SPI Maths roadmap

From pilot evidence to a full mathematical literacy ecosystem.

SPI Maths is being developed in stages. The early work is deliberately focused: test whether mathematical literacy can be assessed meaningfully, whether the resulting data is useful to teachers, and whether targeted action improves pupils' structural understanding.

Development principle

Build the framework from evidence, not assertion.

The long-term ambition is large, but the first question is practical: does assessing mathematical literacy reveal something that ordinary topic tests miss? The roadmap starts with pupils, questions, reports and teacher judgement before moving towards a larger platform.

Each stage should make the next stage more credible. Better assessment data should improve reporting. Better reporting should lead to sharper action. Sharper action should make reassessment meaningful.

The staged roadmap

A sequence from diagnosis to system-wide support.

The stages are not just product milestones. They are intellectual milestones: define the domain, test the assessment model, prove the reporting is useful, connect reports to action, and then scale the approach into resources, CPD and curriculum support.

Stage 1Framework definition

Clarify the SPI framework

The first task is to make SPI Maths precise enough to be discussed, assessed and taught. This means defining the framework, tags, curriculum spine, report types and intervention routes before making larger claims.

  • Create a shared glossary
  • Define sums, products, indices and nested structures
  • Map literacy actions such as identify, classify, parse and transform
  • Define assessment tags, report types and intervention links
Stage 2Assessment development

Build initial diagnostic assessments

The early assessment banks should be larger than the final versions. That gives room to remove weak questions, refine distractors and keep only the items that diagnose structural understanding cleanly.

  • Develop pre-structure and symbolic parsing assessments
  • Develop sums, products and indices assessments
  • Develop relations, equations and nested structures assessments
  • Keep wording accessible and reading demand low
Stage 3Diagnostic model

Create the tagging system

Every question should carry enough information to turn a pupil response into useful insight. Tags connect the assessed structure to the literacy action, misconception, topic impact, resource link and CPD route.

  • Tag by assessment level, object and structure
  • Tag by literacy action and likely misconception
  • Link tags to curriculum topics and future risk
  • Link tags to follow-up resources and CPD notes
Stage 4Evidence to insight

Develop prototype reporting

Assessment data is only useful if it becomes clear enough to act on. Prototype reports will show strengths, fragile structures, likely misconceptions, topic impact and recommended next steps for different audiences.

  • Pupil and parent reports
  • Teacher and class reports
  • Year-group and department summaries
  • Priority actions and reassessment points
Stage 5Action system

Link reports to targeted resources

Each major weakness should point to a focused resource set. The aim is to close the loop so teachers can move from diagnosis to action without searching for generic algebra materials.

  • PowerPoint mini-lessons
  • Online explanations and diagnostic quizzes
  • Intervention packs and printable tasks
  • Misconception cards, teacher notes and reassessment checks
Stage 6Pilot validation

Trial with pupils and teachers

The assessments, reports and follow-up resources should be trialled with schools before the system scales. The pilot tests whether the questions diagnose the intended weaknesses and whether the reports lead to useful action.

  • Check pupil understanding of the wording
  • Check whether assessment length is appropriate
  • Compare reports with teacher judgement
  • Review whether follow-up actions improve targeted performance
Stage 7Department development

Build CPD and curriculum support

SPI Maths depends on teachers using precise structural explanations. CPD will help departments interpret reports, use consistent language, avoid misleading shortcuts and adapt schemes of work where evidence suggests a structural weakness.

  • CPD on mathematics as structured language
  • Training on sums, products, brackets and equations as truth
  • Guidance for using SPI reports to plan intervention
  • Curriculum planning support for Key Stage 3 and GCSE readiness
Stage 8Long-term goal

Realise the full SPI ecosystem

The full version of SPI Maths is a diagnostic and curriculum-support ecosystem: assessments, reports, resources, CPD, curriculum planning, online pupil practice and expert guidance working from the same mathematical literacy framework.

  • Digital assessment platform
  • Full tag-linked resource library
  • Progress tracking across cohorts
  • Expert SPI assistant for teachers, leaders, pupils and parents
The closed loop

The aim is not assessment for its own sake.

SPI Maths is built around a complete loop: assess, report, act and reassess. The roadmap only works if each part strengthens the others. A diagnostic item should create report insight. A report insight should point to a teaching action. A teaching action should be followed by a check that shows whether the targeted structure is now more secure.

This is also why the early pilot matters. It tests the whole logic of the project before the system becomes larger and more automated.

AssessMeasure mathematical literacy and structural understanding.
ReportTranslate responses into misconceptions, priorities and topic impact.
ActUse linked resources, CPD and intervention tasks.
ReassessCheck whether the specific weakness has moved.
The eventual ecosystem

A coherent system built from the same literacy framework.

The final goal is not a collection of disconnected tools. Each part of SPI Maths should use the same language of objects, structures, literacy actions, misconceptions and transformations.

Diagnostic assessmentsTagged question banksPupil, class and department reportsTargeted teaching resourcesOnline practice and reassessmentTeacher CPDCurriculum planning guidanceExpert SPI assistant
Long-term ambition

Establish mathematical literacy as something schools can measure, teach and improve.

The full aim of SPI Maths is to give schools a precise framework for the structures that sit beneath much of secondary mathematics. That means assessments that reveal hidden weaknesses, reports that explain why those weaknesses matter, resources that target the missing idea, and CPD that helps departments teach with greater structural clarity.

The roadmap is therefore intentionally cumulative. It begins with pilot evidence, develops the assessment and reporting model, links diagnosis to action, and ultimately builds towards a complete curriculum-support system for pupils, teachers, departments and school leaders.

© 2026 SPI Maths