Key takeaways

• Use SchoolAI to generate assessments at different reading levels, without lowering academic expectations

• Spot learning gaps in real time and adjust your instruction before misunderstandings stick

• Provide English learners with better access using visuals, simplified language, and voice or bilingual options

• Build quick checks that actually reflect what your students know, not just how fast they can read or write

When you’re managing diverse learners with different reading levels, language backgrounds, and learning preferences, standard formative assessments often miss the mark. A single exit ticket that asks every student to write a paragraph might tell you more about their writing speed than their actual understanding.

SchoolAI makes it easier to check for understanding in ways that match how your students learn, without compromising rigor. You can use Dot, your built-in AI assistant, to create differentiated assessments in minutes. Instead of modifying each one manually, SchoolAI does the heavy lifting for you, while you stay focused on what matters: helping every student show what they know.

Why traditional quick checks leave some students behind

Picture handing out an exit ticket that says, "Describe the causes of the Civil War in a well-organized paragraph." Half of the class stares at blank paper while others finish in two minutes. Are the silent students confused about history, or are they stuck on paragraph structure? This creates barriers that prevent you from seeing an accurate understanding. 

The problem isn’t always understanding; it’s access. Generic assessments create these challenges:

• Fundamental misconceptions hide behind literacy struggles

• Fast finishers coast by without deep thinking

• Struggling readers get stuck on language, not content

• You can’t tell if students don’t know the content, or just can’t express it quickly

The solution begins before the assessment by designing formative checks that support multiple access points and expression styles.

Try this:

• State your learning goal clearly: "Explain cell division stages."

• Define success: "Name each phase and describe its purpose."

• Focus prompts on the concept rather than reading speed or typing skills

• Provide multiple pathways for students to show what they know

Maintaining this traditionally takes hours you don't have. SchoolAI can change this by adapting the same assessment at numerous complexity levels, helping you separate language and literacy barriers from cognitive demand.

Support diverse learners with better formative assessments

Language and literacy barriers shouldn't hide what your students know. When creating assessments, you can combine four supports within one quick check to help all diverse learners succeed while maintaining academic rigor.

Four key supports for diverse learners:

• Simplified language: Use shorter sentences and familiar words while keeping key academic terms intact. This helps struggling readers, students with learning differences, and English learners

• Visual cues: Have students engage with charts, icons, or graphic organizers that connect concepts to concrete representations. This supports visual learners and students with learning differences

• Multiple response options: Provide voice, visual, or text choices. This accommodates different processing styles and language backgrounds

• Alternative formats: Let students speak, draw, or use interactive elements when more comfortable than traditional writing

Classroom example: In Mrs. Chen's fourth-grade class, a fraction Space might present "Shade 3/5 of the circle" with automatic difficulty adjustments based on each student's recent performance. Advanced students might get improper fractions, while others receive visual scaffolds and step-by-step guidance.

Built-in privacy controls keep student data secure while providing necessary accommodations. Tools that comply with FERPA and COPPA regulations ensure differentiation doesn't compromise data protection.

Troubleshooting common differentiation challenges:

5 steps to build a differentiated quick check for understanding in SchoolAI 2.0

1. Set Up Your Space: In SchoolAI 2.0, create a new Student Space.

2. Add a Standard: In the chat window with Dot, click the 📎 paperclip icon. Select the standard you want the check-for-understanding to align with. Upload any files that might be helpful for the AI to understand.

3. Tell Dot Your Core Learning Objective: Type your central learning goal into the chat (e.g., "How do plants get their energy from sunlight?"). Add any follow-up details about your learners (grade level, reading levels, background knowledge, etc.).

4. Tell Dot to Differentiate the Activity: Tell Dot to differentiate and adapt the experience based on learner-interaction and understanding (e.g., simplified, grade-appropriate, advanced). Tell Dot the preferred response formats (multiple choice, voice response, or diagram) for the formative assessment.

5. Review & Launch: Dot will create a Student Space with Agenda steps. Quickly preview and adjust the output if needed. Share the Space with your class for an instant, a differentiated check for understanding.

Grade-level adaptations (utilizing the Doodleboard PowerUp):

The key is to match cognitive demand to your standards while removing unnecessary barriers.

Quick Space design tips:

• Start by asking Dot to create content at grade level with simplified language options for struggling readers

• Ensure the Space provides sentence starters for struggling responses: (e.g.: If the student is struggling, offer sentence starters or fill in the blank scaffolds like "Gravity makes objects _____ because ______")

• Add a PowerUp to an Agenda step for visual supports that offer multimodal response options (e.g., Doodleboard, MindMap)

• Include a range of engagement in one Agenda step. Start with a simple question, then add a challenge question to stretch thinking.

Use SchoolAI to simplify assessment for every learner

SchoolAI helps you create assessments that meet every student where they are while maintaining rigorous standards. The platform combines multiple tools to make differentiation seamless and sustainable.

Three core features that support differentiation:

1. Dot (AI assistant): Chat with Dot in My Space to adapt language for different reading levels while keeping content aligned to learning objectives

2. PowerUps: Add PowerUps to Student Space to make thinking visible and allow for multiple means of expression

3. Mission Control: Gather relevant insights to reveal patterns in student responses and observe which students need reteaching or extension

SchoolAI also includes built-in translation support, allowing you to communicate directly with English learners and their families in their preferred language. Whether you're giving instructions to a newly arrived student or reaching out to parents about progress, the platform helps remove language barriers without sacrificing instructional clarity. 

Every translation stays compliant with FERPA and COPPA, and you're always in control, approving what’s shared and how it’s delivered.

Making formative assessment reflect real understanding

Traditional exit tickets often test reading speed or writing endurance instead of actual understanding, leaving struggling students invisible while you sort through data that rarely leads to action.

AI-supported assessment changes this completely by adjusting questions to each reader's level, providing instant translation, and showing actionable patterns within minutes. This streamlined approach helps you redirect time toward reteaching and extending learning, rather than creating new assessments.

Ready to start? Create your SchoolAI account and build your first differentiated quick check before your next class. This shift toward personalized assessment creates a classroom where every student feels seen, challenged, and confident to grow.