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How to use Spelling assessments
Assessments are similar to a test or quiz. They can be used to test your students’ understanding of a topic or to identify gaps in their learning. When a student takes an assessment, they’ll be answering outside of Sumdog’s games, much like a paper test. The results are sent to you in real time and you can share or print these if you wish.
Assessments can be repeated for a class or student, to see if they have shown an improvement. You can also create an Assessment for your current class and repeat it for your class next year.
With the Assessment, you will be able to choose the questions and set a time limit for students to complete the assessment.
Students are able to start the assessment and then stop and come back to it (as long as it’s within the time limit you have set).
How to create an assessment
These instructions explain how to create an assessment for your class or classes or specific students.
Click ‘Set Work’
Note: By default, the subject displayed on your account will be Math. Click on the drop down menu at the top left to change the subject to Spelling
Click ‘CREATE & VIEW’ in the ‘Assessment’ box
Click on the green ‘Create Assessment’ box
Select ‘Spelling’ and click ‘Next’
Tick the classes you would like to include in the assessment. If you would like to include other classes not assigned to you, use the ‘Student filter’ on the top left. Untick ‘Only my students’: you will now see all of the classes on the school account.
*Optional* Click on the blue arrow to show all the students in the class. You can include or remove individual students by ticking or unticking the relevant students.
*Optional* To deselect a particular class, click ‘Clear All’ in the bottom left corner. To select all classes displayed, click ‘Add All’.
Once you have selected which classes or students you would like to take part, click ‘Next’
Set up the details of the Assessment.
Name – Give your Assessment a title. Your students will see this title on their account and it will help them identify the activity in their Tasks list.
Number of questions – This is how many questions the students will be asked.
Word list – Choose whether you would like to choose the words in the assessment (go to Step 7A)or choose a skill and Sumdog will choose the words (go to Step 7B).
Time allowed – This is how much time your students will have to complete the assessment once they have started it.
Activity starts and Activity ends – this will be the period during which the assessment will be visible on the student’s account.
Click ‘Next’
If you have chosen ‘Select my own words’
If you have chosen ‘Automatically select words based on skills’ see Step 7B.
Key in the first few letters of the word in the box at the top left, if it is in the system it will appear. Click the word to select it.
Repeat until you have a word for all your select number of questions. Click ‘Save’
Note: All our spelling words are recorded by a live voice artist so you will not be able to input words that are not on our system.
Click ‘Save’ to confirm the details of your assessment
If you have chosen ‘Automatically select words based on skills’
Select the skills you would like the students to work on.
To filter the skills, use the ‘Year’.
Click on the downwards-pointing arrow to see details about the skill. Click on the ‘?’ to see sample questions. Tick the skill(s) you would like to include and click ‘Next’ and then click ‘Create’.
You will now see a preview of the questions the students will be asked. Click on the refresh button on the right if you would like to change a question
How to edit an assessment
These instructions explain how to edit an assessment once you have created it.
You can edit all aspects of the assessment before the start date. If the assessment has already started, you will only be able to extend it.
Click ‘Set Work’
Note: By default, the subject displayed on your account will be Math. Click on the drop down menu at the top left to change the subject to Spelling
Click ‘CREATE & VIEW’ in the ‘Assessments’ box
If you would like to extend the time the assessment will be available to students click ‘extend’ next to the assessment you would like to edit.
Select the new date and click ‘Extend’. Review the details of your assessment and press ‘Done’
If you completed step 3 but want to edit further, repeat steps 1 and 2 before completing step 4.
Click ‘edit’ next to the relevant activity
Click ‘Next’. This will scroll through the setup pages. Keep clicking until you find the page with details you would like to edit.
You can add or remove a student from the activity on the ‘Choose Students’ page. Tick or untick a student to include or remove them from the activity.
Click ‘Next’.
You can edit the words/skills and the questions your students will be working on by clicking through the next pages. See ‘How to create an assessment’ for further instructions.
Click ‘Save’ to confirm the changes
How to view the results of an assessment
These instructions explain how to view the results from an assessment you have set.
Click ‘Set Work’
Note: By default, the subject displayed on your account will be Math. Click on the drop down menu at the top left to change the subject to Spelling
Click ‘CREATE & VIEW’ in the ‘Assessments’ box
Click ‘result’ next to the Assessment you would like to view
You will be able to see the students’ answers. If you hover over the number you will see what question was asked.
If there are dashes in the results, this means that the student skipped that question or ran out of time.
Click ‘Show questions’ to view all of the questions. Click ‘Download’ to download a spreadsheet of your class’ results
Click ‘Done’ to return to your dashboard
How to repeat an assessment
These instructions explain how to repeat an assessment that you have set previously. Assessments can be repeated for the same or different class to the one it was originally set for.
Click ‘Set Work’
Click ‘CREATE & VIEW’ in the ‘Assessment’ box
Click ‘repeat’ next to the Assessment you would like to repeat
Select ‘Spelling’ and click ‘Next’
Click through the pages for setting up an assessment (see Step 5 onward in How to create an assessment for more information).
Click ‘Repeat’ once complete
How to restrict your students so that they can only work on your assessment
If your students have not had any other activities set for them, then the assessment you created will automatically appear on their dashboard. If they have had other activities set for them, then they can select your assessment by clicking on their Tasks list and viewing the list of available activities.
These instructions explain how to restrict your students so that they can only work on the assessment you have created.
Click ‘Set work’
Select ‘Live Controls’
Click ‘RESTRICT’ in the Focus Work box
To restrict your class to the spelling assessment, tick the ‘Assessment’ option. You can select multiple activities.
Your class will be restricted to the selected activity or activities for one hour
Click ‘Restrict’ to confirm
How to answer assessment questions as a student
Assessments should appear on students’ dashboards when they log in to Sumdog, however if it does not, they should follow the instructions below to answer assessment questions.
These instructions explain how a student can participate in an assessment you have set for them
Click ‘Task’
Select the activity from the Tasks list
Click ‘Start’
Students will see a quick loading screen.
Click ‘NEXT’ to start the Assessment
During the Assessment, the students type in their answer.
If they don’t know the answer, students can click ‘NEXT’ to skip a question. They can also click on the back arrow to review or change a past answer
At the end, your students will have the option to review their answers or click on ‘DONE’ to submit them to you
Once the students have clicked on ‘DONE’, they will then see a screen showing them how many questions they answered correctly and how many coins they have earned
How students continue with an assessment if they have stopped mid-way through
These instructions explain how students can continue with the assessment if they had to stop mid-way through.
To do so, they will need to select the Assessment from their Tasks list and follow the guide below:
Click ‘Task’
Select the activity from the Tasks list
Students will be shown a quick loading screen showing a summary of their progress.
Click ‘Start’
Continue answering questions as normal
Frequently asked questions - Spelling assessments
Select which question you would like to find out more about: