Frequently Asked Questions

A Cambridge Insight assessment is a way to understand your students on a deeper level, beyond the curriculum.

We offer a broad range of easy-to-use digital tools, from baseline and entrance assessments to non-cognitive tests and wellbeing checks, providing a rounded view of each student irrespective of previous curriculum, school or background.

Our assessments are developed with our evidence-based and research-driven approach as part of the University of Cambridge. We use high-quality data to provide schools with detailed reports and accurate insights into their students’ learning to unlock their potential.

Working with teachers, department heads and school leaders, Cambridge Insight assessments provide insight that reveal each individual learner’s and cohort’s unique qualities. This allows strategic decisions to be made on improving teaching practices and resource allocation.

We help schools and groups of schools to better understand, increase and demonstrate the value they can add to students’ lives.

Cambridge Insight baseline assessments measure a student’s cognitive and non-cognitive skills at the point they are tested.

Each key stage of learning differs slightly, but these assessments are based on over 40 years of research that show the key areas reliably predict future academic performance across all subjects, regardless of curriculum. The key areas are: Reading/Vocabulary, Mathematics and Non-verbal skills.

The Cambridge Wellbeing Check measures how well children are feeling and functioning in school during various points of the year.

The Cambridge Personal Styles Questionnaire (CPSQ) provides insight into students' attitudes and approaches to learning.

No. Our insight assessments measure the core skills that over 40 years of research shows reliably predict future academic attainment, whatever the subject following any curriculum.

So, even if we aren’t testing students on their geographical knowledge, we can predict likely outcomes for them in their study of Geography as a curriculum subject because of the links between the key skill areas and academic performance.

We offer Cambridge Select Insight as a specialised computer-based entrance assessment (admissions test) for selective schools. This is different from our baseline assessments.

Our secondary baseline assessments can be used as a part of a robust admissions process to support student placement.

“We use baseline assessments from Cambridge not just for the assessment of cognitive development, but as the centre of a radical educational redesign which places the child squarely at the nucleus of what we do and allows us to effectively partner with and build a positive relationship with parents. […] I couldn’t imagine deploying Cambridge education without baseline assessments – it is that important.”

Dr Rolph Balgobin, The Oxbridge International School (OXIS).

Together, we make a measurable difference. See why other schools choose Cambridge Insight with our case studies.

Cambridge Insight assessments are only available for schools to purchase. We do not sell tests individually.

Visit our Information for Parents page to learn more.

Only schools and educational establishments can purchase Cambridge Insight assessments.

Learn more about joining Cambridge Insight.

If you are a parent or a student interested in Cambridge Insight, please visit our Parents Support Hub.

You will need access to computers or laptops with internet access.

Read about the general technical requirements.

For our baseline assessments, we recommend students take them at the start of their academic year, the beginning of a new course of study, or shortly after joining a new school.

However, Cambridge Primary Insight and CPSQ can be used at any point in the year. The Cambridge Wellbeing Check can be used multiple times during the year.

Most Cambridge Insight assessments only need to be taken once a year. 

Our Early Years assessments have optional start of year and end of year tests to help track their learning progress in their first year of school.

You can use the Cambridge Wellbeing Check as many times as you like during the academic year. We recommend using the assessment at key points such as joining a new class or preparing for exams.

Each student will sit the assessment at a computer.

Our Early Years assessments (for ages 3-5) are teacher-led, designed to give children valuable one-to-one time, and can be stopped or started at any time.

Our primary and secondary assessments are student-led. You can choose to test all students in a class or year group at once (if you have the computer facilities), or to spread testing over several sessions. The assessments offer you flexibility to set up and test students when it works best for your school.

No – guidance and support are available for all our assessments through our online Help Centre and our friendly Customer Support Team.

Yes – guidance and support are available for all our assessments through our online Help Centre. We run continuous training webinars to help you at whatever stage you are at with your assessment.

Our friendly Customer Support Team are also available on phone and via email Monday to Friday 08:30 to 17:00 (UK).

A formative assessment is any assessment of how a student is doing before and during their educational experience. Also known as Assessment for Learning, these assessments help teachers understand their students’ progress and are used to plan their next steps.

A baseline assessment is simply a tool to help teachers and students find out what the student already knows and can do at a single moment in time.

A baseline assessment is usually used at the start of a course of study, to give teachers an understanding of the student on entry to their school, year group or class. The information is then used to inform teaching and learning to best support the student’s abilities and help them to reach their full academic potential.

These are high and low stakes exams that prove what a student can do. Qualifications such as GCSEs and A-Levels are summative assessments, taken at the end of a course of study.

An adaptive assessment uses a student’s responses to each question to decide whether to progress to more challenging questions, or to return to easier ones. Essentially, the assessment automatically adapts to a student’s ability.

Because most Cambridge Insight assessments are adaptive, they are shorter, more motivating and satisfying for students to complete, and can pinpoint a student’s abilities more accurately.

A standardised score compares a student’s performance to those of all students in the relevant student population.

For example, a year 7 nationally standardised score compares a year 7 student to the national population of year 7 students. Normally standardised scores are based on a mean score of 100 and a standard deviation of 15.

Cambridge Insight standardisation is based on 600,000 students, using data from schools over the last six years.

You may be interested in our blogs Standardised Scores 101 and Standardised Tests 101.

Schools provide us with their students' exam results every year. We then match the results to the students' baseline scores so we can see the correlation. 

This correlation (also called the regression line) is then used to calculate a prediction based on a points score.

We've built up a huge database over the years so we can provide the highest-quality data for schools wanting to use predictions to support their students' success in exams like GCSE, IGCSE, A Level, and IB Diploma.

Value-added is a measure of progress.

We calculate the difference between a student's expected grade from their baseline score and the actual outcome in their exam. This is a fair measure of progress as it takes a student's starting point into account as well, not just their final exam results.