Frequently Asked Questions

What is Digital EMA@School?

Digital EMA@School (Early Math Assessment @ School) is a research-based universal numeracy screener for students in Kindergarten through Grade 4. It was developed by researchers at the Math Lab at Carleton University and is grounded in over 20 years of research in mathematical cognition.

Who developed Digital EMA@School?

Digital EMA@School was developed by Dr. Heather Douglas and Dr. Jo-Anne LeFevre at the Math Lab at Carleton University. The assessment has been validated across numerous Canadian schools and is now available in digital format through a partnership with Vretta Inc.

What does Digital EMA@School measure?

Digital EMA@School focuses on three fundamental subdomains of numeracy: Number Knowledge, Number Relations, and Number Operations. These skills are building blocks that research shows are predictive of advanced mathematical thinking.

How long does the assessment take?

The assessment is designed to be brief while providing comprehensive insights. Administration time varies by grade level but typically takes 15-30 minutes per student, depending on whether it's administered individually or in a group setting.

Can it be administered in groups?

Yes, EMA@School can be administered in group settings by classroom teachers, or it can be completed independently by students. The digital platform supports flexible administration to meet different classroom needs.

Is multilingual support available?

Yes, EMA@School is available in multiple languages to support diverse student populations and ensure accessibility across different communities. Check the platform for available language options.

How do I access the platform?

The digital platform is available at ema.vretta.com. Contact your school administrator or Vretta for access information.

Why are items shown one at a time instead of all at once like the paper version?

Presenting one item at a time is actually an advantage of the digital format. It ensures that every student completes the same problems in the same order, creating a fairer and more standardized assessment experience.

On paper-based assessments, students may "cherry pick" easier problems or skip ahead, which can make comparisons between students less reliable. While this type of behaviour is possible on paper, most numeracy measures include explicit instructions not to do this. The digital format naturally solves this by guiding students through an identical sequence.

Why are there two input boxes for calculation questions?

Grade 4 contains "Calculations" domains (Addition and Subtraction) which use larger numbers and typically require computational algorithms. The vertical positioning with separate input boxes aligns with commonly used computational algorithms and emphasizes place value — visually highlighting that a single numeral belongs in each position (hundreds, tens, ones).

This design prevents a common problem in digital math assessments: when students use standard text boxes to write digits right-to-left (as algorithms require), but the text box advances left-to-right, leading to reversed or combined digit errors. Students can fill in the input boxes in any order they choose — there is no forced sequence.

What is the purpose of the practice questions?

Each domain includes practice questions that serve a specific purpose: familiarizing students with the task format and interaction mechanics before scored items begin. The specific purpose differs from domain to domain, and each is carefully chosen by the research team. Practice items are clearly distinguished from scored items in all reports and data exports.

How was the scoring scale developed?

The scaling factors convert item-level response data into a combined overall score. Each domain is assigned a weight reflecting its theoretical importance to mathematical development, and a scaling factor is computed as: Scaling Factor = (1 / Maximum Domain Score) × Domain Weight.

The weights balance two factors: legibility (keeping calculations clean with 5% intervals) and theoretical importance (driven experimentally by the relative importance of different cognitive mechanisms). This process was developed collaboratively with Carleton University researchers and documented in Understanding Score Scaling and Weight Distribution of the EMA Tasks.

Is the same scale applied across all three administrations?

Yes. The scaling weights are applied consistently across all three administration windows (Fall, Winter, Spring). While the weights differ between grade levels — since each grade has a different mixture of tasks — they are fixed within a grade level throughout the year.

Are the norms the same for paper and digital administration?

No — and this is by design. On the paper version, students can see all questions simultaneously, which affects response patterns. Researchers found that comparing cut-off points from the paper version to the digital version is not appropriate. The digital version establishes its own norms using representative samples of digital test-takers, ensuring that tier classifications accurately reflect performance in the digital context.

How are the tier cut scores determined?

The domain performance tiers use norm-based cut scores computed from the participating student population. Students are ranked, and the bottom 10% (Tier 3), 10th–25th percentile (Tier 2), and above 25th percentile (Tier 1) are identified.

These cut scores are recomputed for each administration period until fixed norms are established from a sufficiently representative sample. Even then, different norms are recommended for each of the three administration windows (Fall, Winter, Spring) to account for natural student growth over the school year.

Why does the assessment allow students to skip questions?

The skip option is an intentional design choice that serves important purposes:

• • A skipped response provides different diagnostic information compared to an incorrect answer
• • It reduces unnecessary frustration for students who don't know how to answer
• • Students can move on to questions they can answer, demonstrating more of their knowledge
• • Combined with timing data, skip patterns offer insight into avoidance versus genuine knowledge gaps

For fluency items, skipping does not negatively impact the student more than an incorrect answer would. The skip option allows us to collect richer data about student behaviour while keeping the assessment experience positive.

How are skipped questions scored?

Skipped items receive a score of zero. For fluency items, this does not negatively impact the student more than if they had provided an incorrect answer. In fact, by having the option to skip questions they cannot answer, students are able to access more questions that they might be able to answer within the allotted time.

Do skip rates impact the validity of the data?

Preliminary analyses show that skip behaviour does not appear to negatively impact the assessment's ability to identify at-risk students. Students who skip tend to perform worse overall, as would be expected — and the total number of skips is correlated with scores in almost every grade and domain (except Kindergarten).

This correlation actually validates that the assessment is capturing meaningful information. Skip data adds a layer of diagnostic insight rather than undermining validity.

How should teachers encourage students not to skip?

Encourage students to try their best on every problem. This messaging can include:

• • Pay close attention to the instructions to make sure you understand what to do
• • Read every problem carefully so you can show what you know
• • Try to answer every question — you might know more than you think!

The key is to encourage effort without drawing attention to the skip option or creating anxiety. We want students to try to answer problems while keeping the experience positive.

How do I interpret the results?

Results provide overall performance rankings with additional per-domain information. The three-tier system (Tier 1, 2, 3) identifies students who are on track, may benefit from targeted support, or likely need intensive intervention. The Interpretation Guide provides detailed guidance on understanding results and using them to inform instruction.

What reports are available in the platform?

Graphical reports are available directly in the platform at the School and Class levels, with access controlled by your account permissions. Reports include:

• • Domain performance — Student scores broken down by domain with tier classifications
• • Item-level detail — Specific question-by-question performance data
• • Class overview — Aggregated class performance for instructional planning
• • Board-level reports — Available upon request for broader system-level analysis

Can I see which specific questions students got right or wrong?

Yes! Item-level data is one of the most powerful features of the digital platform. Teachers can see which questions within each task were attempted, skipped, answered correctly, or answered incorrectly. This detail enables strategic, developmental targeting of instruction — for example, identifying whether students have mastered certain fact sets, comparing related facts (like addition and subtraction), or conducting error analysis on multiple-choice items.

Can I preview what the assessment looks like for students?

Yes! The EMA@School Student Test Walkthrough Video is accessible through the platform's help page and shows examples of the tasks in each domain, so teachers can understand exactly what students will experience.