New for Back-to-School 2025: Our Personalized Mastery Learning system for My Math Academy and My Reading Academy has been significantly improved with an AI-enhanced rebuild that makes the system faster, more accurate, and more responsive. Students start using our programs with a new placement text that is faster and more accurate than ever. The new system delivers more accurate personalization that drives more efficient skills growth, as students will stay in their Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) longer.
Placement: Where Students "Show What They Know"
To provide the optimal learning experience for all students using My Reading Academy, we begin their educational journey each school year with a “show what you know” Placement Test.
- There is only one Placement Test per school year, and it is initiated automatically when students begin using the program.
- There is nothing that teachers need to do other than encourage students to take their time, stay focused, and do their best.
- Placement activities are brief and scaled down for younger kids.
- Make sure your students who may take longer to complete the activities do not feel rushed or pressured by the time.
- Encourage students to take the time they need to accurately reflect their prior knowledge
- Let your students know that if they are not sure of an answer, they should just click on whatever they think is best.
Placement activities are guided by the student’s age group or grade level to help inform our placement activities, which initially target knowledge and skills from the end of the prior grade. Once your student completes placement, our adaptive learning technology evaluates what each student knows, what they don't know, and what they're most ready to learn. Then a personalized learning path is created for each student.
During the placement activities, students will select and engage with single-color placement activity blocks, and they will be introduced to a character named Bitsy.
After the Placement Test
Once the placement activities are completed, students are presented with a choice of books from their bookshelf, allowing them to begin their reading journey at an appropriate level.
Within 24 hours, a Placement Report will be available from your Educator Center Progress Dashboard for all students who completed the required placement activities, with the exception of pre-K students, who do not get a report. (See Placement Report Tips and Troubleshooting.)
Placement Activity Examples
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Learning Objective: Alliteration
In the following Placement Activity, the student will be asked to find a word that starts with the same sound. The student is given several images to tap and a green checkmark appears after the student selects their answer. The student does not receive correct answer or wrong answer feedback after they submit their answer.
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Learning Objective: Rhyming
Benefits of Placement Activities:
- Accurate Initial Placement: By collecting data through placement activities, the system can accurately place students at the most suitable starting point. This ensures that students are neither overwhelmed nor bored with the material, promoting an optimal learning environment.
- Personalized Learning: Placement activities allow the system to determine the individual learning needs of each student. By starting at an appropriate level, students can progress at a pace that suits their abilities, ensuring a personalized learning experience.