expert 21 xskills user’s guide - houghton mifflin harcourt · 21book workshops; • options for...

Expert 21 xSkills

User’s Guide

PDF0081 (PDF)

© Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company

Expert 21 xSkllls User’s Guide

Expert 21 xSkills User’s Guide Updated 01.01.16 Table of Contents • 2 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company PDF0081 (PDF)

Table of Contents

xSkills Overview ............................................................................................ 3The Expert 21 Environment .................................................................................. 3About This Manual ................................................................................................ 3

Getting Started in xSkills .............................................................................. 4Logging in to xSkills .............................................................................................. 5Answering Sample Questions ............................................................................... 8

Taking an xSkills Test ................................................................................. 11Navigating the Test Screen ................................................................................. 11Answering Multiple-Choice Questions ................................................................ 12Answering Constructed Response Questions .................................................... 13Answering Writing Prompt Exercises .................................................................. 14Finishing a Test ................................................................................................... 15Viewing Test Results .......................................................................................... 16

Technical Support ....................................................................................... 17


Expert 21 xSkills User’s Guide Updated 01.01.16 xSkills Overview • 3 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company PDF0081 (PDF)

xSkills Overview

xSkills are curriculum-based assessments in Expert 21 designed to monitor content progress, support instruction, and provide summative data. xSkills tests are available in print and interactive formats that can be used after each workshop.

The Expert 21 Environment

xSkills is part of Expert 21, a comprehensive, web-based technology system that provides students, teachers, and administrators with access to programs from any Internet-connected computer. Expert 21 is comprised of three programs—xSkills, Expert Space, and The Reading Inventory—which are all accessible over the Internet. The Student Achievement Manager (SAM), formerly Scholastic Achievement Manager, is the data collection and reporting tool of Expert 21.

About This Manual

This manual covers how to log in and use xSkills. For other reference issues, see the chart below. All manuals are available at the Expert 21 Product Support website (page 17).

For information on: Download this manual:

xSkills program settings and reports SAM Settings and Reports for xSkills

Getting started with Expert 21 and Student Achievement Manager

Expert 21 User’s Guide

Using Expert Space in Expert 21 Expert 21 Expert Space User’s Guide

Using The Reading Inventory The Reading Inventory Software Manual

The Reading Inventory program settings and reports

SAM Settings and Reports for The Reading Inventory

Using SAM and moving data between local and hosted servers

Hosting Services User’s Guide

Getting started in SAM and setting up accounts at the district and school level

Getting Started With Student Achievement Manager

Adding and enrolling students in SAM

Enrolling and Managing Students Using Student Achievement Manager

Using SAM Resources Using Resources in Student Achievement Manager

Using the Book Expert Using the Book Expert in Student Achievement Manager

www.scholastic.com/expert21/productsupport




Expert 21 xSkills User’s Guide Updated 01.01.16 Getting Started with xSkills • 4 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company PDF0081 (PDF)

Getting Started in xSkills

xSkills enables teachers to assess mastery of skills after every 21Book workshop. Teachers may preview xSkills tests before assigning them and customize test-taking options for individual students in SAM. Teachers may also review, comment on, and grade optional Constructed Response and Writing Prompt questions using the Grading Tool in SAM.

xSkills tests includes the following features:

• Audio directions that students may replay at any time during the test (teachers can disable this feature in the Program Settings in SAM);

• Directions in Spanish if language support is selected in SAM;

• Untimed questions, so students are not pressured to answer questions quickly;

• Assessment items that correspond to the skills and strategies taught in the 21Book workshops;

• Options for students to review and change responses prior to submitting;

• Questions that students may skip and return to later (though students must answer all test questions before it can be graded).

• Immediate feedback on incorrect responses after students submit the test.



Logging in to xSkills

Once students are enrolled in xSkills and have been assigned a test, (see SAM Settings and Reports for xSkills) they may log in to xSkills through the Student Access Screen (see the Hosting Services User’s Guide for more information on using the Student Access Screen through Hosting Services).

Click the Expert 21 icon on the Student Access Screen to open the Expert 21 Student Access Screen.





Teacher Tip Keep a master list of user names and passwords handy in case students forget their passwords. Find students’ passwords in their Profile screens on the Roster tab in SAM.

Students launch xSkills from the Expert 21 Student Access Screen. Click the Go button under the xSkills icon to open the xSkills Log In screen.

Students log into xSkills with their Expert 21 usernames and passwords. Enter user name and click Go On, then enter password and click Go On.



Teacher Tip Audio directions are translated into Spanish to support English language learners. Enable this support in the xSkills Settings tab in the Expert 21 Program Settings in SAM.

Students who do not have tests assigned to them by their teachers see a screen indicating that a test has not been assigned. If students see this screen, perform the following steps:

1. Have students click Quit to exit xSkills.

2. Click the Expert 21 Settings link to access to the xSkills Test Assignment Tab in SAM. Assign a test to students.

3. Have students log back in to xSkills. Students then advance to the directions for the sample questions.



Answering Sample Questions

When students log in, they see the Directions Screen, which provides onscreen and audio directions. Before students take an actual test, the program requires them to answer two sample questions. This familiarizes students with the test format and makes sure they understand the test-taking directions.

If Audio Directions are enabled in SAM, students hear the instructions automatically once. Students may repeat the audio instructions at any time by clicking the speaker icon

Students must answer at least one of the two sample questions correctly in order to begin the actual test. The program instructs students who answer both questions incorrectly to ask a teacher for help.



Sample questions are not counted in a student’s test grade. To answer sample questions, students click one of the multiple-choice selections onscreen.

