Thursday, September 3, 2026

10:45 AM - 11:15 AM

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Overview

Early numeracy difficulties can be surprisingly hard to detect in everyday classroom practice. Young learners often develop unevenly, compensate with surface strategies, or appear to be coping until foundational gaps begin to constrain later learning. This session explores why early identification matters, and why screening plays a fundamentally different role from formative or summative classroom assessment in the early years. Rather than functioning as teaching tools or detailed diagnostics, screeners are designed to flag potential risk early, enabling timely, well targeted teaching and support before difficulties become entrenched. Drawing on research into early mathematics development, the session examines why timing is critical in early numeracy, and how screening complements — but does not replace — high quality classroom assessment. The presentation concludes by unpacking the core principles that underpin effective early years screeners, including efficiency, a strong conceptual focus, developmental appropriateness for young learners, and the value of hybrid approaches for assessing key numeracy concepts. These ideas are illustrated through examples from the PAT Early Numeracy Screener, highlighting how well designed screening supports earlier action and stronger learning trajectories.

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Speaker