Families and students
How does the test work for a child who cannot read yet?
Written by the TestFLE team.
In short
When the school marks a child as a “Non-reader”, they take a form of the test in which every question can be done without reading. The results say so, and reading comprehension is not assessed.
Who this is for, and what you need first
- Who this is for
- Parents of a child who cannot read yet, or whose results carry the note “This test was taken without reading.”
- What you need first
- A child the school has marked as a “Non-reader”, or results that carry the “no-reading” note.
What changes for your child
The screen stays the same. Your child finds the “Hello!” screen, the same instructions and the same buttons as the other students. Only the choice of questions differs: the test only asks questions that can be done without reading, for example listening to a sentence and then touching the picture that matches it.
Four aids support a child who does not read. The first three exist for all students; the last one applies when the test is taken without reading.
- On the welcome screen, a headphones button reads the instructions aloud, in the language of the screen.
- In front of each instruction, a headphones-shaped button reads it aloud. The voice always speaks French, since this is a French test.
- The four buttons of the question can be recognised by their colour and their icon: green for “Next”, orange for “Skip”, blue for “Call my teacher”, red for “Leave the test”. The article What are the test buttons for describes them in detail.
- When your child clicks “Skip”, the message “If you skip, it counts as a wrong answer.” is read out automatically, in the language of the screen.
You can stay next to your child to encourage them, show them the buttons or read the instructions with them. You do not choose the answers for them: the article on the test at home explains why.
If your child starts to read
- Talk to your child’s class teacher, or to the school office.
- Ask them to set “Non-reader” to “No” on your child’s sheet.
- Let your child take the next test as usual.
The setting only applies to the next test. A test that has already started keeps the form it had at the start. You cannot change this setting yourself: it belongs to the school. If your child is not marked as a “Non-reader” and their test was taken without reading all the same, there is nothing to undo: talk to the teacher.
Going further
Understanding the no-reading form
Who decides on the no-reading form?
The school decides. The school office, or the child’s class teacher, marks the student as a “Non-reader” and can undo this choice at any time. A child marked in this way takes the test in the no-reading form from the outset.
The test can also choose this form by itself for a child the school has not marked. The note on the results tells you in every case: if you read it, the test really was taken without reading.
What is assessed, and what is not
Reading comprehension is not assessed, since it requires reading. The other skills are assessed with questions that can be done without reading: grammar and conjugation are assessed on the markers that can be heard, for example “il mange” and “il a mangé”. These results rest on a small number of questions, and the yellow box in the results says so: “they indicate, they do not measure yet”.
This says nothing about a shortcoming of the child. In the PDF report, the skill that was not assessed in fact carries this sentence: “A “not assessed” axis is a limit of the test, never a shortcoming of the child.”
What the results say
On the Home page and at the end of the test, three signs indicate the no-reading form.
- The level line is headed “Listening comprehension level (CEFR scale)”, instead of “French comprehension level (CEFR scale)”.
- The “Reading comprehension” skill carries the note “not assessed”.
- A yellow box says: “This test was taken without reading. Reading was not assessed. The other results are given from a small number of questions: they indicate, they do not measure yet.”
The PDF report repeats the same sentence, as well as the line “Adaptive test, no-reading version” in its test sheet. Reading the results and understanding the global level show how to read the rest.
How high this form goes
The no-reading form stops lower than the standard test. It does not measure above the step A2.2 for listening, or above A2.1 for the other skills. So a child who is already comfortable at that level is not measured any higher. This is a limit of this form of the test, not a ceiling for the child.
Related articles
- What does my child see during the test?Your child first reads a welcome screen, then answers one question at a time, with four buttons, a skill and a current level. The questions always stay in French, whatever the language of the screen.
- What are the test buttons for: Next, Skip, Call, Leave?“Next” sends the answer, “Skip” skips the question, “Call my teacher” alerts the teacher and “Leave the test” cancels the test. The “Skip” button only exists if the teacher has turned it on for the session.
- How do I read my child’s results on their home screen?The student’s “Home” screen sums up their last test: seven skills, radar, global level and results curve. It fills in after the first completed test, never with a cancelled test.
- What do the global level, the band and the steps (A1, A2, B1) mean?TestFLE places the student on nine steps from A0 to B2.2, plus one step beyond, which extend the CEFR levels. The result is a range, the band, and not a single point.