Find out how students take the math diagnostic and what the results mean.
What is the purpose of the math diagnostic?
The purpose of Sumdog's math diagnostic is to confirm the level that they start at in Fluency Booster. Once students have completed the math diagnostic, they will be allocated a starting level and given a skill to focus on.
As Fluency Booster follows a small steps Math Mastery approach, students will start at the beginning of the level of their diagnostic result in Fluency Booster - this is to ensure that students are confident in foundational skills before progressing to more complex topics. Following this, they gradually work through a skill plan of increasingly challenging maths fluency skills as they play games.
During the math diagnostic your students may be asked some questions that they find difficult. Please ask them not to worry. It's simply to provide an understanding of their current level and the questions will be placed at a lower level if required.
Your students will automatically do a diagnostic test based on their grade or year level. If they are working below their expected level, based on how they answer, the diagnostic test can place them up to two years below.
Diagnostic Results
You will get a snapshot of their current level and a detailed diagnostic report showing which skills within the curriculum your students have a good understanding of and which skills they are having trouble with.
What does the diagnostic test look like?
The math diagnostic is in a multiple-choice quiz format and is designed to be completed within about 30 minutes. Students will not play games during the math diagnostic.
The diagnostic is made up of a 15 question pretest and a 40 question main diagnostic.
The 15 question pretest provides numeracy questions taken from the year group below the students' current one.
These questions will be used to determine the level of diagnostic questions the student sees next. If your student is working below level, don’t worry. If they are struggling with the first 15 questions, they will be asked a second set of 15 questions which are at a lower level.
The 40 question main diagnostic will provide questions drawn from a range of different math topics. These 40 questions determine the level the student is placed at.
Does the diagnostic test need to be completed in one sitting?
No, if students are not able to complete the math diagnostic in one sitting they can pick up where they left off when they next log in.