Catchup Math Teacher FAQ

  • What is the best way to get started with Catchup Math?

    Then, feel free to give us a call and tell us your goals. We will work with you until you are confident that you are giving your students the best chance to succeed with Catchup Math.

  • How do I register students?

    There are three ways to get students registered and ready to use Catchup Math.
    1. Manual Registration - You enter each student's name and assign an individual password which you then give the students. This works best when you have a small number of students to register. (This is the Register One Student option under Student Registration on the Admin page.)
    2. Self Registration - All students are given your school Login Name and a special Group password. When they log in for the first time, they are automatically assigned a unique password based on the registration data they enter. This is more efficient than manual registration as it eliminates the need for you to type in student names and create passwords. (This is the Self Registration option under Student Registration on the Admin page.)
    3. Bulk Upload - Student names and passwords (which could be their student IDs) can be uploaded from a two-column tab-delimited text file with the student names in the first column (e.g. Smith, John) and the chosen passwords (e.g. student ID) in the second column. (This is the Bulk Upload option under Student Registration on the Admin page.)
    For detailed information, please view our Registering Students video.

  • How does Self Registration work?

    Self Registration allows students to receive a personal password and immediately start using Catchup Math. You will first need to create a Group Name and choose a Program to assign to your students. You then give all students the same temporary password, which is the Group Name you just created. Students log in the first time using your school Login Name and this Group Name password, and are prompted to set up their personal password. From then on, the students log in using the school Login Name and their new personal password. You can create your Self Registration Groups by selecting Self Registration under Student Registration on the Admin page. Or, you can choose an existing Self Registration Group by selecting Manage Groups under Student Registration and then choosing from the Group Names listed in red.

  • How do I upload student names and passwords from a file?

    First, create a two-column tab-delimited text file where column 1 has student names (e.g. Jones, Robin) and column 2 has passwords (e.g. student ID). You can use Excel's "Save As..." drop down menu to save as a Text (Tab delimited) file. Then, select Bulk Upload under Student Registration on the Admin page. Create a Group Name and choose a Program to assign to your students. Follow the instructions under Upload Students. Moments later, you are ready to tell students to log into Catchup Math using the school Login Name and their individual passwords.

  • How do I delete a student?

    Select the student from the list on the Admin page, and then select Unregister Student under Student Registration. (Note: if you only want to change the student's password or the spelling of the name, you can use the Edit Student button and the student history will be retained.) To delete multiple students, select Manage Groups (found under Student Registration on the Admin Screen), click on the group of students you wish to delete, and select Unregister Students.

  • How can we group students into different classes or teachers?

    When you register students you are asked to create or use a Group Name. Most schools start Group Names with the teacher's name followed by the class period (e.g., Brown3). The Manage Groups button (found under Student Registration on the Admin screen) gives you some tools to easily make changes to your Groups. For detailed information, please view our Managing Groups video.

  • How can I find out what lesson topics are included in each of the Subject Proficiency, Subject & Chapter, and Graduation Prep programs?

    On the Admin page, click on Program Details and then click on the arrows to the left of the Programs and Sections for which you want the list of topics. Once all your chosen folders are open, you can print the list of topics. For detailed information, please view our Available Content video.

  • How can I use Catchup Math to re-teach a specific Common Core State Standard?

    See our document showing the correlations of CCSS to Catchup Math programs on the Math Educators page of our website.

  • How do I assign content to my students?

    Catchup Math provides a variety of options for assigning content, including Subject Proficiency Programs (reviews a full subject), Subject and Chapter programs (includes material based on scope and sequence correlated with typical textbook chapter topics), Graduation Prep Programs, and Custom Programs. You assign content when registering students. It is easy to re-assign students to different Programs if needed. For detailed information, please view our Registering Students video.

  • What if I'm not sure which Proficiency Program a student should be enrolled into?

    To register that student, select Register One Student under Student Registration on the Admin page. Then select Auto-Enrollment from the Program pull-down menu. This option administers a series of diagnostic quizzes that automatically place the student into the appropriate Proficiency Program based on the quiz results.

  • Can I assign multiple Programs to my students?

    Yes, the Parallel Program tool enables you to assign multiple separate Programs to students, allowing them to "toggle" between their assignments. For example, a student can be working on a Subject/Chapter Program in their regular math class, as well as a separate Proficiency Program in their math lab. Or, teachers can use this feature to assign extra work or a Custom Program or Quiz. Parallel Programs can be found by clicking on the Student Registration button on the Admin screen. For detailed information, please view our Parallel Programs video.

