How do I create a Beginning of Year (BOY) assessment?

Updated by Gayle McKee

At the beginning of the year, use Progress Learning to create a Beginning-of-Year (BOY) assessment to diagnose any learning gaps from the "summer slide".

You have 3 options to choose from when building your Assessment:

  • Question Quick Pick
  • Question Bank
  • Build by Standard

  1. From the Teacher Dashboard, click on the Build an Assessment tile at the top of the screen.
  2. Give your assessment a name and select a content area from the dropdown menu. Click on Continue
At the beginning of the year, consider choosing a grade level below to remediate last year's content and address any learning gaps from the "summer slide."

Question Quick Pick

In the Assessment Builder, use the Question Quick Pick feature to quickly create a summative assessment that can also be used as a diagnostic. The platform will automatically select questions to create an assessment that is similar to your state test.

  1. Click Question Quick Pick on the left side of the screen.
  1. You will select the size of the assessment you would like to create. Click Save & Continue at the top right side of the screen.
The Assessment will be built according to the percentage weight of each domain as identified by the blueprints established by your state.
  1. This brings you to the Assessment Settings page.
    In the Student Experiences section, you will set your View Item Results settings. From the dropdown menu, select the level of detail students will see when they submit their assessment.
  2. Also from the Student Experience section, if you wish for the questions to be randomized, be sure to toggle the button in the on (blue) position.
    1. If you do not choose to randomize the questions, you are able to drag them into the order that you desire by grabbing the sort icon and moving the questions to the desired position.
  3. If you want to share the assessment with other staff on your campus, toggle the button in the on (blue) position.
  4. Scrolling down you will come to the Questions section. Here you have several options regarding the questions that have been added to the assessment.
  • Next, you have several options:
    • Favorite the question- clicking on the Star icon will add this question to your bank of Favorites
  • Submit Feedback- clicking on the Callout button will allow you to submit feedback regarding the question.
  • Preview- Clicking on the Eyeball icon will allow you to preview the question.
    • From the Preview mode, you can:
      • Replace a Question (this will give you other questions to choose from)
      • Remove Question- take the question out of the Assessment, reducing your question total by one.
      • Next Question- go forward to the next question in the generated Assessment.
    • Delete Item- clicking on the Trash can icon will remove the question from the assessment.

  1. Click on Save Assessment to add it to the Assessment Bank or click on Save and Assign to assign the assessment to a class.

Build by Standard

In the Assessment Builder, use the Build by Standard feature to hand-pick the number of questions from each domain and standard to create an assessment that meets your needs.

Pre-Built Assessments

  • State Practice Assessments

This option is only available in certain states and for certain grades and/or subjects. Click here to learn which states and subjects currently have State Practice Assessments available. These are Premium Assessments that include the same number of questions per domain as your state test or EOC. They are also the same length as the state test. These questions are special and are not found anywhere else in the platform. Your students have never encountered them before. We recommend administering this special test 30 days before the real test.

  • Summative Tests (Teacher-Assigned)

In the content section of the Assignment Builder, you will find a tab called Summative and Domain Practice Tests. If you select a test from this section, you are assigning a test that is created exactly the way the Question Quick Pick is created. Progress Learning will choose the questions from the question bank. You get to choose the length of the test. The percentage of questions that come from each domain will match the percentages of your state test, if it is a state-tested subject. Click here for detailed instructions. You may preview the questions on Step 7, below, by clicking the eye icon.

  • Summative Tests (Student Dashboard)

On the student study plan, your students are able to take a summative test (as described directly above) independently. They simply click on Subject Test from the Study Plan. To learn more, click here.

  • Pre and Post-Tests (Texas Only)

In Texas only, we offer these diagnostics for K-8 Math, K-8 Reading, 3-8 Science, and 3-5 & 8th Grade Social Studies. Pre and Post-Tests consist of 2 questions per TEK. Administering this test will ensure that teachers will see data for every standard in the Teacher Progress Report. You may preview the questions on Step 7, below, by clicking the eye icon. To learn more, click here.

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