The Reception Baseline Assessment (RBA) has been statutory for schools since September 2021.
All Reception pupils must take it if they attend a state-funded maintained school, an academy, a free school, a special school or a Ministry of Defence school.
This controversial on-entry assessment looks at pupils’ basic skills as they arrive at school, and is now a feature of the autumn term calendar for Reception teachers and early years leaders.
The results of the RBA are compared with pupils’ attainment at the end of key stage 2 to measure the progress that children make throughout their time in primary school. The first results of this progress measure will be published in 2028.
So what’s involved in the administration of the assessment? And how will the data be used? Our guide explains all.
What is the Reception Baseline Assessment?
The RBA assesses early maths and literacy, communication and language. It’s not a test, as such, because of the age of the children being assessed. Instead, it’s referred to as an “age-appropriate assessment”.
The assessment is linked to the learning and development requirements of the early years foundation stage (EYFS) and is delivered one-to-one with pupils in English.
When does the RBA take place?
Pupils starting Reception (the academic year in which they turn 5) in September will need to complete the assessment in their first six weeks of school.
Any pupils joining the class at a later date (as part of a spring or summer cohort, for example) will also take it in their first six weeks, unless the assessment has already been completed at a different school.
More information on primary assessment
Who can administer the RBA?
The person completing the RBA with the pupil should be the Reception class teacher, the Reception teaching assistant or another suitably qualified professional who is known to the pupil (such as the EYFS lead or Sendco).
What does the assessment look like?
The assessment should take up to 20 minutes per pupil to complete, but it can be paused and restarted. There are two parts to the assessment:
1. Mathematics tasks
- Early numbers
- Early addition and subtraction
- Mathematical language
- Early understanding of pattern
2. Literacy, communication and language tasks
- Early vocabulary
- Phonological awareness
- Early comprehension
The assessment is interactive and pupils will respond to questions by using a touchscreen device.
“Routing” is used to prevent pupils from being presented with too many questions that they are unlikely to get right: it means that a more difficult question may not be asked if the pupil’s previous answers suggest they will not be successful in answering it.
How is the assessment recorded?
As the pupil engages with the tasks, there’s an online scoring system for the practitioner to complete. The total number of marks available in the assessment is 39.
Because of the use of “routing”, the number of tasks for each child will vary, but all pupils will be given tasks that add up to at least 22 marks.
How will the RBA work in 2025?
From September 2025 the RBA will be fully digital. The digital rollout will require schools to have two devices to administer the test. One device will be used by the teacher, while the pupil will need a separate device to respond to some of the questions.
Schools will need to use the Department for Education’s new assessment services via DfE sign-in to administer the RBA. More information on this new fully digital system is available here.
Is the assessment adapted for pupils with SEND?
The RBA has been designed to be accessible to the majority of pupils on entry to school. It has been designed so pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and those learning English as an additional language (EAL) can participate in the standard assessment format.
Modified resources are available for pupils with visual impairments. For pupils with a hearing impairment or who use sign language, the assessment can be carried out in British Sign Language or any sign-supported English using signs that the pupil is familiar with.
What is the data used for?
The scores recorded by school staff on the online system will be sent to the National Pupil Database. They’re not standardised for the age of the pupil and there’s no pass mark.
This data will be used to create a cohort-level progress measure of schools at the end of key stage 2, when pupils take Sats tests and move on to secondary education.
Schools will get narrative statements describing how each pupil did on the different content in the assessment.
What is the data NOT used for?
The individual scores won’t be made available to the school. The data therefore can’t be used to:
- Gain detailed information about pupils’ areas for development
- Provide ongoing formative information for practitioners
- Measure performance in the early years
- Evaluate pre-school settings
- Hold early years practitioners to account
Schools must carry out their own internal assessments if they want to collect data for any of these purposes.
What are the main criticisms of the RBA?
Because the results of the tests are not shared in full with schools, instead being held for use by the Department for Education, some primary leaders have questioned the value of an assessment that takes up staff time but delivers no discernible classroom benefit.
There are also workload and supply concerns around the RBA.
Many report that the RBA takes much longer than 20 minutes to administer to each pupil in practice, meaning more precious time being taken out of a teacher’s week - especially those with large classes.
The one-to-one nature of the assessment also means that teachers need cover - without any extra funding to pay for it.
Teachers have also said that the test itself is “a bit dull”, resulting in some children losing concentration halfway through. “We are not always seeing the best engagement or focus,” said early years lead Helen Pinnington, highlighting concerns that the RBA could be failing to measure ability accurately.
Read more: Reception baseline: wrong time, wrong idea?