Once students select their answer, they click Go On to proceed to the next question.

After correctly answering at least one of the two sample questions, students read or listen to the directions for the actual test.



Teacher Tip Students who quit in the middle of a test skip the Directions screen the next time they log in and go immediately to the last unanswered question.

Once students read or listen to the directions, they click Go On to begin the test.


Expert 21 xSkills User’s Guide Updated 01.01.16 Taking and xSkills Test • 11 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company PDF0081 (PDF)

Taking an xSkills Test

Students may take the xSkills test assigned to them once they have finished the sample test. Each test has 40 questions with four optional responses.

Navigating the Test Screen

The Test Screen is the main screen of the xSkills program. The top shows the type of question on screen (comprehension, etc.) and the directions for answering the question. The bottom of the screen shows the Progress Bar, which students may use to move through the questions on the test. They may click the next question, skip questions, or return to previously viewed questions. The middle of the screen contains the passage, question, and answer choices.

From the Test Screen students may:

• Select their answer to a question;

• Click the speaker icon to hear the audio directions repeated;

• See the number of questions they have completed in the Progress Bar;

• Click Skip to answer a question later;

• Click Help to receive audio assistance;

• Click Go On to proceed to the next question;

• Click Done when they have answered all the test questions;

• Click Quit to exit xSkills.



Answering Multiple-Choice Questions

The first 22 items are multiple-choice and focus on the literary and informational reading passages that assess four 21Book workshop skill areas:

• Comprehension includes summarize, compare and contrast, and cause and effect;

• Literary Analysis includes theme, dramatic elements, and author’s style;

• Navigating Text includes interviews and maps;

• Word Analysis including synonyms and antonyms, roots, and noun suffixes.

Use the scroll bar to continue reading the passage.

To answer a multiple-choice question, students:

• Select an answer by clicking A, B, C, or D; students may change answers before going on to the next question;

• Click Go On to proceed to the next question.

After the reading passages, students complete 10 vocabulary items to assess target words from the workshop. Students read each sentence and select the best definition for the underlined word.

The final section assesses writing and grammar. Students read a writing sample in which each sentence is numbered in parentheses. The following eight items refer students back to the text to identify errors.

Students click Skip to skip that question and come back to it later. Students must either choose an answer or click Skip to move to the next question.



Teacher Tip Speak to students before they start their Constructed Response Question. Give them guidelines and tips, such as how long their answers are expected to be, or suggest that they write their answer out on paper first before they type it into the computer.

Answering Constructed Response Questions

Teachers may include up to three Constructed Response questions using the Expert 21 Settings link in SAM. These short answer questions connect directly with the reading passages in the xSkills test. There is one constructed response question for each passage; the third question asks students to compare an element in both passages.

To answer a Constructed Response Question, students:

1. Review the text passage on the left side of the screen, using the scroll bar to see the text for longer passages.

2. Type their response directly into the text box on the right. A scroll bar appears if the answer goes beyond the size of the text box.

When students are finished with their responses, they click Go On to proceed to the next question or Done when they have answered all the questions on the test.



Teacher Tip The answer order for each question on an xSkills test is randomized for each student. Students taking the same test see their answers in a different order.

Answering Writing Prompt Exercises

Teachers may include a Writing Prompt at the end of an xSkills test using the Expert 21 Settings link in SAM. This extended writing requires students to complete a short reading and write a well-developed response with correct grammar, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation.

To answer a Writing Prompt, students type their response directly into the text box. A scroll bar appears if the answer goes beyond the size of the text box.

When students are finished with their responses, they may click the number of any question to go back to it. Students may also click the question numbers to double-check any of their answers. If they have answered all the questions on the test, students click Done to finish the test.

The Done button does not appear unless all questions have been answered.



Teacher Tip Have students print the Results screen to track their progress by comparing current results to those of their last test.

Finishing a Test

When students click Done, xSkills checks to make sure all questions are answered. Students are prompted to answer questions they skipped and to review their work. Students may take a few moments to carefully double-check all their answers, and may use the Progress Bar to move to any question that they want to check or change. The Progress Bar indicates skipped questions in yellow and answered questions in blue. Once students have answered all skipped questions, they may click Done again.

When students click Done for the second time, all responses are recorded as final and the test is evaluated. Students may not do any further work at that point.



Viewing Test Results

The Review Screen allows students to see how well they performed on their current test and compare those results to their last test.

Results appear as a raw score (e.g., 28 out of 40 correct) as well as a percentage.

Students may click Print to print out the Review Screen. When they are finished viewing the results, they may click Quit to exit the program.

Teachers may adjust the xSkills Program Settings in SAM to show correct and incorrect answers. If this setting is enabled, students may use the Progress Bar to return to any question screen they wish. A green check appears next to the correct answer. A red “X” appears next to each incorrect answer.

If Constructed Response Questions or a Writing Prompt were included as part of the test, students do not see these results. Teachers must score the written responses in SAM.

After reviewing their test results, students may click Print to print out their tests and results or click Quit to exit xSkills.


Expert 21 xSkills Tests User’s Guide Updated 01.01.16 Technical Support • 17 © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company PDF0081 (PDF)

Technical Support

For questions or other support needs, visit the Expert 21 Product Support website at: www.hmhco.com/expert21/productsupport.

At the site, users will find program documentation, manuals, and guides, as well as Frequently Asked Questions and live chat support.

For specific questions regarding the SAM, contact customer service to speak to a representative at: 1-800-283-5974.

For specific questions about using SAM and SAM Suite programs, click Help in the Quick Links section along the top of any screen in SAM.



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