Product updates August 2024

Product updates | 2024-06-18 | Agnes Smith Jonasson, Head of Product

Product Updates August 2024 - 🔥Autumn mega drop🔥

So many shiny new things to explore! For this autumn we launch the following. All described in more detailed below.

Bigger text size for the assessment
Possibility to assess a pupil on another level then their actual year
Updated national distributions of reading ability
The question after text 1 regarding if the pupil read independently is clarified
Term view statistics gets more info
Class list columns and sorting preferences is remembered
Tables are searchable
Roll up single pupil to the next school year
The automatic removal of staff after inactivity changes from 365 to 600 days
Smaller improvements in assessment app:
1. Your organisation and school is now preselected if you are just part of one
2. When the cursor is on the pupil screen, that is informed on the examiner screen
3. If your computer's mic level is below 90% (our lower limit) it is automatically raised when the app is starting
4. When "Test this pupil" button is disabled, you now see the reason
5. New design for reading comprehension questions

All of the above have ben thoroughly tested with users, and they will be tested again after the release in its intended context. Please reach out to agnes.smith.jonasson@lexplore.com if you would like to be part of the Lexplore product test squad 🌟

1. Bigger text size for the assessment

After getting valuable feedback from you guys, we have now made the text size during the assessment bigger. It scales when possible up to 1,4 times bigger than it was before. If you are on a very small screen (for example 15") the scaling might not be possible, so if you want to get bigger text, make sure to use a slightly bigger screen.

The 1,4 factor was decided on after numerous of tests with customers, and will be tested again after released when used in it's real context.

Example from a big screen (27"):

Before:	After:

2. Possibility to assess a pupil on another level then their actual year

Finally you are able to assess your pupils on any text level!

This can be useful when a pupil struggles to get through the texts for their own year and you would like to see how the pupil would do on a lower leveled text, but can also be used to challenge strong readers.

Some Important details regarding this:

Assessments conducted on another level than the pupils actual year will not be included in the statistics (as a start).
We always recommend to first assess the pupil on it's own level before testing another level. This way you will get a result for the pupil to include in the statistics and vital info of how the pupil performs compared to pupils in their own age.
If the pupil is unable to be assessed in its own level, please mark the pupil as an emergent reader as this alternative will be included in the statistics.
The pupil's result when assessed on another level is compared to the year group of the level of the assessment, not the pupil's own year. This is the reason why it is not included in the statistics.
It is perfectly fine to assess pupils in higher levels than their own year as well. Please make sure to assess the pupil in it's own level first in this case too.

To assess a pupil on another level, simply go to the assessment app and press "Test pupil on another level".

The symbol for an assessment conducted at another level is: , usually found around a result:

Class list

In the class list, the results conducted on another level can either be shown or hidden using a checkbox.
If a pupil has a result on another level, the symbol will show in the Info column, even if that result isn't shown in the list. This is to make it easier to find these assessments. The info column can be hidden.

3. Updated national distributions of reading ability

For the upcoming school year, we have updated our norm curves to better represent pupils' reading development. The comparison material now comes from the most recent four school years.

Compared to previous years, the expected rate of development during the school year will be lower. This means that less progress will be required during the year to achieve a higher result compared to other students.

The Lexplore score is not affected by this change. It will still be possible to track students' individual reading development as before. What changes is the percentile that a given Lexplore score corresponds to, depending on the year group and time of the school year.

Results from previous school years are not affected by this change. Going forward, the norm curve will also be updated continuously, which will make the differences from year to year smaller but still provide a current picture of students' reading ability.

4. The question after text 1 in the assessment regarding if the pupil read independently is clarified

After reading the first text of the assessment, the examiner was previously presented with this question below. The text was long and unclear to many. It wasn't possible either to separate pupils that can read, but not independently, and the pupils that can't read at all. These reasons made us change the question a bit:

How the question looked before (two clicks needed, first to select an option and then continue..):

Now, the question is clarified to only ask Did the pupil read independently?

If you press Yes, the test continues straight to text 2 (only one click needed! ✨)
If you press No, you will get another question regarding if the pupil can read at all. The result will also get a comment about that the pupil didn't read independently.

