Types of diagnostic and summative assessment available in LaunchPad for A Writer’s Reference, 9th edition

LaunchPad for A Writer’s Reference comes fully loaded with many types of assessment—from formative activities that support skill building to comprehension quizzes and grammar exercises to interactive tutorials. Here’s an overview of the types of assessment available to you and your students.

Diagnostics

Looking to get an idea of your students’ proficiency with some core reading and writing skills? LaunchPad for A Writer’s Reference includes eight diagnostic tests, a pre- and post-test covering

• Sentence Grammar
• Punctuation, Style, and Mechanics
• Reading Skills
• Reading Strategies

Each test includes access to class and roster reports that allow you to see student performance overall and by subtopic.

If you have assigned both the pre- and post-test for a topic, you will have access to comparison reports. These reports are accessible through the instructor dashboard inside each post-test.

You can use the diagnostic comparison reports to

• Track improvement across multiple sections or across a program (reports are exportable)
• Create opportunities for students to see a visual representation of their progress in the course (reports can be printed for students)
• Continually adapt your teaching based on real performance data

Exercise Central

In addition to the Hacker exercises associated with A Writer’s Reference, LaunchPad includes Exercise Central quizzes. Bedford/St. Martin’s Exercise Central has been a longtime favorite of instructors and students who want an effective way to practice building skills that are critical to students’ success as college writers. A bank of Exercise Central quizzes is available in your LaunchPad, allowing you to

• Offer additional interventions based on your students’ diagnostic quiz results
• Assign pre-built exercise sets on the fly, as you notice patterns of error in your students’ writing
• Create and edit custom quizzes that match the needs of your students
• Offer quizzes that allow multiple attempts so that students can continue to practice concepts until they are closer to mastering them

To learn more about adding Exercise Central quizzes to your course, see How do I add Exercise Central questions to my quiz?