Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing (formerly the Admissions Testing Service) provides admissions tests for a range of university level courses and assessments in thinking skills and behavioural styles. It is part of Cambridge Assessment , a not-for-profit department of the University of Cambridge , England . It stopped delivering admissions tests at the end of 2023, thus effectively ceasing operations.
29-559: 2001 - The Thinking Skills Assessment (TSA) was introduced for entry to a range of undergraduate courses at the University of Cambridge . 2003 - BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT) introduced 2004 - a dedicated unit was formally set up within Cambridge Assessment , with responsibility for developing and administering admissions tests. The Thinking Skills Admissions Testing (TSAT) unit was responsible for administering
58-558: A broad programme of research to ensure the fairness and validity of its admissions tests for university admissions. It purpose is to gather evidence to demonstrate that the admissions tests make a useful contribution to the admissions process. BMAT is used by universities in the UK and overseas for entry to Medicine, Biomedical Science and Dentistry courses. IMAT is used by a number of Italian universities for entry to English language-taught Medicine, Surgery and related degree courses. The test
87-816: A broad range of courses and higher education institutions. uniTEST was introduced by some Australian universities, but there was relatively little demand in the UK. 2006 - the English Literature Admissions Test (ELAT) was introduced in the 2007–08 undergraduate admissions cycle for the Faculty of English at the University of Oxford . 2007 - In 2007, the University of Oxford introduces TSA as part of its admissions process for Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) 2008 - University College London (UCL) introduces TSA as part of its admissions process for European and International Social and Political Studies (EISPS) 2011 onwards - administering
116-490: A core set of ideas from Pure Mathematics. These ideas reflect those that would be met early on in a typical A Level Mathematics course: algebra, basic functions, sequences and series, coordinate geometry, trigonometry, exponentials and logarithms, differentiation, integration, graphs of functions. In addition, knowledge of the GCSE curriculum is assumed. Paper 2: Mathematical Reasoning Paper 2 has 20 multiple-choice questions, with 75 minutes allowed to complete
145-400: Is a paper-based 2 hour and 30 minute long test, which is to be completed without dictionaries or calculators. It has two papers which are taken consecutively: Paper 1: Mathematical Thinking Paper 1 has 20 multiple-choice questions, with 75 minutes allowed to complete the paper. This paper assesses a candidate’s ability to apply their knowledge of mathematics in new situations. It comprises
174-493: Is a test used by universities in the United Kingdom to assess the mathematical thinking and reasoning skills of students applying for undergraduate mathematics courses or courses featuring mathematics like Computer science or Economics . It is usually sat by students in the UK; however, students applying from other countries will need to do so as well if their university requires it. A number of universities across
203-503: Is modelled on TSA Section 1 but is delivered and marked internally. TSA consists of one or two sections, depending on the university and course being applied for. Section 2 is used in addition to Section 1 by the University of Oxford for certain courses. The multiple-choice answers (Section 1) are marked by Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing with 1 mark available per question. Final scores are calculated to one decimal place on
232-524: Is part of Cambridge Assessment , a not-for-profit department of the University of Cambridge . 2021 - Cambridge Assessment merged with another non-teaching department of the same university, Cambridge University Press . 2022 - University College London (UCL) withdraws from using TSA and replaces it with an internal Thinking Skills Test (TST) 2023 - Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing announces it will withdraw from running any admissions tests from 2024. Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing conducts
261-518: Is taken in November, and is used as the basis for conditional offers. Durham University , Lancaster University , the University of Warwick , the University of Sheffield and the University of Southampton encourage applicants to their Mathematics courses to take the test. Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing delivers pre-interview assessments for the following University of Cambridge courses: Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing administers
290-462: Is used in healthcare education and employment and in higher education and schools. The assessment was developed over four years of research and trialling with general and vocational higher education (including medicine, nursing and healthcare institutions). Thinking Skills Assessment The Thinking Skills Assessment ( TSA ) is a generic admissions test , which is used as part of the admissions process for entry to some undergraduate courses at
319-477: The London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and Cardiff University in 2018 Research indicates that the test has good predictive validity, with good correlation between candidates' scores in the test and their performance in their exams at the end of first year university study. There is also correlation between A-level Further Maths performance and performance in the test. Before 2024,
SECTION 10
#1732791072222348-627: The Thinking Skills Assessment (TSA) and the first BioMedical Admissions Test (BMAT). 2004 - interest in fair admissions to higher education was fuelled by a UK government funded review - "the Schwartz Report". This led to a collaboration between TSAT and the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and the development of uniTEST. uniTEST explored if a single test could be used for admission to
377-527: The University of Cambridge , the University of Oxford , Hanoi University of Science and Technology , and formerly, University College London . TSA was developed and is run by Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing . It was developed to help universities assess whether applicants have the skills and aptitudes considered essential for Higher Education study. Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing produces and distributes practice materials, including specimen questions and past papers, on their website. The test
406-534: The University of Warwick . It is used by the University of Cambridge as the basis for conditional offers, and is taken in June for admission in October. Other UK universities may take STEP results into account when making offers for their Mathematics courses. The Test of Mathematics for University Admission is a test of mathematical thinking and reasoning. It is assessed through two 75 minute multiple-choice papers. It