If you answered No on question 1, the next question is Can the pupil read at all?

If you press Yes, you will get another question regarding if you want to continue of end the test.
If you press No, the pupil will be marked as an emergent reader and the test ends.

If you answered Yes on question 2, the next question is Do you want to continue with the test?

If you press Yes, the test continues to text 2.
If you press No, the test ends.

5. Term view statistics gets more info

We’ve improved the Term View to provide you with a deeper understanding of your pupils' reading progress over the terms:

Number of pupils: Displays the total number of pupils in each school year, to give you a reference to the other data points.
Number of Pupils Assessed: Easily track the total number of pupils who have been assessed within a term.
Percentage of Pupils Assessed: Quickly see the percentage of pupils who have been assessed, giving you a clear overview of your assessment coverage in each term.
Number of pupils on each Reading Ability Level: Gain detailed insights into the distribution of reading abilities within the groups you are looking at. The Term View now displays how many pupils fall into each reading ability level, helping you to identify trends and groups needing attention.

6. Class list columns and sorting preferences is remembered

We’ve made the Class List more convenient to use by remembering your preferences:

Column Preferences Saved: When you customize your Class List by selecting specific columns, such as gender and EAL (English as an Additional Language), our system will now remember these choices. The next time you log in, your preferred columns will be automatically displayed, saving you time and ensuring consistency in your data view.
Sort Preference Saved: In addition, your sorting preference will also be saved. For exampleyou might want to have your class list sorted based on the pupils' reading abilities?

7. Tables are searchable

All tables in the portal are now searchable. It has never been easier to find pupils:

8. Roll up single pupil to the next school year

Expanding on our class roll-up feature introduced last year, we now offer greater flexibility with pupil management:

Single Pupil Roll-Up: In addition to rolling up entire classes, you can now roll up individual pupils to the new academic year. This feature is particularly useful if your classes are being split or if only some pupils are moving forward. You can seamlessly manage pupils who continue while accommodating those who don't, ensuring accurate record-keeping and smooth transitions.

This can be done on pupils that are in a previous school year

9. The automatic removal of staff after inactivity changes from 365 to 600 days

Before, we removed staff after 365 days of inactivity (no login). For some school staff that only logs in around once a year, IT people in particular, this was was causing problems. Therefore, we have now raised the bar to 600 days of inactivity until you are removed.

If you sync your staff with any SIS sync solution, like Wonde, staff list is however updated every night, so your would get removed from Lexplore the night after you were removed from the SIS system.

You can still also always remove staff manually by pressing the trash can next to their names in the staff list in admin view.

10. Smaller improvements in assessment app:

A. Your organisation, school and class is now preselected if you are just part of one

When entering the assessment app, you previously had to select your organisation and school and class, even though you were just part of one. Now this is preselected for you. All unnecessary clicks counts! ✨

B. When the cursor is on the pupil screen, that is informed on the examiner screen

It has been easy to loose the mouse cursor to the pupil screen, and often it can be hard to even know it has left your screen.. This small change will inform you when the mouse cursor is on the pupil screen instead of the examiner screen.

C. If your computer's mic level is below 90% (our lower limit) it is automatically raised when the app is starting

Some computers have a default to set the recording level for the microphone quite low. Lexplore requires a minimum of 90% to get a good recording volume. Therefore, we now identify if the mic level is low and automatically raises it if that's the case. You can always mute or lower the volume efter the app has started as before.

D. When "Test this pupil" button is disabled, you now see the reason

If any of the icons in the top right of the assessment app is red, it is not possible to assess. Then the "Test this pupil" button is disabled, but it can sometimes be hard to understand the reason. Now, when holding the cursor over the disabled button, a reason will appear.

E. New design for reading comprehension questions

To fit more questions on screen and make it clearer which option is selected, the reading comprehension questions in the assessment app have gotten an updated look:

Before:	After:

We hope these updates enhance your ability to manage and develop your pupils' reading skills more effectively. Thank you for your continued support and valuable feedback. We are committed to continuously improving our service to better meet your needs.

Kind regards,

Agnes Smith Jonasson, Head of product