A Numeracy Check (MAI SA) is being introduced in 2026 to support year 1 teachers to assess students’ mathematical thinking and what they can do in mathematics.

What the Numeracy Check involves

The Numeracy Check is an interview between a teacher and student that uses prompts and hands-on tasks.

This will assess the student’s progress in:

• counting
• place value
• addition and subtraction
• multiplication and division.

Teachers analyse the results to:

• plan for any additional support the student may need (if necessary)
• inform their planning and teaching of mathematical learning in the classroom.

Support from the department

Our department will support all government schools by providing:

• training to year 1 teachers and school leaders to use the Numeracy Check; this ensures high quality and consistency
• materials and resources.

About the Numeracy Check (MAI SA)

The Maths Assessment Interview (MAI) is an evidence informed and widely used assessment that determines the critical stages of student development using a framework of growth points. Growth points describe progressions in learning towards mathematical understanding and fluency.

The MAI was modified for the South Australian context (MAI SA) and successfully trialled with 95 department schools in 2024.