Hey Teachers! Welcome to our Back to School Guide where you’ll learn everything you need to know to start the school year off right. In this article, we’ll review:
- Placement Test details and best practices
- Classroom Setup guides/FAQ and
- FAQ on your students' experience with Prodigy
Let's get started!
Placement Test Details
From the moment your students begin their first battle in Prodigy Math, you’ll start gaining helpful insights into their math abilities. The Placement Test helps determine the level of math content that students begin to receive in-game when they are not working on any assignments you may have created for them.
Although the placement test results determine the ideal starting point, Prodigy’s adaptive algorithm consistently detects students’ strengths and areas of need as it aims to continually keep them in their zone of proximal development.
Below are some of the most common questions we receive regarding the Placement Test:
When does it run?
The Placement Test runs every August and January, and for 2023, it began on August 1st. Any student account that is created or logs in after this date will receive the Placement Test.
Can I reschedule the Placement Test?
The Placement Test cannot be rescheduled or re-assigned to students. If you'd prefer your students work on specific material you can always create an assessment, read more about this in our support article linked here.
The Placement Test will resume once any assignment(s) have been completed.
How does the Placement Test work?
When students play Prodigy Math, questions are presented to them when they battle in-game. When students answer questions, they earn Magic Points, which can be used to cast spells during battle.
Keep in mind that students don’t know they’re being tested – it’s really a stealth diagnostic. They’re just engaged in gameplay as usual, while our algorithm is assessing their knowledge of your state’s math standards so that it can adapt math content to their level of understanding once the placement test is complete.
While the placement test is running, you may notice students encounter questions that are below, at, and above their grade level. They will also encounter questions across all domains. The adaptive nature of the test is to ensure that their placement is as accurate as possible so that each student begins working on content that will truly help scaffold and excel their learning.
How long does it take?
Since every student is unique, it may take some longer than others. Our Prodigy teachers recommend scheduling three or four 15-minute sessions for your students to complete the Placement Test!
Where can I see the results?
Results of the Placement Test can be found on your reports page under Placement Test Report. You can find more details about the report in our support article linked here.
Can I change the grade a student places in?
If you feel that a student's placement is inaccurate and you'd like them to begin working on content at a grade level that is different than the one assigned by the placement test, there is an option to override the student's grade. Information on the grade override can be found in our support article linked here.
Please keep in mind that an alternative to grade override is using the assignment feature, where you can assign students particular skills from any grade level that you want them to focus on. This option will not impact the content that the adaptive algorithm deems is best for your students to work on, as students will complete the assignment you gave and return to the content that the adaptive algorithm deems most beneficial for them to practice afterward.
It's been a while and my student hasn't completed the Placement Test - why?
There are a few things that might prevent a student from completing the Placement Test. We've put together a detailed support article on this, linked here.
Classroom Setup Guides
Below are step-by-step guides on how to set up your classroom using Prodigy only, Google Classroom or using Clever. We've also included details you'll find helpful throughout the school year. Select the drop-down according to the process you'd like to follow.
1. Sign up for a Teacher Account. If you're a returning teacher, log in to your account and proceed to step 5.
2. If you haven't already, select your Country and Curriculum.
3. Input your school (if applicable).
4. Create your first classroom by inputting the class name and selecting a grade.
5. Now you'll want to add students to your classroom. You can add student's existing accounts, or create new accounts for them.
To add their existing accounts, simply provide them with your class code and follow the instructions displayed below.
To create new accounts, select Create new accounts.
Then, input each of your student's first name and last initial, per the on-screen instructions.
Select Continue to review to check that their names are correct, then Create student accounts.
6. You can opt to print a PDF with your student's login details now, or later by selecting View login details on the desired classroom.
Your class is all set! Simply provide your students with their username and password and have them navigate to play.prodigygame.com to start their journey.
1. Sign up for a Teacher Account. If you're a returning teacher, log in to your account and proceed to step 4.
2. If you haven’t already, select your Country and Curriculum.
3. Input your school (if applicable).
4. (Returning teachers: Create a new class first) Select Import from Google Classroom.
5. A Google prompt will appear to confirm which account you are importing your class from and that you are allowing access to the information needed.
4. Once you have confirmed your account and allowed access, a list of the classes in your Google Classroom account will display.
Check off the box for the class(es) that you would like to import, and click continue.
5. Assign a grade to each class you have selected, or remove them if you had chosen a class in error. Then, click Import X Classroom(s).
That's it! Students from your Google Classroom are now ready to play Prodigy by logging in with their Google accounts, and you can keep track of their progress from your Teacher Account on Prodigy.
1. Sign up for a Teacher Account. If you’re a returning teacher, log in to your account and skip to step 4.
2. If you haven't already, select your Country and Curriculum.
3. Input your school (if applicable).
4. (Returning teachers, create a new class first) Select Import with Clever.
5. Choose which of your Clever classrooms you would like to bring over to Prodigy. This is also where you can set your classroom grade. When you’re finished, click "Confirm".
6. Once you’ve confirmed which classrooms you would like to sync, click “Sync classrooms”.
The app will reload and your Clever classrooms are now synced!
Classroom Setup and Game FAQ
Where can I find my student's usernames and passwords?
Your student's login information is located within each classroom and can be accessed by selecting the View login details option on each class card.
What are class codes?
Each Prodigy classroom you create has its unique class code. Class codes are a series of letters and numbers that you can provide to your students that can be used to link their desired Prodigy account to your classroom.
How do class codes work & where do students input them?
There are two ways a class code can be input via logging into a student account. It may be helpful to do this on behalf of a student on their device or provide the following instructions to them otherwise.
How do students use a class code to join my classroom?
1. Find your class code via your Teacher Account and provide this to your student(s).
2. Log in to the account you would like to link to your classroom and select Math Game.
3. Enter the class code via the screen pictured below, then click Join my class.
a. You can also input the class code via the New Teacher prompt, pictured below.
4. The account has been linked to your classroom and will appear on your Teacher Account (you may need to refresh if you’re currently logged in).
5. The student can now proceed to play on this account! All progress will be reported to your Teacher Dashboard.
Please note:
Class codes only need to be input once! Once linked to a classroom, students will remain attached unless removed via the Teacher Account.
1. Find your class code via your Teacher Account and provide this to your student(s).
2. Log in to the account you would like to link to your classroom.
3. Proceed to the game and select the gear icon on the HUD to open the Settings menu.
4. Input the class code in the Class code field, then click Save.
5. The account has been linked to your classroom and will appear on your teacher account (you may need to refresh if you’re currently logged in).
6. The student can now proceed to play on this account! All progress will be reported to your Teacher Dashboard.
Please note:
Class codes only need to be input once! Once linked to a classroom, students will remain attached unless removed via the Teacher Account.
Some of my students have multiple accounts, what should I do?
Sometimes, students may accidentally create multiple accounts. From your classroom page, you can review all student accounts linked to your classroom and see which has been logged in most recently, or review the progress made on each via your reports. If a student logs into an account and notices that they have to create a new character, this is an indication that they’ve accidentally created a new account.
Should you discover extra accounts, these can simply be removed from your classroom - removing an account does not delete it from Prodigy. If you need assistance with troubleshooting multiple accounts Prodigy Customer Support is happy to help!
I've created an Assignment for my students, how do they access it?
There is no assigned location in-game that your students need to go to in order to access their Assessments. The assigned questions will be given to your students during battles so that they can earn Magic Points that allow them to battle.
All students need to do is enter a battle and answer questions! As an example, if your Assignment has 10 questions, the first 10 questions your student(s) are presented will be from the assigned material.
Once students have completed the Assignment, they will return to answering the adaptive curriculum-based questions on Prodigy.
Can my students view their assessment progress in-game?
Assessment progress is only visible from a Teacher Account. If your students are unsure of how far along they are, you can let them know by checking your assessment reports. More information is available in our support article linked here.
