What is intervention in education?
In today’s world, many young children face a variety of barriers that both disrupt and distract from their learning. In an attempt to tackle this issue, intervention in education is a method used to overcome such barriers and address gaps in children’s progress or attainment by providing additional support in the classroom. Whether it be 1-1 tutoring, group sessions, further resources or education technology – there are many ways to implement intervention methods in schools. Yet, despite the wide range of resources for intervention, it is extremely challenging for teachers to both understand and cater to the specific learning needs of each individual pupil in their class.
Here at Sumdog, it’s our mission to help narrow the attainment gap by supporting as many children as possible! One of the main ways we aim to do this is through our diagnostic test. Noted by the Education Endowment Foundation, diagnostic assessments ‘can give useful insights into pupil learning’ by providing ‘opportunities to reflect on pupils’ thinking, strengths, and weaknesses’. Not only does this benefit children’s experience, but also teachers as they are able to identify gaps in their pupils’ learning and set work accordingly.
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What is the Sumdog maths diagnostic test?
The purpose of the Sumdog maths diagnostic test is to place pupils at the correct working level according to their school’s curriculum. From then on, we are able to personalise their learning journey by recognising the key skills and problem areas to work on. Not only does this massively benefit pupils learning experience, but also allows teachers to understand the unique needs of each child and the ability to track their progress throughout the year. Want to learn more about how it all works? Keep reading to find out more!
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How does the Sumdog diagnostic work for the child?
- When children first log-on, they will be automatically directed to the Sumdog diagnostic test where they will be asked to complete a series of teacher-reviewed questions in a multiple-choice quiz format.
- The first 15 questions will be centered around numeracy and are taken from the level below what the pupil’s expected working level for their year group would be. Their answers to the first 15 questions will then determine the level of questions that the children will see next. The second part of the diagnostic is made up of the remaining 40 questions which cover a range of different maths topics.
- Once the pupil has completed the test, they will be given a score out of 40 and a focus skill according to their results. When children begin to play games on Sumdog, they will be asked questions that centre around their assigned skill. Following this, each child will then work through the skill plan in their curriculum according to their individual working level.
Pupils are given 15 minutes to complete the initial 15 pre-test questions and a further 1 hour to complete the main 40 diagnostic questions. On average, the diagnostic test takes around 30 minutes in total and can be completed in more than one sitting. If for any reason a child is believed to have been placed at the wrong working level, the diagnostic test can easily be reset by their teacher. As a reward for completing the assessment, children will receive their first Sumdog pet. Those who already have a pet will instead receive a pet trick.
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How does the diagnostic work for the teacher?
Once pupils have completed the diagnostic assessment, teachers can view their results in the ‘reports’ page of our platform. By clicking ‘check’ in the diagnostic results section, teachers will be given an overview of children’s ability in their selected class. When viewing the report, teachers will see a list of their pupils’ names followed by their placement level, pre-test score, test score, and scores of specific maths topics. From this, teachers can easily identify strengths and weaknesses across their class and thus gain a deeper understanding of problem areas for individual learners. Additionally, teachers can also select individual pupils to view a detailed breakdown of their test results including percentage of accuracy and how they answered each question.
The Sumdog diagnostic test results can be utilised by teachers in a variety of different ways. For instance, teachers can:
- Create working groups based on shared strengths and weaknesses among classmates.
- Set appropriate homework tasks based on specific problem areas for individual pupils.
- Centre maths lessons around certain topics that require more revision from a large number of pupils.
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Next steps
Our maths diagnostic tool is a great way to help teachers aid intervention in the classroom. Now that you know all about how Sumdog’s diagnostic test can help support and benefit pupils’ learning – why not try it out?
