Matsferill – The Icelandic Student Assessment Profile (ISAP) provides a structured overview of students’ learning and progress in compulsory education.

Within ISAP, students complete status and progress assessments in:

• Reading fluency

• Reading comprehension

• Mathematics

The reading comprehension and mathematics assessments are developed for all year groups from Grade 4 to Grade 10. They are mandatory for students in Grades 4, 6 and 9.

Reading fluency assessments are optional and available for all year groups.

In addition to status and progress assessments, ISAP includes screening and diagnostic tools for learning difficulties, as well as other resources that teachers use to support teaching and evaluate learning outcomes.

The purpose of Matsferill – The Icelandic Student Assessment Profile (ISAP) is to improve student learning outcomes in Iceland through regular and purposeful assessment.

Matsferill provides students, parents and teachers with clear information about a student’s status and progress.

This information supports teaching and learning. It helps ensure that students receive appropriate support or greater challenges, depending on their needs.

Schools, municipalities and education authorities also gain an overview at a broader level. This enables school leaders and policymakers to identify challenges and plan improvements.

In this way, Matsferill supports continuous improvement in the education system.

The reading comprehension and mathematics assessments are administered in March.

The testing period lasts one month. Schools decide when students sit the assessments during that time.

The maximum testing time is 80 minutes. Most students complete the assessment within 40–60 minutes. No special preparation is required.

The assessments are taken on a computer. In mathematics, students receive scratch paper for calculations and working out answers.

Here you can view sample assessments in reading comprehension and mathematics.

Reading fluency assessments are administered three times each year — in September, January and May.

Each testing period lasts one month. Schools decide when students take the assessment within that period.

During the assessment, students read a text aloud for two minutes. The assessment measures reading accuracy and speed.

Parents and guardians can access their child’s results on island.is by signing in to My Pages.

Teachers also share results with students and their families as part of regular communication between school and home.

Results from the March 2026 status and progress assessments in reading comprehension and mathematics will be published on island.is in May.

Results from the May 2026 reading fluency assessments will be published on island.is before the end of the school year.

Parents and guardians can access their child’s results by signing in to My Pages on island.is.

Results from the status and progress assessments are presented in a clear and accessible way.

Students receive their result as a percentage of correct answers. This shows how many questions they answered correctly and provides a clear indication of their performance in the assessment.

The student’s position within the national peer group is also presented in both text and visual form. The description explains:

• key characteristics of the student’s skills

• the student’s learning needs in the relevant subject

The aim is to ensure appropriate support for each student.

Students at the lower end of the national distribution require clear intervention and targeted follow-up. Students at the higher end require greater academic challenge.

A progress chart provides an overview of development over time. It indicates whether the student is improving, maintaining the same level, or may need additional support.

Assessment results are used to ensure that students receive appropriate support and meaningful challenges in their learning.

The percentage of correct answers provides an overview of performance in a specific assessment. To better understand a student’s status, results are also viewed in relation to national peer performance. This comparison indicates where the student stands within the wider group.

The information is used to:

• identify students who need targeted support and clear intervention

• ensure follow-up where needed

• provide additional and more demanding challenges for students who are performing at a higher level

The goal is to ensure that the right support is provided to the right students, and that teaching reflects each student’s status and progress.

All students who follow the standard curriculum for their year group are expected to take the assessments.

A school principal may apply for an exemption for a student who, for specific reasons, would not benefit from taking the assessment.

Any such decision is made in consultation with the student’s parents or guardians.

Yes. Students can receive certain support measures during the assessments. These may include read-aloud support in mathematics, taking the assessment in a quiet setting, or sitting the assessment in a smaller group.

Read-aloud support is not available for reading comprehension assessments, as the purpose of the assessment is to measure how well students use their own reading skills to understand written text.

There is no need to apply separately for support measures. However, students should only use the accommodations they are familiar with and normally require during assessments.

The assessments do not require any special preparation.

However, it is important to encourage students to do their best. This ensures the most accurate information about their skills and progress.

At present, Matsferill mainly focuses on students’ status and progress in reading fluency, reading comprehension and mathematics.

In the coming years, the range of assessment tools will be expanded. The aim is to better meet the needs of all students, regardless of where they are in their learning and development.