Meghan Thompson is an IXL Professional Learning Specialist with experience as a middle and high school teacher and middle school principal.
Unlock maximum learning growth by pairing real-time performance data with IXL’s comprehensive curriculum! The IXL assessment suite consists of three state-of-the-art tools that assess student grade-level performance — offering detail at the whole school all the way down to the individual level.
Meet the suite:
- IXL’s universal screener: Accurately identify students for intervention in 20-30 minutes for K-8 math.
- IXL’s Diagnostic Snapshots: Conduct benchmarks on key strands for PK-12 math and ELA.
- IXL’s Real-Time Diagnostic: Generate personalized action plans to close gaps quickly, and gain immediate insights to differentiate daily instruction.
You may be wondering, do I need all three? Can I use one by itself? Do they all work together? To help you out, we’ve made this short quiz to find the right tool for your needs!
I need to…
A. Administer a universal screener. (It might be a requirement!)
B. Know my students’ exact grade-level proficiency.
C. Monitor ongoing progress.
D. All of the above.
I need data on…
A. K-8 math only.
B. Any PK-12 math and/or ELA student.
C. Individual skill recommendations.
D. All of the above.
I need a tool that…
A. Shortens assessment time (less than 30 minutes) to determine who is on, below, or far below grade level.
B. Benchmarks growth at multiple points during the year.
C. Tracks growth in real time.
D. All of the above.
If you answered:
- Mostly A’s: IXL’s universal screener
- Mostly B’s: IXL’s Diagnostic Snapshot
- Mostly C’s: IXL’s Real-Time Diagnostic
- Mostly D’s: the full Assessment Suite
If you answered mostly A…
Then IXL’s universal screener is for you!
The nationally normed universal screener was created to efficiently bucket students and identify those in need of intervention. The buckets show how students are performing in regard to grade-level expectations: on or above, below, or far below.
To start, the account admin will assign the screener, and students will see a notification to complete the screener when they sign in to IXL. Once started, the screener must be completed in a single 30-minute session.
After the screener ends, teachers and administrators can view the results and use that data to create intervention plans. Students will not see their results.
The screener can be administered up to five times during the school year, and students will be prompted to complete the full 30-minute screener each time.
IXL’s universal screener is available for all K-8 IXL math subscriptions or you can purchase the screener separately.
If you answered mostly B…
Then IXL’s Diagnostic Snapshot is what you are looking for!
The nationally normed Diagnostic Snapshot pinpoints grade-level proficiency, benchmarks and tracks growth, and generates personalized next steps for each student.
Administrators can select up to five specific time frames during the year for students to complete their diagnostic in math and/or language arts, and students will see a notification to complete the Diagnostic Snapshot when they sign in to IXL.
The initial diagnostic takes about 45 minutes per subject to complete, but does not need to be completed in one session. Student progress is saved after every question so that the diagnostic can be split up across a few sessions.
After the window closes, administrators can use the benchmark data to identify areas for improvement, hold data-driven conversations with stakeholders, and track student growth between each Snapshot. They can even compare progress over time by including data from the previous school year’s Snapshots, too.
Administrators can filter by subject, grade, strand, course, school, teacher, and demographics to identify trends and uncover insights that help them reach their goals. They can also create custom groupings for categories such as grade, course, school, teacher, and demographics, allowing administrators to easily find and compare data across groups to guide key conversations.
Students can track their own progress using the Student Summary report, or work on their Diagnostic Action Plans that have skill suggestions for remediation and enrichment based on their work in the diagnostic.
If you answered mostly C…
Then IXL’s Real-Time Diagnostic provides what you need!
The nationally normed Real-Time Diagnostic accurately assesses grade-level achievement and has been proven to strongly predict student performance on end-of-year assessments.
First, direct students to complete the initial diagnostic to pinpoint their proficiency levels. This can be done by clicking on the Assessment tab and then “Step into the Arena.” After the initial diagnostic, IXL will generate personalized action plans for each student based on their responses.
To maximize academic gains, our research suggests students aim to reach a SmartScore of 80, also known as proficiency, on at least two of these skills per week. Working toward this SmartScore goal in IXL skills that the diagnostic has recommended given students’ knowledge levels has been proven to improve students’ learning outcomes.
Lastly, students can keep their levels and recommendations up to date by spending 10-15 minutes in the Diagnostic arena each week.
For teachers, reports like Diagnostic Strand Analysis, Trouble Spots, and Progress and Growth, help to tailor small group instruction, highlight classroom weaknesses, and track student progress.
If you answered mostly D…
Then the full Assessment Suite is perfect for you!
The assessment suite was designed for each tool to seamlessly flow into the next, creating an effortless experience from assessment to instruction.
Below is an example of how to use all three assessments together:
- Start a “Screener to Snapshot” window from an administrator account to assign the universal screener and access immediate intervention data.
- After students complete the screener, the window will roll over into a Diagnostic Snapshot. Strand Analysis data and personalized action plans can help teachers to determine small groups for intervention or valuable skills for in-class instruction.
- After the Snapshot, keep student levels up to date by having them assess for about 10 minutes each week in the Diagnostic arena. Assign students the goal of reaching proficiency (a SmartScore of 80) on at least two skills per week from their Diagnostic Action Plan in their lowest scored strand.
Breaking up IXL usage into small daily goals can help you keep your class up-to-date all year! We suggest trying:
