Table of Contents
Using Smart Groups to Identify Standards-Based Needs
Smart Groups allow you to quickly see which students or standards are excelling, approaching goals, or in need of extra support.
They are powered by the Momentum Score Goal, which defaults to 80 but can be adjusted.
Meeting Goal: Scores at or above your goal
Approaching Goal: Scores within 10 points below your goal
Needs Support: Scores more than 10 points below your goal
Needs More Practice: Low exposure (≤5 questions), regardless of score
You can use these groups to guide both activities in Quill and in-person interventions, such as small-group instruction or one-on-one support tailored to specific curriculum requirements.
Assigning Targeted Practice
Because standards capture broad requirements, they often map to multiple specific writing and grammar skills. To ensure students receive the most relevant practice, you assign activities via the skill category rather than the standard itself.
Note ‼️
You can see this mapping in action on the report: Navigate to the Smart Groups → By Standard view and hover over the green skill category tag on any standard to see exactly which skill sub-categories are aligned to that standard.
Learn more about how Quill map skills to standard in this article: Understanding the Standards Report.
What It Is
Targeted Practice helps you quickly assign activities from Quill’s Activity Library. Each curated pack includes roughly 15+ questions; enough for students to reach High Skill Exposure.
These packs are designed to minimize overlap with Diagnostic recommendations and offer fresh practice. When overlap does occur, the report highlights it as a useful instructional moment.
How to Assign
Navigate to the Smart Groups → By Standard view and locate a standard where students need support. Then, hover over the green skill category tag (e.g., "Adjectives") on the standard card to see which specific skills are covered by that standard.
Click the tag. This will automatically open the Skills Report, which offers a granular performance breakdown for that specific category.
In the Skills Report, use the detailed data to identify exactly which skill sub-categories are causing the low scores. You can then assign precise, targeted practice packs for those specific skills. You can find the instructions on how to assign targeted practice from the Skills Report in this article: Taking Action with the Skills Report.
Key points to remember:
You may preview each pack before assigning, including readability range and content details.
Some skills offer multiple pack options (e.g., standard vs. ELL-supported); select the most appropriate version.
Each student can receive a specific pack once per class per skill.
Editing and Exploring Assigned Practice
After assigning, you can adjust the pack as needed via the Manage Activities page. This includes changing publish/due dates or removing individual activities. Packs are ordered from easiest to hardest, making it simple to tailor difficulty for your students.
You can also explore the Activity Library for additional practice opportunities beyond the suggested packs.
Changing Your Momentum Score Goal
If you want to shift the benchmark that drives your Smart Groups, click Change goal and set a new target between 50–100. Updating this goal automatically refreshes Smart Groups for all your classes, helping you maintain consistency in monitoring student progress toward your specific benchmarks.
Once you have selected Change goal, use the slider to set your desired Momentum Score Goal.
Tips for Combining Report Insights with In-Class Interventions
Data from the Standards Report is most powerful when paired with targeted instruction.
Structure Small Groups: Use the Smart Groups → By Student view for a specific standard to group students who are struggling with the same curriculum requirement.
Bridge the Gap: Use the skill mapping (hovering over tags) to explain to students how their daily writing practice connects to the larger standards they are expected to master.
Monitor Trends: Regularly check the Performance Trend for high-priority standards to identify if class-wide mastery is improving or if a different instructional approach is needed.
FAQs
Can I assign practice directly from the Standards Report?
Can I assign practice directly from the Standards Report?
Not directly from the standard itself. You can click the mapped skill category to move into the Skills Report, where you can assign targeted practice.
How can I use Smart Groups to form small groups for intervention in my class?
How can I use Smart Groups to form small groups for intervention in my class?
Smart Groups automatically organize students based on their Momentum Scores and Skill Exposure, making it easy to identify who needs support. The default groups are:
Meeting Goal: Students who meet or exceed your Momentum Score goal
Approaching Goal: Students slightly below your goal
Needs Support: Students more than 10 points below your goal
Needs More Practice: Students with low exposure (5 or fewer questions answered)
You can use these groups to form small intervention groups for in-person instruction. For example, focus targeted support on students in the Needs Support group while providing additional practice to students with low exposure. You can also assign Targeted Practice directly from the Skills Report to individual students, Smart Groups, or the whole class.
Can I export or print Smart Group data?
Can I export or print Smart Group data?
Yes. While in the Smart Group tab of the Skills Report, you can download the report by view or by student using the Download button in the top right corner.
Tip: You can toggle between All Practice and Class Practice to customize based on whether you want to see students’ full Quill history or only work completed in the current class.
What happens if a student has already been assigned a Targeted Practice pack?
What happens if a student has already been assigned a Targeted Practice pack?
A student can only be assigned a specific Targeted Practice pack once per class for each skill. If you attempt to assign it again, Quill will notify you and only assign the pack to students who have not already received it.
Can I customize the Targeted Practice pack?
Can I customize the Targeted Practice pack?
Yes. After assigning a pack, you can edit it anytime from the Manage Activities page. You can change the publish and due dates, and even edit the specific activities within the pack. The activities are ordered from easiest to hardest, so you can remove more challenging ones if needed.
You can refer to this guide for how to edit activity packs from the Manage Activities page.
How can I use the Performance Trend metric to have a productive conversation with a student who has a high Momentum Score but is "Trending Down"?
How can I use the Performance Trend metric to have a productive conversation with a student who has a high Momentum Score but is "Trending Down"?
The Performance Trend highlights changes in learning momentum. If a student has a high Momentum Score but is “Trending Down,” it can signal that they are starting to face new challenges. You can use this data to:
Acknowledge their past success and reinforce their confidence.
Discuss any recent difficulties they may have noticed.
Offer targeted practice or support to help them maintain their progress.
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.