  • What happens when a student completes their program?

    When students complete a program, they advance to the next course or chapter. If students are assigned to the Algebra 2 Proficiency Program, they will advance to the Graduation Prep Program for additional review and practice. If you do not want a student to automatically progress to the next course, you can select "Stop at End of Program" within the Advanced Features option under Edit Student.

  • What if your Proficiency Programs are too difficult for my students?

    For students that need to learn or brush up on basic skills, you can assign one of our built-in Custom Programs called Foundations A and Foundations B. These programs cover selected topics generally covered in grades 3-4 and 5-6 respectively and do not include quizzes. For Detailed information, please view our video entitled Catchup Math for At-Risk and Special Needs Students.

  • If your Proficiency Programs don't follow my curriculum or scope and sequence, can they be edited?

    While the Proficiency Programs cannot be altered, you can select from one of five built-in Custom Programs, one for each core course. These Custom Programs make it convenient to select lesson topics for your students - you can add, delete, and re-order the lessons to match your specific needs. For detailed information, please view our Custom Programs and Quizzes video.

  • How can I filter the list of students on the Admin page to just one class?

    At the bottom left of the Admin page, choose the Group you want from the pull-down menu. You can further refine the listing with the Text Search box. For example, if you want to see all the students in the Brown1 group who are assigned to the Pre-Algebra Program, you would select that Group and then type Pre-Alg in the Text-Search box.

  • Is it possible to sort the students listed on the Admin page?

    Yes, click any column heading and the students will be sorted by that column. This is an easy way to check recent logins and see who is falling behind.

  • What controls can I adjust for groups or individual students?

    • Passing Percent: The default to pass a quiz is 70%. You may change that to 60% (to build confidence) or 80% (to challenge).
    • Show Work: You can require students to show their work on their interactive whiteboards by selecting Show Work, the whiteboard will automatically open when the student is working on the Required Practice Problems. If you use this option, we recommend that you do view the work (an option under Student Detail History) to ensure students are entering meaningful work.
    • Disallow Games: This prevents students from playing the math games. The games do have both learning and motivational value; however, if you find students are spending too much time on the games, at the expense of making progress through their assigned lessons, you may want to disallow games for the entire Group (Manage Groups) or for an individual student (Edit Student).
    • Stop at End of Program: Students are automatically advanced to the next Proficiency Program or Subject/Chapter after completing all lessons in the assigned program. If you do not want this to occur (e.g. advancing to Algebra 1 after completing Pre-Algebra), select the Stop at End of Program option.
    For detailed information, please view our Managing Students video.

  • Can students change their passwords?

    Student passwords are assigned during initial registration either by you or the program (Self-Registration). The student does not have an option to later change this password. However, if a student forgets their password, you can easily view it from the Admin screen. If you decide to change a student's password, you can do so by selecting Edit Student on the Admin screen, changing the Passcode, and clicking Save.

  • What reports are available?

    • Highlights Reports: By selecting Highlights on the Admin screen, you can choose from a variety of reports on a wide range of metrics including Highest Average Quiz Score, Most Failures of Current Quiz, and Group Effort.
    • Most Frequently Assigned Lessons: By selecting the Assessment option on the Admin screen, you can view the top five most frequently assigned lessons to identify the areas where most students are having difficulty.
    • Group Progress: Also under the Assessment option, you can view how many students have progressed to each section of any of the Proficiency Programs by clicking on the relevant tabs.
    • Report Cards: Individual Student Report Cards can be viewed that include a student's current Program and Section, how many quizzes have been passed and the average pass percent, how many times the student has accessed the various resources, and a list of the topics that have been assigned. This feature is available under Student Detail History on the Admin screen. These reports can be printed for your records or shared with parents.
    • Export: By selecting Export on the Admin screen, an Excel spreadsheet containing detailed and overview data for your currently displayed students will be generated and emailed from "registration@catchupmath.com" to the email address you provide.
    Please note that reports can be restricted with a date range (in addition to Group and text filters) using the Date Range filter at the bottom of the Admin page. Students with activity in specified categories and date ranges are selected. Details about individual student and group reports can be found in our videos entitled Managing Students and Managing Groups.

