Table of contents
When should I use Diagnostic Insights?
Diagnostic Insights is especially helpful at key points throughout the year:
Start of the school year or semester: Quickly determine the right diagnostic level for each student based on their history.
Mid-year: Check progress and decide whether students are ready to move to the next level.
After completing practice recommendation activities: Use performance and engagement data to decide next steps.
When new students join your class: See what they’ve already completed and where to begin.
Before assigning practice recommendation activities: Ensure they align with each student’s current needs.
Using the tool during these moments helps ensure students are always working on content that matches their skill level.
How do I access Diagnostic Insights?
To open Diagnostic Insights:
Please navigate to View Reports → Diagnostic Reports → Diagnostic Insights.
Tip 💡
You must be a verified teacher to access this report. If you see an Action required banner, please follow the verification steps that have not yet been completed.
Which Diagnostic report should I use?
If you're looking to... | Go to this page | Navigation Path |
Assign diagnostics based on system recommendations | Diagnostic Insights → History & Recommendations | View Reports → Diagnostic Reports → Diagnostic Insights |
Assign targeted practice activities after a diagnostic | My Diagnostics | View Reports → Diagnostic Reports → My Diagnostics |
See skill-level strengths and weaknesses | Diagnostic Insights → Performance Insights | Same as above |
See student engagement in practice | Diagnostic Insights → Practice Insights | Same as above |
Reminder ⚠️
Recommendations can mean two different things in Quill:
Practice Recommendations = A custom plan of activities assigned after a diagnostic
Recommended Diagnostic = The next diagnostic level the student is ready for
Be sure you’re in the right view depending on your goal.
What are the different Diagnostic Insights views?
Diagnostic Insights includes three key views designed to help you understand and act on student data.
You can toggle between the three different views and toggle between seeing data for students in your different classes in the menu on the left side of the Diagnostic Insights report.
History & Recommendations
The History & Recommendations view provides a clear picture of each student’s Quill Diagnostic journey — including work assigned by other teachers or in past years — and recommends which Quill Diagnostic to assign next. This helps you make sure every student is working on the right skills at the right time.
By Class View
The By Class view within the History & Recommendations view helps you see Quill Diagnostic progress and recommendations for the students in a class at a glance.
Click the History tab to see which Quill Diagnostic the students in a class have completed — and their proficiency for their completions. You will see columns for Starter, Intermediate, and Advanced Diagnostics. If you want to see columns for the ELL Diagnostics, please select the Switch to ELL Diagnostics checkbox.
For each student, you will see a different combination of icons, which indicate different completion statuses.
◇ Unfilled diamond = Pre Diagnostic completed
◆ Filled diamond = Both Pre Diagnostic and Post Diagnostic completed
✔ Check mark in an unfilled or filled diamond = Full proficiency shown on either Pre Diagnostic or Post Diagnostic
Hover over any icon for more details, including completion dates.
Tip 💡
Full proficiency in most skills means that the student has scored 100% on at least 80% of skills on either the Pre Diagnostic or Post Diagnostic.
For example, If a Quill Diagnostic level covers five skills, the student needs to submit correct responses for all the prompts assessing at least four of the five skills to be recommended the next Quill Diagnostic level.
If a student has already completed a higher level Quill Diagnostic before demonstrating full proficiency in most skills assessed by the higher level, Quill may recommend that the student circle back to completing a lower level Quill Diagnostic to ensure that the student has solidly understood more foundational writing skills before moving onto more complex ones.
Click the Recommendations tab to view each student's recommended next Quill Diagnostic level based on their proficiency on the Quill Diagnostics they have previously completed.
Quill recommends the next Quill Diagnostic level based on a structured progression — typically Starter → Intermediate → Advanced — to support skill-building over time, and a student is recommended the next Quill Diagnostic level when they’ve shown full proficiency in most skills in the previous Quill Diagnostic's level.To quickly assign all of the recommended Quill Diagnostics, click the Select all recommended button and subsequently click the Assign diagnostics button.
Tip 💡
You can always override Quill's recommendations. Use your professional judgment to assign any Quill Diagnostic level you believe is best for your students.
By Student View
The By Student view gives you a deeper look at a student’s Quill Diagnostic history, recommendations, and practice and is the ideal view if you are planning the next steps for the student.