435-519: The TSA scale (running approximately 0–100) using the Rasch statistical technique. The writing task component of TSA (Section 2) used by the University of Oxford is reviewed by admissions tutors. An average score is about 60, so around 28 out of 50 raw marks. If you score 70 or above, you will find yourself in the top 10 of candidates – this equates to about 38 out 50. For the University of Cambridge and
464-556: The UK, it is used by the University of Cambridge , University of Oxford and University College London (UCL). It is also used by Stockholm School of Economics , Sweden and Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP), Malaysia . The TSA exam is scored on a scale from 0 to 100 using the " Rasch Model ". Cambridge Personal Styles Questionnaire (CPSQ) assess behavioural styles - how people approach tasks and interact with others. This includes thinking and learning, motivation, self-management, resilience and interpersonal values and attitudes. It
493-718: The University of Oxford tests – starting with the History Aptitude Test (HAT) and the Physics Aptitude Test (PAT) 2016 onwards - assisting with the development and delivery of the University of Cambridge pre-interview assessments. 2011 - unit name changed from "Thinking Skills Admissions Testing" to "the Admissions Testing Service" 2017 - name changed to Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing in January 2017, making clear it
522-563: The University of Oxford, TSA is held in late October/early November as a pre-interview, paper-based test taken at schools, colleges or authorised test centres globally. Results are issued in mid-January of the following year, via Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing’s results online portal . The exact use of results varies between the subjects which use the test, and candidates need to refer to their chosen course for precise details. Test of Mathematics for University Admission The Test of Mathematics for University Admission (TMUA)
551-411: The candidate's chances of being admitted to their university of choice. Candidates’ scores is the total number of correct answers given in both papers. As it is multiple choice, working out is not counted. Each question has the same weighting, and no penalties are given for incorrect answers. Raw scores are converted to a scale of 1.0 to 9.0 (with 9.0 being the highest). A score is also reported for each of
580-455: The following admissions tests for the University of Oxford : TSA is used for entry to a wide range of undergraduate university courses, including: Economics and Management, Engineering, Land Economy, Human Sciences, Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE), Psychology and Philosophy. It assesses whether applicants have the critical thinking and problem-solving skills which universities consider to be essential for success in higher education. In
609-468: The paper. The second paper assesses a candidate’s ability to justify and interpret mathematical arguments and conjectures, and deal with elementary concepts from logic. It assumes knowledge of the Paper 1 specification and, in addition, requires students to have some knowledge of the structure of proof and basic logical concepts. There is no pass/fail for the test, however a higher score will generally improve
SECTION 20
#1732791072222638-446: The test only (TSA S1), with History and Economics requiring the same from 2017. From 2018, the University of Oxford no longer required applicants to take TSA for entry to their Geography course. From 2008 to 2021, University College London used TSA to assist in the selection of applicants to European and International Social and Political Studies (EISPS). From 2022 onwards, UCL replaced TSA with its own Thinking Skills Test (TST), which
667-532: The test was administered by Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing , but since the 2024 round, it has been adminstered by Pearson Vue instead. Candidates now complete the exam in a Pearson test center, when the previously would have sat the test at their school or at a registered test centre. Under the new format, mathematical working is completed in booklets of laminated paper using whiteboard markers, where candidates may request new booklets for writing in when needed. The Test of Mathematics for University Admission
696-720: The two papers (also reported on the 1.0 to 9.0 scale), but these are for candidate information only and do not form part of the formal test result. Since 2024, the test is made available twice a year, first in late October or early November and secondly in January (Previously, it used to be just in October). Entry for the test typically opens in September and candidates must be registered by early October. Results are released in late November. Candidates can access their results online and share them with their chosen institutions. Students generally spend several weeks preparing for
725-403: The world accept the test as an optional part of their application process for mathematics-based courses. The TMUA exams from 2017 were paper-based; however, since 2024 it has transitioned to being administered through a computer, where applicants may use a Whiteboard notebook to write their working out. The test was developed by Cambridge Assessment Admissions Testing and launched in 2016. It
754-409: Was designed to assess the key skills that students need to succeed on demanding university-level mathematics courses, and assist university mathematics tutors in making admissions decisions. Durham University and Lancaster University began using the test in 2016, with the University of Warwick , the University of Sheffield and the University of Southampton recognising the test in 2017, and
783-490: Was developed in conjunction with the Italian Ministry of Education . It is currently taken in September for admission in October. ELAT is used for entry to English Literature courses at the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge . It is taken in late October/early November for admission the following October. STEP is used for entry to Mathematics courses at the University of Cambridge and
812-462: Was first introduced for undergraduate entry to the University of Cambridge in 2001 and was used as part of the admissions process for a number of undergraduate courses. It is currently used for application to the Land Economy course only. In 2007, the University of Oxford introduced TSA as part of its admissions process for Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE). At this stage, the test
841-407: Was known as the ‘PPE Admissions Test’. The use of TSA was extended for entry to Economics and Management in 2008; to Experimental Psychology, and Psychology and Philosophy in 2009, Geography, Philosophy and Linguistics, and Psychology and Linguistics in 2012, and in 2015 to Human Sciences. Since 2016, candidates applying for Chemistry have been required to sit a version of TSA consisting of Section 1 of
#221778