When your pupils first log in to Freckle and select Maths, they will be taken straight to the baseline you chose for them. If you did not choose a baseline, pupils can select Practice Maths to visit the domain selection page, which looks like this:
The baseline will start automatically the very first time your pupils pick one of the domains shown. Each domain has its own baseline, so the first time the pupil works on any domain, they will take one. This is important because a pupil who is great at number sense may not be great with fractions or vice versa.
Year 1 pupils do not take baselines. They begin each domain at level 1, and Freckle adapts from there.
Number Basics and Number Facts do not have baselines; all pupils start at level 1.
Once pupils select a domain, the screen below will appear.
When pupils select Get Started, they will be taken through a series of questions. As pupils get questions correct, the questions become more difficult.
The program will work to isolate the perfect starting level for a pupil, based on what they already know and/or still need to work on.
Once the program has determined the perfect level for a particular pupil, it will end the baseline and show the pupil a message like the one below.
Freckle will then return pupils to that particular domain's home screen, where they can now choose to begin practising at their level. Notice how the screen shows that the pupil was placed at Level 25. Through the baseline, the pupil has demonstrated that they have mastered the previous levels.
Some other things to note about the baseline:
- The baseline is capped at 12 questions but may end more quickly for some pupils.
- If a pupil starts a baseline but does not complete it in one sitting, they will have to start over the next time they access that domain.
- You can always view the baseline results on your Freckle Teacher Home. To find these results, open maths reports, then select Maths Levels. This report will show pupil baseline results and current levels across domains.
If you ever feel that the results of the baseline are not accurate for a given pupil, there are usually two reasons:
- The pupils did not know to try their hardest on the test or they did not have enough time to work on it (we recommend 30 minutes to be safe).
- The pupils are generally at a high level but have some gaps in their understanding. The baseline stops the first time it finds a significant gap for a pupil, and has them start practice there.
In either case, there is no need to worry. From the Maths Levels report, you can select Edit Level to reassign the baseline or choose the desired level for individual pupils.