You can use the Student dropdown menu or the Previous Student and Next Student buttons to toggle between seeing different students.
In the Diagnostic Recommendation section, you will see a card for each Quill Diagnostic level's Pre Diagnostic. The cards will holistically display the information below.
Whether or not the Pre Diagnostic is currently recommended.
Whether or not you have already assigned the recommended Quill Diagnostic.
In the Diagnostic History section, you will see the student's Quill Diagnostic history, including that of Quill Diagnostics assigned by other teachers.
Each Quill Diagnostic includes four key cards to help you track progress and practice:Pre Diagnostic — Completion date, skill proficiency results, number of questions correct, and a visual donut chart (hover for skill details)
Pre Practice — Activities completed, time spent, and performance breakdown (green, yellow, red)
Post Diagnostic — Same info as that on the Pre Diagnostic card, with Post Diagnostic-specific proficiency results
Post Practice — Same info as that on the Pre Practice card, but for the practice associated with the Post Diagnostic
Performance Insights
Use the Performance Insights view to understand student proficiency in individual writing skills assessed by a Quill Diagnostic. This view is especially helpful for:
Identifying strengths and gaps across your class
Spotting trends in Pre Diagnostic and Post Diagnostic performance
Grouping students by skill proficiency
By Skill View
See how many students in a class showed full, partial, or no proficiency on each skill assessed by a Quill Diagnostic.
By Student View
See each student's proficiency for each skill assessed by a Quill Diagnostic.
Practice Insights
Use the Practice Insights view to understand how students engaged with the practice recommendation activities for a Quill Diagnostic.
By Skill View
The By Skill view shows the information below for each skill.
Total activities completed
Total time spent
The date the skill was last practiced
A breakdown of the performance on the relevant activities among the green, yellow, and red proficiency levels.
By Student View
The By Skill view shows the information below for each student.
Total activities completed
Total time spent
The date the skill was last practiced
A breakdown of the performance on the relevant activities among the green, yellow, and red proficiency levels.
Summary of Diagnostic Insights
Diagnostic Insights gives you a complete picture of each student’s writing skills and helps you make informed, timely instructional choices. Use it to:
Understand Quill Diagnostic history and proficiency
Assign the right Quill Diagnostic
Track growth using Pre Diagnostics and Post Diagnostics
Assign practice based on skill gaps
Group students by needs and personalize instruction
Whether you assign Quill Diagnostics in the beginning or the middle of the year, Diagnostic Insights ensures your students get the right support at the right time.
FAQs
When should I use Diagnostic Insights?
When should I use Diagnostic Insights?
Use Diagnostic Insights whenever you need to check in on student progress or plan your next diagnostic assignment. Key times include:
Start of the school year or semester: Quickly determine the right diagnostic level for each student based on their history.
Mid-year: Check progress and decide whether students are ready to move to the next level.
After completing practice recommendation activities: Use performance and engagement data to decide next steps.
When new students join your class: See what they’ve already completed and where to begin.
Before assigning practice recommendation activities: Ensure they align with each student’s current needs.
Do I still need to assign Growth Diagnostics if I’m using Diagnostic Insights?
Do I still need to assign Growth Diagnostics if I’m using Diagnostic Insights?
Yes. Diagnostic Insights helps you track progress and plan instruction, but Growth Diagnostics are key for measuring how much students have grown after completing a Baseline Diagnostic and completing the practice recommendation activities for the Baseline Diagnostic.
Growth Diagnostics enable you to:
See measurable skill growth
Monitor growth in specific skills
Get practice recommendations tied to student performance
Can I override Quill's recommendation for a Quill Diagnostic?
Can I override Quill's recommendation for a Quill Diagnostic?
Yes. Quill’s recommendations are designed to support your instructional planning; however, you can assign any Quill Diagnostic at any time based on your professional judgment and students’ individual needs.
What if a student demonstrates full proficiency on all Quill Diagnostics?
What if a student demonstrates full proficiency on all Quill Diagnostics?
If a student shows full proficiency on all available Quill Diagnostics, Quill will not recommend additional ones. You can still assign a Quill Diagnostic, but we suggest using targeted practice or exploring other Quill tools — like Reading for Evidence — to keep challenging your advanced students.
Have more questions?
Please feel free to send a message to the Quill team using the green message bubble on the bottom right corner of the screen or email us at support@quill.org.