One of the most important tasks for the pre-school period is to identify those children who might require additional support in their education. Early identification allows for early intervention.
As part of the new Foundation Stage of Education, the Government is including Early Learning Goals for children to achieve before entering Keystage 1. PREST is consistent with these aims as it provides a baseline measure to describe a child's current level in key skills.
The assessment screens children in the nursery and reception age group. As a UK normed test, it produces a score for each child based on the actual performance on each test and gives quantitive, comparative data to underpin identification. It can routinely form the basis for important records of the child's development.
PREST provides a profile of strengths and weaknesses that can be used to guide the development of in-school support for a child or group. It may also form a valuable first step in deciding whether to request full assessments for nursery children who show marked delays.
The test comprises of PREST 1 (to screen all children) and PREST 2 (for those children with an 'At-risk' score result from PREST 1).
PREST 1 subtests are:
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Rapid naming
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Bead threading and paper cutting
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Digits and letters
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Repetition
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Shape copying
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Corsi frog (spatial memory)
PREST 2 subtests are:
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Balance
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Phonological discrimination
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Digit span
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Rhyming
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Sound order
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Form matching.
The PREST may be re-administered to check progress after a 6 month period.