www.alabama.stridestart.com
To give parents a greater understanding of Stride, we have assembled frequently asked questions about the program. Students in grades K - 5 use Stride to practice Math, Reading, Science and Language Arts and gradually accelerate learning at their own pace. The competitive, game-based learning environment makes Stride fun and motivational for students, and they may access the program from home as well. If you have additional questions about the administration of this learning program after reviewing the information below, please contact Jana Brewer at her office: 256.549.2936 or jbrewer@gcs.k12.al.us.
Frequently Asked Questions about Stride for Parents:
What is Stride?
Stride is an adaptive learning program that personalizes learning for every student based on his/her needs. Stride uses skill diagnosis to identify each student’s strengths and weaknesses in Math, Reading, Science and Language Arts. Then, the program assigns work to help remediate skill gaps and gradually introduce the student to more challenging content. The goal is to bring each student up to grade-level proficiency on skills and standards they will be tested on at the end of the year.
Why has the District selected this program?
This program was selected because of its ability to diagnose student weaknesses from the first days of school and prioritize skill building to get all students on pace. Stride provides teachers with valuable data to continuously monitor students’ progress and help guide their instructional decision-making in the classroom. Stride is also a great way to provide at-home learning activities for students and parents to do together.
How is the data from Stride used?
Stride continuously gathers data about student performance in order to diagnose skill gaps; to provide differentiated intervention in the form of online skills practice, video lessons and printable lessons; to monitor progress; to guide classroom instruction; and to help predict student proficiency on end-of-year assessment.
How is Stride administered?
Stride is an online program administered in our classroom technology stations and computer labs at school. The program is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from any high-speed internet connection, so your child can access it anytime from home, the library or anywhere else they get online. Each student has their own login code to access their personal Stride account. Ask your child’s teacher if you do not know their login code.
Where does my child login to Stride?
To login, go to www.stridestart.com. Alabama schools may login at http://alabama.stridestart.com.
On what devices is Stride compatible?
Personal Computers:
How often are students assessed with this tool?
Stride delivers two different types of assessments.
Progress Monitoring Assessments are formative assessments that include four parallel test forms for each grade level, testing students on state-required standards and skills. PMAs are administered during four testing windows occurring periodically throughout the year (Window 1: 9/1/15-10/9/15; Window 2: 11/2/15-12/5/15; Window 3: 1/11/16-2/5/16; and Window 4: 3/7/16-4/1/16) in order to continuously monitor student growth on these required standards. PMAs are excellent practice for end-of-year assessment. They are available for grades K-8 in Math and Reading, and grades 3-8 in Science.
Gap Assessments are diagnostic assessments that can be administered three times a year to identify skill gaps. Teachers have the flexibility to administer a Gap Assessment when the timing is right for their class and students. Typically, the Early Gap Assessment is administered at the beginning of the school year, with the Mid Gap Assessment following mid-year, and the Late Gap Assessment administered before end-of-year testing or at the end of the school year or summer program. Gap Assessments are offered in Math and Reading for Kindergarten through Grade 8.
How long do these assessments take?
This depends on the student, as some students work faster or slower than others. Stride assessments each contain approximately 30 questions per subject in each grade level. Stride assessments are not timed, but allow students to work at their own pace. They also allow students to log out and log back in to finish the assessment at another time, if necessary.
How is the program personalized?
Within the first session, the program recognizes a student’s skill weaknesses and immediately fine-tunes intervention to help get them on pace. Students will receive practice questions, video lessons and printable lessons for exactly the skills they need the most help on.
Does Stride prepare for high-stakes testing and technology-based assessment?
Yes. Stride’s curriculum is aligned to (your state) standards for Math and Reading, so students are practicing the very skills they will be tested on. The program features multiple choice and technology-enhanced item types to familiarize them with the item formats used on end-of-year assessment. Additionally, reading passages are written to readability and word count specifications consistent with state accountability tests and the new technology-based assessments.
What accommodations are available for students with special needs?
Students with special needs have access to the same instruction as regular education students in the least restrictive environment, and can work at their own pace from the privacy of a computer or tablet. Automatic voiceover reads aloud lessons (for PreK-Grade 5 content), enabling lower-level readers to work independently. Customized lessons can be printed for more individualized offline practice in school or at home.
Why do students love to work in Stride?
Stride combines learning with exciting video games and peer competitions. Students are rewarded for correct work in the program with brief playing time in the video game of their choice, and they can select from a wide variety of game genres. Meanwhile, they can compete against their classmates and peers for the high score in these games, earning game badges and academic badges along the way.
What materials can parents access?
Parents can receive a Student Progress Report weekly to see how their child is performing in Stride. Request this report from your child’s teacher.
How can I learn more about Stride?
Additional information is available at www.strideacademy.com. Parents are also invited to follow Stride on social media for news, contests and school highlights.
Frequently Asked Questions about Stride for Parents:
What is Stride?
