Exact Path Knowledge Map vs. Current Activities: 5 Questions Your Data Can Help You Answer

So, you know that your Exact Path program is chock-full of important learning path data to better understand your students’ needs and to guide your instruction, but do you always know where to turn to get your most common data questions answered? Let’s take a closer look at two powerful and fan favorite learning path reporting areas—the Knowledge Map and Current Activities views—and dig into five questions they can help you answer.

What are my students working on in their learning paths right now?

Turn to Current Activities for this one. This data view is just what it sounds like—your one-stop shop for what is currently happening in your students’ learning paths. Start here to see the precise skills each student in your class has access to in that moment and how the student is tracking on that work so far. Is anyone actively struggling? Use the struggling tab to filter for just those students. Is there recent mastery to celebrate? Look for green dots to indicate this. The Current Activities view will help shape your focus to what’s happening right now and clue you in to what skills are up next.

How can I find out where each student is tracking for a specific skill?

Let’s turn to the Knowledge Map here. Picture this—you’re preparing an upcoming lesson on cause and effect, but you first might want to know which students are ready for it and which have mastered this concept. From the Knowledge Map, find the specific skill across the top and follow that column down using the skill status legend to discern who is struggling, practicing, mastered, and more with a quick look. Notice that half the class hasn’t reached this skill yet? Consider some pre-teaching, and focus on establishing background knowledge first. See that only two students have yet to grasp the concept while everyone else has moved on? Try out some small-group teaching and shorter spiraled whole-group reinforcement.

What does the entire (possible) skill progression look like?

Go to the Knowledge Map again for this answer. Exact Path only delivers the skills that students need, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t an entire progression spanning from grades K–12 hidden behind the scenes. Our proprietary progression is in place for all three subjects: math, reading, and language arts! The Knowledge Map will help you understand what each skill is, where it fits in the larger K–12 sequence, and what standards those skills are aligned to specifically support. You can even export this information if you’re looking for a full picture via a PDF.

Did students receive built-in remediation, and what did that Building Block look like?

While you can track Building Blocks inside of both areas, your Current Activities view offers a clearer historical record. This is because, from the Current Activities view, you can also see exactly what Progress Checks students have already completed and which skills they mastered on each one. For example, in the graphic below, I can tell that a red dot associated with a Progress Check means that Kaden was unsuccessful on Illustrations. Looking to the right, I can tell that the Building Block he received is a prerequisite skill focused on Images and Illustrations. As he continues to work through his individualized path, his remediation journey is carefully tracked.

How do I dig deeper to understand how students actually responded to questions?

Both the Knowledge Map and Current Activities views provide access to this information for active skills, but the Knowledge Map goes a step deeper to cover all historical skill details too. From either view, friendly color-coding clues you in on overall performance, but likely that information sparks more questions: When was this work completed? Have students made multiple attempts? What actual questions did they answer right and wrong?

When you click on any skill, you’ll notice the learning drawer pop up. This area breaks down a skill into the individual lesson parts, giving you insight on lesson completion date and number of attempts, and it allows you an opportunity to review the actual responses students submitted. In Current Activities, you can see all of this for currently active skills only, but in the Knowledge Map, you can explore precise details for all historical skill progress as well. Exploring this information can inform you where learning breaks down and offer a springboard for in-the-moment reviewing and reteaching.

Want to learn more about the learning path experience inside of Exact Path? Check out our Unpacking Exact Path blog post for a deeper look and an accompanying infographic. Get more guidance on a successful implementation using our Getting Started Resources page.