National Benchmark Test NBT Definition
The National Benchmark Tests (NBTs) are assessments for first-year applicants into higher education institutions. The NBTs were designed to measure a writer’s ability to transfer understanding of Academic Literacy, Quantitative Literacy and Mathematics to the demands of tertiary coursework. The National Benchmark Tests comprise three multiple choice tests, written as a combined Academic Literacy and Quantitative Literacy (AQL) test, and a separate Mathematics test. The AQL is a three-hour test that consists of an Academic Literacy (AL) section and a Quantitative Literacy (QL) section. The results of the two sections of the test are recorded separately. The second test is Mathematics (MAT), which is also multiple-choice and three hours in duration.
The Academic Literacy (AL) test targets a writer’s capacity to engage successfully with the demands of academic study in the medium of instruction of the test.
The Quantitative Literacy (QL) test targets a writer’s ability to manage situations or solve problems in a real context that is relevant to higher education study, using basic quantitative information that may be presented verbally, graphically, or in tabular or symbolic form.
The Cognitive Academic Mathematics Proficiency Test (CAMP) is a three-hour test that targets a writer’s ability related to mathematical concepts formally regarded as part of the secondary school curriculum (Mathematics Papers 1 and 2) relevant for Higher Education studies.
