Math Assessments

Every Math assessment is adaptive and student-led. The platform assigns one assessment per Domain, picks where each student starts, and ends each one automatically. You get students started and keep an eye on progress.

Assigned for you. Pre- and post-assessments land on each Session automatically.
One per Domain. Each Domain in the group’s Program has its own pre- and post-assessment.
Student-led. Students work on their own. You don’t score anything.
No calculators. Unless a Braintrust Tutors team member says otherwise.

Pre- and Post-Assessments at a Glance

Math groups take a pre-assessment and a post-assessment for each Domain they study. They work the same way both times. The platform assigns them; you get students started.

Pre-Assessments

Start in the second Session, after the icebreaker.
Students take one pre-assessment for each Domain in the group’s Program, all at the start. Each one takes about a Session.
Results set the group’s Building Blocks and Starting Lesson in each Domain.

Post-Assessments

Given when the group finishes a Domain’s lessons. If the Program ends first, they happen in the group’s last 3 Sessions.
The platform adds them to your agenda automatically. Start them as soon as they appear.
Results show how much each student has grown. A student who doesn’t finish can’t have growth measured.
If students finish before the engagement ends, assign lessons for the remaining Sessions. The platform doesn’t add them back on its own.

Both times, each assessment is student-led, assigned to the Session for you, ends on its own, and takes about one Session. No calculators, and every student needs to finish.

Domains by Grade Band

Math is taught in Domains. Each Domain in the group’s Program has its own pre- and post-assessment, and each covers every grade, so students start at a point matched to their grade. Groups work through the Domains for their grade band in this order:

Order	Grades K-2	Grades 3-5	Grades 6+
1	Number Sense & Place Value (NSPV)	Number Sense & Place Value (NSPV)	Number Sense & Place Value (NSPV)
2	Addition & Subtraction (ADSU)	Addition & Subtraction (ADSU)	Multiplication & Division (MUDI)
3	Geometry (GEO)	Multiplication & Division (MUDI)	Fractions & Proportional Reasoning (FRAC)
4	Measurement (MEAS)	Fractions & Proportional Reasoning (FRAC)	Algebra (ALGE)
5		Geometry (GEO)	Geometry (GEO)
6		Measurement (MEAS)	Measurement (MEAS)

Where Assessments Fall in the Program

Pre-assessments happen once, right after the icebreaker, for every Domain in the Program. Post-assessments happen at the end of each Domain. Auto-assignment fills in each Session’s agenda as it comes up.

First Session - Icebreaker. No assessments yet. The first scheduled Session is for getting to know the group. Online groups also do a quick device check (webcam, microphone, speakers).
Right after - Pre-assessments. Each student takes one pre-assessment for every Domain in the group’s Program, all at the start. Each takes about a Session. When most of the group (60%) has finished, the group moves on to lessons. Students who still owe a pre-assessment keep getting it.
Each Domain - Building blocks and lessons. The group works through its Building Blocks, then its Starting Lesson, then that Domain’s lessons in order, up to the group’s grade level. Lessons are auto-assigned one Session ahead.
End of each Domain - Domain post-assessment. When the group finishes a Domain’s lessons, that Domain’s post-assessment is assigned. Once most of the group (60%) has finished it, the group moves to its next Domain and starts with that Domain’s Building Blocks. The group won’t start a new Domain with fewer than 5 Sessions left.
Last 3 Sessions - Final post-assessments. The group’s last 3 Sessions are reserved for the post-assessment of the Domain it is in, so every student finishes before the Program ends. If students finish early, assign lessons for the remaining Sessions.

Getting Students Into the Assessment

On your Dashboard, select Begin Session on the card at the top for your upcoming Session (see The Next Session Card). You don’t need to assign anything.
Students select Join Session on the card at the top of their own Dashboard. Their agenda says Assessment. If you’ve already started, students see an In Progress label - they still select Join Session.
Open the Resource Drawer (the blue arrow button) and select the assessment’s tab (it’s named for the assessment). A Pre or Post label on the tab’s page tells you which one it is. To preview an assessment, use Preview on the Session Agenda tab, which opens it in the Curriculum Library.
Select Launch for Students. Each student’s drawer opens to the assessment’s title screen, where they select Start.

The Resource Drawer with the assessment's tab open, the Launch for Students button, and the Student Progress Summary

The Next Session card showing the time, program, Session Agenda, and Begin Session button

A few things to have in place:

Each student needs their own device, signed in to their own account.
Students see a title screen with Start, or Continue if they left off last time.
Students may have more than one Domain assessment assigned. They work through them in order.
No calculators unless a Braintrust Tutors team member says otherwise.
Online: put each student in their own breakout room and float between them. How to use breakout rooms

For more on opening the room, see Starting a Session.

Reading the Student Progress Summary

Each student gets a column in the Student Progress Summary.

