Some students may need help understanding or completing a Progress Tool. Providing assistance is appropriate—the goal is to help the student understand the question without influencing their response.
Clarify the Question, Not the Answer
When helping a student, you can:
- Read or repeat the question and response options.
- Explain unfamiliar words or phrases in neutral terms.
- Restate what the question is asking without suggesting an answer.
- Help the student navigate or physically interact with the tool.
- Give the student additional time to respond.
Avoid:
- Telling the student what you think their answer should be.
- Reminding them of examples to encourage a particular response.
- Questioning an answer because you disagree with it.
- Teaching or correcting the skill before the answer is submitted.
A good rule of thumb: If your help could change which answer the student chooses, save that conversation until after they submit.
Measure → Submit → Discuss → Teach
Progress Tools can be a great starting point for conversation and instruction. Just make sure the student's response is captured first.
Measure → Submit → Discuss → Teach
After submission, you can talk about the student's answers, share your perspective, provide feedback, and use the results to guide instruction.
When Should I Choose “With Help”?
Choose With Help when you provide substantive clarification to help the student understand a question or communicate a response.
Simply reading the questions exactly as written can still be recorded as No Help.
“With Help” does not mean the results are less useful. Our review of TRT data found strong practical consistency between No Help and appropriately administered With Help student self-report.
What If I Disagree With the Student's Answer?
Record the student's answer.
A difference between the student's perspective and yours can be valuable information. Discuss it after the Progress Tool has been submitted rather than steering the student toward a different response.
When Should I Use Observer Completion Instead?
Use student self-report whenever the student can meaningfully understand the questions, communicate choices, and reflect on their own skills.
Consider Observer completion when the student has a broader difficulty making meaningful self-appraisals—not simply because you disagree with one or more of their answers.