Overview
The Digital EMA@School assessment focuses on three fundamental subdomains of numeracy (with Fraction Concepts assessed in Grades 4 and 5). Each subdomain is designed to provide insights into different aspects of children’s number skill development.
Core Subdomains
Symbols
Symbol tasks assess a child’s understanding of:
- Number recognition and identification
- Counting skills (forward and backward)
- Number naming and sequencing
- Understanding of number magnitude
These skills form the foundation for all other mathematical learning and are critical predictors of later success.
Relations
Relations tasks evaluate:
- Understanding of relationships between numbers
- Comparison skills (greater than, less than, equal to)
- Number ordering and sequencing
- Understanding of number patterns
These skills help children understand how numbers relate to each other and form the basis for more complex mathematical thinking.
Operations
Operations tasks measure:
- Basic addition and subtraction
- Understanding of operation concepts
- Problem-solving with numbers
- Mental math strategies
These skills are essential for mathematical problem-solving and are strong predictors of later mathematical achievement.
Fraction Concepts (Grades 4 and 5)
For Grade 4 and 5 students, the assessment includes:
- Understanding of fractional parts
- Fraction representation
- Basic fraction operations
- Fraction comparison
Assessment Design
Brief and Focused
Digital EMA@School is designed to be brief while providing comprehensive insights. This allows for:
- Minimal disruption to classroom instruction
- Multiple administrations throughout the year
- Efficient identification of students who need support
Explicit Instructions
All instructions are explicit to ensure:
- Consistency among different administrators
- Fair assessment conditions for all students
- Reliable and valid results
Fast and Easy Marking
The assessment is designed for:
- Quick scoring by teachers
- Clear marking criteria
- Immediate feedback on student performance
Scoring and Interpretation
Performance Rankings
The assessment provides:
- Overall performance rankings
- Per-measure information
- Individual strengths and limitations
- Actionable insights for instruction
Predictive Power
Skills measured in Digital EMA@School are:
- Building blocks for advanced mathematics
- Predictive of longer-term development
- Based on over 30 years of research
- Actively undergoing validation studies across multiple Canadian school boards
Administration
Flexible Delivery
The assessment can be:
- Administered by classroom teachers in group settings
- Completed independently by students
- Adapted to different classroom contexts
- Used for universal screening or targeted assessment
Target Population
Designed primarily for:
- Students in Kindergarten through Grade 6
- Universal screening purposes
- Identifying students at risk for math difficulties
- Measuring learning gains over time