Gives great customized feedback.

Submitted 8 years ago
Christine F.
Christine F.
Van Wyck Junior High School
Wappingers Falls NY, US
My Rating
Pedagogy
Supports

My Take

I'll admit that I was skeptical before I looked at this product, as I am with most products that claim to be aligned with the Common Core standards and boast that they can increase students' skills. I expected multiple choice questions that would have allowed students to guess, and that was not the case with the sample questions I was allowed to preview. Students were asked higher level questions that asked them to interact with and manipulate the text. Incorrect answers were given reasons why they were incorrect, and hints were given about how to find the correct answer. If all of the questions are like this, then this product is worth taking a closer look at.

How I Use It

My district does not own this product, and my students have not used it. My ratings are based on the free trial, and I only looked at the ELA sample questions. I wanted to see how this compared to products we already use. Many products now align questions to standards and track students' progress with a specific skill, and this one is no different. However, I always want to see exactly what the question was asking before I concluded whether a student has mastered a particular skill or not based on a chart. But a chart is a good place to start. There are also questions that allow students to write paragraphs and submit them to the teacher for scoring, but I was unable to see the measurement used to score the response. Still, you can see who is struggling, who is on track, and who is excelling. You can also send messages to students, and assign them to a particular group, presumably to differentiate their instruction.