The Number Knowledge Test

Sep 13

I often have educators and administrators ask about math assessments and interventions. Mathematics diagnostic assessments are a great way to determine student deficit areas to target interventions, however they can be rather time consuming. If you have elementary school students, or middle school students who you suspect of being more than 2-3 years below grade level in math, it can be helpful to start with the Number Knowledge Test before diving into a diagnostic.

What is the Number Knowledge Test (NKT)?

The NKT is a free, individually administered number sense screener. It takes approximately 10 minutes per student to administer. This test can be used to identify if a student is on par with their same age peers in number sense. For more on the NKT, click here: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED521575.pdf

Goals of the Number Knowledge Test

1. To determine if a student is functioning at, above, or below age/grade level in number knowledge

2. To determine which number concepts the student has mastered, which they are struggling with, and which they still need to learn

3. To assess a student’s progress over the instructional period or academic year

Click here to download the Number Knowledge Test (NKT). This version comes from the Number Worlds program, but you do not need to purchase or implement the Number Worlds program in order to give the NKT screener.

Now What Do I Do with the Data?

Once you have administered the NKT and you know if the student is struggling with number sense, you can check out my Math Progress Monitoring Padlet.

NKT Sample Administration Video