Status (under each name) - Not Started, In Progress, or Complete. Complete means the student finished their own question path. Students stay Not Started until they select Start on their title screen, so absent students won’t look like they’re working.
Score - shows Pending until the student finishes, then correct out of questions presented (for example, 8/10).
Correct and Incorrect - count answers so far. They show -- before the student starts.
Time since last answer - helps you spot who may be stuck. It only counts answers submitted while you’re connected to the Session.

Totals differ by student. That’s expected on an adaptive assessment.

The live results table showing each student's status, correct and incorrect counts, and time since last answer

Why Students Get Different Questions

Each Domain assessment covers every grade. A student starts at their own grade-level starting point, skips ahead when they’re strong, steps back when they struggle, and stops once the platform has what it needs.

Strong answers skip ahead. Several correct in a row (three, in a simplified example) jumps the student forward. Skipped questions count as correct for now, and the jump stops at an essential question, which is never skipped.
A miss at the start steps back. If a student misses the first question at their starting point, that signals the start is too high. The assessment moves right away to the starting point for the grade below, so they’re working at a level they can access. Placement reflects the grade where the student actually performed.
Struggling right after a jump steps back to the skipped section. If the student’s percent correct on recent answers drops too low after a jump, the jump was too far. The student returns to the skipped section, and the skipped questions become unanswered again. Questions the student already answered keep their answers.
Above-grade questions never lower the score. A student who reaches the end of their grade band may keep going to show above-grade skills. Those questions aren’t scored.
It ends on its own. A set number of misses in a row, or a miss past the grade band, ends the assessment.

Real assessments have more questions than these examples, and the curriculum team sets the thresholds for each assessment.

What the Results Do

You don’t need to make any decisions from results. Pre-assessment results set where the group starts in each Domain; post-assessment results measure growth. You can check them any time.

Viewing Results

In the left-hand menu, select My Students.
Open the Groups tab and select the underlined group name.
Go to the Student Performance tab to see each student’s status and score. See Student Performance.

After Pre-Assessments: Where to Start

The Where to Start card on the group’s Details tab shows what the results set. See Your Group’s Details.

Step 1 lists the group’s pre-assessments.
Building blocks are required and taught in the order listed. They often come from earlier grades and may skip between grades. That’s intended.
Starting lesson comes after the building blocks. The group then moves through that Domain’s lessons in order.

The card covers the group’s current Domain, and it’s set for the whole group, not for each student. Steps 2 and 3 fill in as results come in and recalculate whenever new results arrive or the group’s students change.

The Where to Start card showing Step 1 pre-assessments, Step 2 building blocks, and Step 3 starting lesson

Stop at the Group’s Grade Level

Lessons in a Domain shouldn’t go beyond the group’s grade. In the Curriculum Library, filter by grade to see where a Domain ends.

Set the grade filter to the group’s grade (for example, 3rd grade to 3rd grade).
The last lesson listed is where the Domain ends for this group. For a 3rd grade group in Number Sense & Place Value (listed as Number Systems in the Curriculum Library), that’s 3.33: Estimating using place value. After that, the group takes the Domain’s post-assessment.

The Curriculum Library filtered to 3rd grade Math, with the last lesson in the Domain at the bottom of the list

After Post-Assessments: Growth and the Next Domain

When a student finishes a Domain’s post-assessment, the platform compares it with their pre-assessment to measure their growth.
Once most of the group (60%) has finished the post-assessment, the group moves to its next Domain automatically. It only moves into Domains it was pre-assessed in.
The group won’t start a new Domain with fewer than 5 Sessions left. It finishes the engagement in its current Domain.
Students who still owe a post-assessment keep getting it assigned alongside the group’s new work.
Growth can only be measured for students who finish both the pre- and post-assessment, so make sure every student completes it.

Common Questions

Can students use a calculator?

No, unless a Braintrust Tutors team member has specifically said so for your group.

A student was absent on an assessment day. What do I do?

Nothing extra. A student who still owes an assessment gets it assigned again at the next Session they attend, even after the group has moved on. If a student attends 4 Sessions without finishing a pre-assessment, you’ll get an email reminder.

A student didn’t finish before the Session ended.

Progress saves automatically. Next Session they’ll see Continue and pick up where they left off.

Why do my students have more than one assessment?

There’s one pre-assessment for each Domain in your group’s Program, and they’re all given at the start. Students work through them in order.

Why are some building blocks from a lower grade?

Building blocks fill gaps the pre-assessment found, and those gaps are often from earlier grades. Teach them in the order listed, even when they skip between grades.

When do post-assessments happen?

When the group finishes a Domain’s lessons, the platform assigns that Domain’s post-assessment. If the Program is ending first, it’s given in the group’s last 3 Sessions. If students finish before the end of the engagement, assign lessons for your remaining Sessions.

A student’s post-assessment didn’t show growth. What happens?

They may be reassigned the post-assessment. Let the student know why: they’ve been taught this material and have shown mastery of the skills in lessons, so a post-assessment without improvement usually reflects the effort they put in, not their potential. Encourage them to slow down and show what they know.

Can I end an assessment early?

No. Assessments end on their own. If a student has been on the same assessment for several Sessions and seems stuck, contact Tutor Support, who can close it for you.