  • Can students view a summary of their own progress?

    • Students can view their current Program and Topic (e.g. Pre-Algebra Proficiency Program, Inequalities) in the upper left corner of their screen.
    • By clicking on the Next button, students can view the status of their progress on prescribed lessons and see which lessons have been completed.
    • Students can view all of their usage and scores by clicking on the Help button and selecting Student History.
    For detailed information, please view our Sample Student Session video.

  • What can I do if I find students are just "clicking through" the Required Practice Problems without really learning the material?

    Students who are not taking advantage of learning from the tutorial practice problems will find they are not making progress and not passing quizzes. If they do not recognize this on their own, you will be able to identify them from the Admin reports (e.g. "Most Failed Quizzes") and speak with them individually. Options to consider might be to require them to Show Work on their electronic whiteboards or pointing out some of the resources they are not utilizing, such as the videos and activities.

  • Why are some lessons missing a video or an activity?

    We continually add new content to Catchup Math. Students will still benefit from the Required Problems and Extra Practice Problems.

  • How much time will it take students to complete a lesson or a Proficiency Program?

    In 2009, we analyzed data from one month of usage in which students using the Proficiency Programs passed more than 28,000 quizzes. Each passed quiz in these Programs demonstrates mastery of one-sixth of the full Program. (Each Proficiency Program is divided into six sections with multiple topics in each section.) On average, students passed a quiz after 2.2 login sessions, which included an average of 4.5 remediation topics reviewed (about two topics per session). Based on this data, students using Catchup Math for two sessions per week could master all topics within a Proficiency Program in approximately six weeks on average.

  • How can I view student work and answers for the Required Practice Problems?

    You can view any work students have entered on their whiteboard by viewing Student Detail History for a particular student, then selecting a particular session from the list and clicking on Show Work. Note that some (not all) of the Required Practice Problems offer students an Enter-Answer option. When students fill in the Enter-Answer box, their answer is not saved for your view.

  • Can I see which questions students missed on their quizzes?

    You can view a student's quiz answers by clicking on the student and then selecting Student Detail History from the Admin screen. Select a particular quiz from the list and click on Quiz Results.

  • Do all students get the same quiz at the beginning of each Program Section?

    Students are rarely looking at the same quiz at the same time. In addition to switching among alternate quizzes within each Program, our quizzes also randomize the order of the questions for two reasons:
    • So students sitting next to each other in a computer lab are not taking the same quiz at the same time.
    • So students who have not passed the quiz will receive a different post-quiz (on the same concepts) after completing all of the assigned review topics.

  • Is it possible to assign additional practice for students that need it?

    You can require students to utilize the Extra Practice Problems (and show their work on their whiteboards) or use the Skill Builders to get additional practice. Also, by viewing the most frequently assigned lessons from the Assessment button on the Admin page, you can determine if there are specific topics for which one or more students may need additional instruction. With this information, you can create and assign Custom Programs, or provide assistance outside of Catchup Math.

  • How do Custom Programs and Custom Quizzes work?

    Teachers can create their own programs by selecting from our extensive list of topics using our Custom feature found on the Admin screen. Also, teachers can create their own pre- and post-tests, quizzes, and exams by selecting from our question bank within the Custom feature. For detailed information, please view our Custom Programs and Quizzes video.

  • How do I know Catchup Math will work on my computer?

    You can easily check to make sure your computer is capable of running Catchup Math by clicking on the Check Compatibility link at the Login Page.

  • Will Catchup Math work on my iPad?

    Yes! You can log into Catchup Math from your iPad with the following url: catchupmath.com

  • How often do you update Catchup Math?

    We add new features, functionality, and content to Catchup Math on a regular basis. You can stay up-to-date on all enhancements by liking us on facebook.com/catchupmath. You can also view updates by clicking on the Recent Updates button at the top of the Admin Screen.

  • What if I find an error or have a suggestion for Catchup Math?

    On the student page, if you click on Help and then Feedback, you can enter a comment that will be associated with that particular lesson or solution and we will review it within 24 hours. To make broader product suggestions, please email us at help@catchupmath.com.

  • What if I receive an Error message or experience technical difficulties?

    Please first try refreshing your screen (F5) and/or Delete Temporary Internet Files in your browser (if you are using IE); Clear Cache (if you are using Firefox). If you still experience difficulties, please visit our Support page.