Smartgrade snaps up HeadStart Primary tests and rolls out AI reading fluency tool for UK schools

5 May

The series includes two curriculum-aligned maths assessments, an AI-powered reading fluency test, and science coverage, with all assessments due to go live in autumn 2026.

Primary school student using tablet with AI reading fluency assessment showing words per minute, prosody, and accuracy scores — ***Smartgrade's new AI-powered reading fluency test measures words per minute, mispronunciation rates, and prosody scores***

Smartgrade, the UK-based school assessment platform, has acquired the HeadStart Primary test bank and used it as the foundation for a new standardized assessment series covering maths, reading, grammar, punctuation, spelling, and science for primary schools.

Co-founder Joshua Perry announced the Smartgrade Assessment Series on LinkedIn, describing it as "the biggest change to how we offer primary assessments since we started out in 2020."

The series will be available from autumn 2026 for years one through six and includes two separate maths assessments, one aligned with White Rose Maths and the other with the NCETM Curriculum Prioritisation framework. Perry highlighted that this makes Smartgrade one of the few assessment providers offering maths tests designed around the curriculum sequence schools actually teach, rather than retrospectively mapped to one.

AI-powered reading fluency assessment

Among the new additions is a standardized reading fluency test that uses AI to listen to and transcribe a student's reading of selected passages. The tool calculates metrics including words correct per minute, mispronunciation rates, and prosody scores.

Perry wrote on LinkedIn: "We're particularly proud of this - there's nothing like it out there, we think!"

The reading fluency test sits alongside a reading comprehension assessment and a grammar, punctuation, and spelling test. An annual science assessment for years one through six rounds out the series, addressing what Smartgrade describes as the marginalization of science in primary assessment despite its status as a core national curriculum subject.

Curriculum alignment and live standardization

The series is built around what Smartgrade calls "live standardization," which compares students against peers from the same cohort rather than relying on pre-set benchmarks. Perry noted on LinkedIn that many popular assessments still use pre-pandemic standardizations, even though reports from NFER and EEF have documented shifts in student performance since then.

All assessments produce granular topic breakdowns designed to support targeted reteaching and intervention. Topics are organized hierarchically with broad and narrow descriptions alongside the year and term of teaching.

The maths assessments are designed to cover the curricula used by more than 95 percent of primary schools nationally. Smartgrade also continues to offer curriculum-aligned assessments from partners including Ark Curriculum Plus, CUSP, and United Curriculum, with Perry emphasizing on LinkedIn that the new series "doesn't replace those; rather, it builds out a sector-leading assessment offer to complement what our partners offer."

MAT-level analysis and HeadStart heritage

The platform is designed with multi-academy trusts in mind, offering flexible analysis from individual student level up to trust-wide views. Perry noted that different schools within a MAT can use different maths assessments, with Smartgrade standardizing results across them on a single platform.

The assessment team is led by Hilary Fine FRSA, with GLF Schools developing the NCETM-aligned assessments. A launch webinar is scheduled for May 6, 2026. Perry confirmed on LinkedIn that prices are not changing for existing Smartgrade customers.