Create a “mock” Regents Exam

Posted on May 8, 2013 by castlelearning

The January 2013 NYS Regents Exam is now live and located in the Public Assignments section in the course: English (HS).

With the recent enhancements to Castle Learning, teachers can view and administer all parts of the exam in one assignment. Now teachers can include multiple choice, constructed response, multiple reading sets, and even listening selections all in the same assignment. And that means teachers can use Castle Learning to administer a true “mock” NYS Regents exam.

To import the January 2013 NYS Regents Exam into your assignment list:

Click Assignments from the Teacher Center
Click Import From Public Assignment on the Assignments Page
Click the blue plus sign to expand English (HS)
Click the blue plus sign to expand Castle Assignments
Click the blue plus sign to expand New York
The assignment name is “NYS Regents-January 2013″
Click the name of the of the assignment to view; check the box to select for import
When you’re ready, click Import at the top left of the page

The English Curriculum Team plans to adjust the former Regents-style public assignments to the new format in the future.

Easily Display Newest Questions First

Posted on May 7, 2013 by castlelearning

Have you ever wanted to sort available questions so that you can see the newest additions to Castle Learning’s question database right away? Good news…you can!

Displaying the newest questions first is easy! Check the box labeled “Display newest questions first” on the Browse Questions page, and you’re all set!

Castle Learning Customer Support is ready and happy to help with any questions you have. You can email them, or call (800) 345-7606 ext. 1. Happy searching!

Civics and Economics Question Additions & NC Civics and Economics Essential Standards Alignment

Posted on April 27, 2013 by newsletter

The Social Studies Content Team added new high school level multiple choice questions to the Government & Citizenship and Economics areas of the Social Studies course topic tree. The questions were written with North Carolina schools in mind, but there are many new questions that are broad enough for use in all states.

The new questions can be found in the sections featuring Citizenship Knowledge, United States Government, Macroeconomics, Economics and the Government, and Global Economics.

To find the newest questions, search by Levels (J,K,L) and choose the topic you would like to view. After clicking the “Show Choices and Show me questions” button, choose the “Last” link on the top left.

In addition, all new questions, along with existing questions, have been aligned to the North Carolina Civics and Economics Essential Standards. To find these, search using the Standards filter on the Question Criteria page as shown below.

All Social Studies Questions Now with Bloom’s & Webb’s Correlation

Posted on April 27, 2013 by newsletter

The Castle Learning Social Studies Content Team is pleased to announce the completion of: Bloom’s Taxonomy and Webb’s Depth of Knowledge Levels Correlation Project.

Each question is correlated to:

Bloom’s Cognitive Level
Bloom’s Knowledge Level
Webb’s Depth of Knowledge Level

Teachers can search for Multiple Choice, Fill-in-the-blank and/or Constructed Response questions correlated to Bloom’s and Webb’s by clicking on the Additional Criteria filter box on the Question Criteria page.

When you get to the Additional Criteria, open the ‘Attributes Filter’ and choose the level(s) of questions you would like to review.

HELPFUL HINT: Make sure all the available Tags are selected for a more thorough search.

In addition, remember that Castle Learning reports will show your students’ success rates on each level included in your assignment, whether you searched for them specifically or not.

New “Select All that Apply” & “Multi-Option” Question Formats in Math!

Posted on April 27, 2013 by newsletter

The Math Content team has correlated nearly 2,000 more questions using Webb’s Depth of Knowledge and Bloom’s Revised Taxonomy. We anticipate having our entire math database correlated to these two taxonomies by the end of the year.

With the introduction of the Common Core, we are developing new questions using different formats. One such question format is “Select All that Apply”. The second question format is “Multi-Option”. Below are examples of each new format:

“Select All that Apply”

“Multi-Option”

Exciting Enhancements to the Castle Learning Experience!

Posted on April 12, 2013 by castlelearning

New Assignment Mode Flexibility!

The Development team is proud to release a long-awaited assignment mode update. The enhancement provides increased flexibility along with additional options for teachers when assigning work to students. Navigating the new format is easy; just ask yourself these questions.

Mode section: What type of feedback format do I want my students to have?
If you want	Choose this
Two chances at a correct answer with hints & reasons	Open
One chance at a correct answer with no feedback	Quiz
To gather the student answers offline and then upload to Castle Learning	Offline

Availability section: When can my students access the assignment?
If you want	Choose this
Any time they want	Always
From a certain date to a certain date	From/To
Any time, but only for a certain amount of time once they start the assignment	Timed

Additional options section: What other options do I want for the assignment?
If you want	Choose this
To randomize the order of questions for each student	Randomize questions
Disable the text-to-speech integration	Disable ReadSpeaker
Lock each question after a student answers it	Auto-lock (Open mode only)
Allow students to change their answers OR display a student’s grade after completion	Check the appropriate box (Quiz mode only; one selection only)

Constructed Response Questions now with Added Scoring Flexibility

Teachers will now find they can adjust the maximum points available for constructed (extended) response questions. Maximum points can be adjusted from 1 to 25 for each CR question in an assignment. This added flexibility allows teachers to weigh questions however they deem appropriate within their assignment. To adjust, use the slider under the Question Options section of the Assignment Editing page.

ELA Sampler Exams Now Available for Grades 3-8

Posted on April 10, 2013 by castlelearning

The English Content Team has constructed sample ELA exams for grades 3 to 8. The sample exams reflect the changes indicated by New York State, and assess what students know and can do relative to the grade-level Common Core Learning Standards for English Language Arts. Each grade level sampler has the same number of reading passages as specified in the “Educator Guide to the 2013 Common Core English Language Arts Test.” A variety of passage genres are represented in the samplers, and each sampler has a balanced mix of nonfiction, fiction, poetry and comparison passages. The samplers also include constructed (extended) response type questions so teachers and students can better prepare for Book 3 and Book 4.
To add a sampler to your list of assignments:

On the Teacher Home Page click Assignments
Click the button to Create From Public Assignments
Click the blue plus sign to expand English & Foreign Languages
Click the blue plus sign for Elementary English (Grades 3 to 5) or Intermediate English (Grades 6 to 8)
Click the blue plus sign to expand New York
Exams are labeled “NYS Sampler Exam 2013: Grade __: Book __”
- Click the name of an exam to preview the contents of the exam
- Check the box next to the name of an exam to mark it for import
When ready, click the Import button to add the selected exam(s) to your assignment list. You will then be returned to the Assignments page where you can review, modify and/or assign the exam.