Stride is an adaptive learning program that personalizes learning for every student based on his/her needs. Stride uses skill diagnosis to identify each student’s strengths and weaknesses in Math, Reading, Science and Language Arts. Then, the program assigns work to help remediate skill gaps and gradually introduce the student to more challenging content. The goal is to bring each student up to grade-level proficiency on skills and standards they will be tested on at the end of the year.
Why has the District selected this program?
This program was selected because of its ability to diagnose student weaknesses from the first days of school and prioritize skill building to get all students on pace. Stride provides teachers with valuable data to continuously monitor students’ progress and help guide their instructional decision-making in the classroom. Stride is also a great way to provide at-home learning activities for students and parents to do together.
How is the data from Stride used?
Stride continuously gathers data about student performance in order to diagnose skill gaps; to provide differentiated intervention in the form of online skills practice, video lessons and printable lessons; to monitor progress; to guide classroom instruction; and to help predict student proficiency on end-of-year assessment.
How is Stride administered?
Stride is an online program administered in our classroom technology stations and computer labs at school. The program is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week from any high-speed internet connection, so your child can access it anytime from home, the library or anywhere else they get online. Each student has their own login code to access their personal Stride account. Ask your child’s teacher if you do not know their login code.
Where does my child login to Stride?
To login, go to www.stridestart.com. Alabama schools may login at http://alabama.stridestart.com.
On what devices is Stride compatible?
Personal Computers:
- Macintosh OSX Leopard or better
- Windows XP 32 & 64bit
- Windows Vista 32 & 64bit
- Windows 7 32 & 64bit
- Windows 8 & 8.1 32 & 64bit
- Google Chromebook
- Ubuntu Linux
- iPad1 /iOS6
- iPad2 /iOS6
- iPad3 /iOS6+
- iPad4 /iOS6+
- iPad Mini /iOS6+
- iPad Air /iOS 7
- Non-Apple devices compatible with Stride have:
- Either Window 8.1 or Android 4.1 or higher
- A quad core or higher processor
- 1GB or more of RAM
How often are students assessed with this tool?
Stride delivers two different types of assessments.
Progress Monitoring Assessments are formative assessments that include four parallel test forms for each grade level, testing students on state-required standards and skills. PMAs are administered during four testing windows occurring periodically throughout the year (Window 1: 9/1/15-10/9/15; Window 2: 11/2/15-12/5/15; Window 3: 1/11/16-2/5/16; and Window 4: 3/7/16-4/1/16) in order to continuously monitor student growth on these required standards. PMAs are excellent practice for end-of-year assessment. They are available for grades K-8 in Math and Reading, and grades 3-8 in Science.
Gap Assessments are diagnostic assessments that can be administered three times a year to identify skill gaps. Teachers have the flexibility to administer a Gap Assessment when the timing is right for their class and students. Typically, the Early Gap Assessment is administered at the beginning of the school year, with the Mid Gap Assessment following mid-year, and the Late Gap Assessment administered before end-of-year testing or at the end of the school year or summer program. Gap Assessments are offered in Math and Reading for Kindergarten through Grade 8.
How long do these assessments take?
This depends on the student, as some students work faster or slower than others. Stride assessments each contain approximately 30 questions per subject in each grade level. Stride assessments are not timed, but allow students to work at their own pace. They also allow students to log out and log back in to finish the assessment at another time, if necessary.
How is the program personalized?
Within the first session, the program recognizes a student’s skill weaknesses and immediately fine-tunes intervention to help get them on pace. Students will receive practice questions, video lessons and printable lessons for exactly the skills they need the most help on.
Does Stride prepare for high-stakes testing and technology-based assessment?
Yes. Stride’s curriculum is aligned to (your state) standards for Math and Reading, so students are practicing the very skills they will be tested on. The program features multiple choice and technology-enhanced item types to familiarize them with the item formats used on end-of-year assessment. Additionally, reading passages are written to readability and word count specifications consistent with state accountability tests and the new technology-based assessments.
What accommodations are available for students with special needs?
Students with special needs have access to the same instruction as regular education students in the least restrictive environment, and can work at their own pace from the privacy of a computer or tablet. Automatic voiceover reads aloud lessons (for PreK-Grade 5 content), enabling lower-level readers to work independently. Customized lessons can be printed for more individualized offline practice in school or at home.
Why do students love to work in Stride?
Stride combines learning with exciting video games and peer competitions. Students are rewarded for correct work in the program with brief playing time in the video game of their choice, and they can select from a wide variety of game genres. Meanwhile, they can compete against their classmates and peers for the high score in these games, earning game badges and academic badges along the way.
What materials can parents access?
Parents can receive a Student Progress Report weekly to see how their child is performing in Stride. Request this report from your child’s teacher.
How can I learn more about Stride?
Additional information is available at www.strideacademy.com. Parents are also invited to follow Stride on social media for news, contests and school highlights.
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