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Cambridge Secondary Insight (Baseline) for ages 11-19

Discover students’ aptitudes, potential and progress throughout Secondary.

Age: 11-19 years
Avg Duration: 50 minutes
Assessment: Adaptive, Baseline, Curriculum independent, Digital
Sections: Vocabulary, Mathematics, Non-verbal and Skills (11-14 years only)
Predicts to: GCSE, Cambridge IGCSE, A Level (16-19 years only)
Price: Costs
 

Find out more Buy Cambridge Secondary Insight

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Assessments to empower schools

School leaders and teachers are navigating increasingly diverse classrooms, and reliable, future ready assessment data has never been more crucial. On sale now and available for use from September 2026, Cambridge Secondary Insight (Baseline) is the next generation of our trusted MidYIS, Yellis and Alis assessments. This enhanced digital tool helps you understand your learners’ potential from day one and build a data-informed strategy for school-wide success.

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Why it’s a smart time to start now

The first fifty schools registering to use Cambridge Secondary Insight for the first time in September 2026 will have exclusive access to a free smart start consultation with an Insight expert who will review your school data and provide recommendations, answer your questions and give you actionable insights for whole school improvement. Terms and conditions apply*.

What does Cambridge Secondary Insight measure?

Baseline assessment helps teachers get to know their students quickly. It focuses on their starting point in three areas that contribute to academic success (vocabulary, mathematics and non-verbal skills). A good baseline test enables schools to measure each student's aptitude for learning and their potential for exam success.

Cambridge Secondary Insight consists of three components that map to lower secondary, upper secondary and advanced stages of secondary school so that the starting point of the assessment evolves as students get older. Each component can be purchased separately depending on your needs. It is common for schools to test students as they enter Lower Secondary stage and then retest at the start of Upper Secondary and Advanced stages to track progress.

Lower Secondary stage
ages 11-14		 Upper Secondary stage
ages 14-16		 Advanced stage
ages 16-19
Vocabulary is important for the predicition of most subjects.
It is an important element of most subjects, English, History, etc.
Out vocabulary module includes questions that correspond to all levels of ability and are suitable for EAL learners.
Mathematics is a strong indicator of later academic achievement in all subjects.
We use simple language so students can focus fully on concepts without being hindered with complex wording.
This section has been designed with speed and fluency in mind rather than mathematical knowledge.
We align our Mathematics questions with the Cambridge Mathematics Framework ensuring coverage of all key areas in the curriculum.
Sections for the modern world. Scanning and skimming skills, good for exam situations. Visualisations, spatial aptitude, pattern recognition. Pattern matching, reflections, rotations, applying visual intuition.
A good measure of the ability in 3D visualisations, spatial aptitude, pattern recognition.    

"The data gives us an external, impartial baseline with a large database. Also, because the assessments are not content-driven, but skills driven, it makes an excellent tool for international schools as it doesn’t matter what curricula students have previously studied."

Andrew Lennie, Head of Secondary, Cairo English School

Why do schools choose Cambridge Secondary Insight?

  • Challenge each student at an appropriate level aligned to their ability with an adaptive assessment. This feature, unique to Cambridge Insight, means that the test is fast to deliver (50 minutes), more accurate and more enjoyable for the student.
  • Set motivational and realistic targets for students with predictive data and Chances Graphs which indicate likely future performance at GCSE and Cambridge IGCSE. The 16-19 module predicts to A Level.
  • Value-added reports provide evidence for senior leadership to use for self-evaluation and inspections, and to understand progress across the whole school to drive improvement.
  • Our data quality is unmatched. We standardise against up to 650,000 student assessments from over 9,500 cohorts from a period of six academic years. Using data over a longer period means we can track long-term trends to get a more accurate standardisation but avoid short term fluctuations.

What’s new about Cambridge Secondary Insight?

Cambridge Secondary Insight delivers a comprehensive suite of cognitive and non cognitive assessments that go beyond curriculum recall to measure true learner potential. 81% of schools currently using our secondary assessments agree that the data is effective in improving student performance. Our goal is to drive that number up by continuously improving the user experience, the quality of the assessments, the data and the insights we provide.

The new platform offers:

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Stronger alignment with the Cambridge Pathway

While the assessment remains curriculum agnostic so that any international school can use it, the mathematics components now map to the Cambridge Mathematics Framework.

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Improved accessibility for SEND learners

The updated design expands equitable access, ensuring more students can demonstrate what they truly know and can do.

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Reliability for international and bilingual schools

Assessments now maintain a low language load (A2 CEFR), allowing students from a wide range of linguistic backgrounds to show their full potential—giving you data you can trust.

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Intuitive dashboards and interactive reporting

Make confident decisions quickly with clearer, more actionable insights that support whole school planning.

A powerful start to your assessment cycle

We recommend that all Cambridge schools begin their annual assessment strategy with Cambridge Secondary Insight. As a key component of our Assess for Success framework, these baseline assessments provide a robust foundation for identifying individual learning needs, improving outcomes, and driving continuous school improvement.

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"I couldn’t imagine deploying Cambridge education without Cambridge Insight assessments – it is that important."

Dr Rolph Balgobin from Oxbridge International School

How can I use baseline data in my school?

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Assess

Adaptive, personalised and tailored assessments. Efficient – fits into a standard lesson, no teacher marking is required, and results are usually available instantly.

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Analyse

Identify student starting points, strength and areas for improvement. Review indicators of potential future GCSE and IGCSE exam performance with predictive data.

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Plan

Plan appropriate support and inform early interventions. Raise aspirations and set realistic yet motivational targets for students as they progress through secondary school with predictive data.

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Teach

Support your professional judgement with reliable data insights, set goals and inform conversations with students and parents. Monitor student and cohort progress.

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Reflect

Examine student outcomes. Understand progress across the whole school with value-added data. Identify areas for school improvement and share best practice.

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Support

Support teaching and learning across your school. Access help and guidance from your personal secure site.

What evidence is there that Cambridge Secondary Insight baseline data supports improved academic outcomes?

A comprehensive review of the Research Matters archive suggests that baseline assessment plays a valuable role in providing data that can inform teaching and school improvement strategies. While the evidence in the archive does not claim that baseline assessment alone directly improves academic performance or exam results, it supports the view that such assessments are a critical component in a data-informed approach to raising achievement, especially when used thoughtfully by educators.

This view is supported by our own research with schools, and there are many inspirational stories in our Secondary case study collection.

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Ready to get started with Cambridge Secondary Insight?

Find out more Buy Cambridge Secondary Insight

*This offer is subject to a minimum order value of £2,500. Applies to schools that do not currently use Cambridge Insight baseline assessments and are based outside of the UK.