensatory factor for some individuals with dyslexia, although not a primary indicator of the condition. Childhood and school phonics training combined with good verbal skills can act as protective, environmental factors in phonological awareness skill development. (AG 36 and AG 52)
How do I note this in my reports? Analyse the individual’s pattern of errors; observe and question strategies used; observe motivation, determination, perseverance, impulse inhibition, attention, and which tasks were avoided (so back to the qualitative) and also investigate protective factors.
Day 19: Consistency
Consistency in a report can be looked at in three ways:
1. Scoring: Are my scores related to the average with consistency? (SASC criterion 5 and 8)
2. Level descriptors: have I accurately reported them in the main body of the report and appendices? (SASC criterion 8)
3. Quantitative and qualitative information (SASC criterion 10): across the report, I need to check this is consistent throughout my report.
Have you got consistency in your report?
Day 20: Diagnostic outcome
In the new report format, we have the Diagnostic Outcome. This is a summary of the report, in one place and can link directly to SASC criterion 10 and 11. I need to make sure I provide a clear diagnosis, show my main findings, demonstrate persistence and degree of impact (or maybe there is insufficient evidence for a diagnosis at this time).
Have you explained your key evidence? Have you identified previous diagnoses and onward referral (if applicable)? And finally, linking to advent day 19: is the Diagnostic Decision consistent with the rest of the report?
Day 21: Reporting scores
SASC criterion 5 is about reporting scores, including level descriptors, with 100% accuracy. I check all scores, confidence intervals and adding up of subtest scores (that make a composite score) once, twice, thrice! In the new report format, I also need to check that all standard scores are in the main body of the report, as this is now mandatory.
One final thought about checking scoring: if I have converted from scaled scores to a standard score, the standard score will always be a multiple of 5. Therefore, if, for example, I have a standard score of 73 for digits forward (TOMAL 2), this cannot be right. It may be a typo, but are you checking once, twice, thrice?
Day 22: Statistical data
SASC criterion 7 is about the use of statistical data: considered and referred to if appropriate. This includes statistical significance and prevalence.
TOD provides a means of determining the statistical and clinical significance of differences between the scores of tests that compose each index and composite, as well as between the index and composite scores: information showing how rare the differences are in the population is also provided. Whereas IDS 2 uses the term ‘critical differences’. I need to know my statistical terms.
Other statistical analysis could include:
- WRIT
- CTOPP 2 (Page 40)
- TOWRE 2 (Page 42)
- WIAT 3
- WRAT 5
- KTEA 3
- WJIV (between composite scores based on overall underlying ability)
Are you not only showing statistical data, but explaining what this means for your student regarding their learning profile? This can really help with providing targeted recommendations.
Day 23: Impact
SASC Criterion 13 is about impact. Persistence and degree of impact must all be taken into account before attribution of a diagnostic label such as SpLD in maths/ dyscalculia or dyslexia is given.
This is in several areas, but avoiding very general statements about impact: make it specific to your student, which will also help provide specific recommendations. We will need to note impact in the diagnostic decision and in relevant sections of the report.
- Impact of COVID,
- Impact of social communicationand/or sensory issues (which may impact on choice of learning strategies),
- Impact of visual difficulties,
- Impact of EAL,
- Impact of language difficulties,
- Impact of hearing difficulties,
- Impact of dyslexia/ SpLD in maths on other key skills,
- Impact of compensated performance,
- Impact of previously diagnosed diagnoses.
Are you clearly outlining areas of strengths or challenges and how these impact on learning and other areas of life?
Day 24: rest
We always take into account the length of an assessment and the impact this has on our students, but please remember the impact it has on us as assessors. Rest is incredibly important for our physical, mental, and emotional well-being. We do need to rest and recharge; performance declines when we are exhausted.
Bottom line: Rest is not “lazy time”—it’s an essential recovery process for your body and mind. Without it, your performance, health, and mood all suffer. Be kind to yourself.
Happy Christmas and I wish you all a peaceful and blessed Christmas time.
For all your mentoring needs, please do get in touch!
Phone: 07999 016437