Secondary Transition Editions (STE): PAT Maths; PAT Reading; AGAT
Format: Paper assessments, with online reporting.
Year level guidance: Designed for intake into secondary school, for Year 6 or early Year 7 students.
ACER’s Secondary Transition Editions (STE) are designed to support schools by providing a comprehensive picture of where students are in their learning as they transition from primary to secondary.
They combine practical paper administration with online reporting through the ACER Data Explorer, ensuring transition assessment data can be used confidently alongside ongoing assessment in secondary years.
The ACER Secondary Transition Edition assessments are available for:
- ACER General Ability Test (AGAT)
- PAT Reading (PAT-R)
- PAT Maths (PAT-M)
Each assessment provides two test booklet versions (A and B) of similar difficulty level. Optical Mark Reader (OMR) answer sheets are used for recording answers to the multiple-choice questions.
| Assessment | Test Booklet | Question no. | Estimated time. |
| AGAT | A | 40 questions | 50 minutes |
| AGAT | B | 40 questions | 50 minutes |
| PAT Reading | A | 34 questions | 45 minutes |
| PAT Reading | B | 35 questions | 45 minutes |
| PAT Maths | A | 40 questions | 40 minutes |
| PAT Maths | B | 40 questions | 40 minutes |
ACER Test Scoring
Completed STE OMR answer sheets are returned to ACER for scoring. ACER will process the OMR answer sheet results and upload them to the school’s ACER Online Assessment and Reporting (OARS) account.
AGAT and PAT STE results will then be accessible in OARS, enabling schools to compare STE results with their existing PAT or AGAT online assessment data.
Please note: A minimum charge of 50 answer sheets applies to any STE Test Scoring Batch. If less than 50 sheets are returned, the minimum charge of 50 will still apply.
How to use results:
- Understand where students are in their learning at the point of transition into secondary school.
- Use reading, mathematics and general ability results together to build a comprehensive starting picture of each student.
- Support informed professional judgement when grouping students and planning teaching focus in early secondary years.
- Interpret results using familiar PAT and AGAT scales, achievement bands and ability levels.
- View transition results alongside subsequent PAT and AGAT assessments to support a consistent understanding of progress over time.