CAPIT teachers have three Goals:
CAPIT Data Analysis
CAPIT regularly hosts 30-Minute Data Analysis Coaching Sessions in which we show teachers how to harness their student data to help drive instruction. If you haven’t attended a Data Analysis, please have your administrator schedule a session by clicking on the button below.
The CAPIT Skill Progression
To see each level’s Skill Progression, click on the Yellow Square (Level 1), Purple Square (Level 2), or Green Square (Level 3) in your Teacher Portal, and the Skill Progression will pop up (Fig. 1).
Level 1 covers Letter Sounds (Fig 2).
Level 2 covers CVC Words (Fig 3).
Level 3 covers Consonant Clusters, Digraphs, Diphthongs (Fig 4).
— Click on the Images to Expand —
CAPIT Goals
CAPIT teachers have three Goals: Yearly Goals, Weekly Goals, and Daily Goals:
YEARLY GOAL: Kindergarten students should finish Level 1 (Fig. 1) within three months and Level 2 (Fig. 2) by the end of the school year. Students 1st grade and above should finish Level 3 (Fig. 3) by the end of the school year.
WEEKLY GOAL: Ensure students use CAPIT 5 DAYS A WEEK, or a minimum of 4 days a week. Students who begin learning with CAPIT in August or September should use CAPIT for over 100 days a year.
DAILY GOAL: Ensure students complete their daily quota of CAPIT Lessons. Kindergarten students can complete between 1 to 3 lessons a day. 1st-Graders and 2nd-Graders can complete between 3 to 5 lessons a day. Students should spend a minimum of 15-20 MINUTES A DAY learning with CAPIT.
The only exceptions are the struggling students who take longer to complete each lesson. Struggling students need additional time on CAPIT to keep up—and eventually—catch up to the rest of the class. We recommend two 15-minute sessions, one in the morning and another later in the day.
Yearly Goals
The vaccine to the Summer Slide
Weekly Goals
Daily Goal
USAGE
5 Days a Week • 100 Days a Year
PACE
Number of Lessons per Day
Students should use CAPIT 5 DAYS A WEEK, or 4 days a week at a minimum. Students who begin learning with CAPIT in August or September should use CAPIT for over 100 days a year.
Ensure students complete their daily quota of CAPIT Lessons.
Kindergarten students can complete between 1 to 3 lessons a day.
1st-Graders and 2nd-Graders can complete between 3 to 5 lessons a day.
Students should spend a minimum of 15-20 MINUTES A DAY learning with CAPIT.
Struggling Students: Some students take longer to complete each lesson and need additional time on CAPIT to keep up—and eventually—catch up to the rest of the class. We recommend 2x 15-minute sessions, one in the morning and another later in the day.
Teacher Portal: Usage
CAPIT measures a student’s activity in days. When a student completes 1 or more new lessons on any given day, CAPIT credits the student with a day of usage. Students can complete several new lessons each day, and teachers should encourage students to do so.
The image on the right (Fig. 9) shows that one student used CAPIT for only 28 days (Red), and another used it for 47 days (Green). (Yellow indicates an Average User.) Disparities in usage are common, but we should minimize them by ensuring all students access CAPIT every day and use it correctly. Some students will need a reminder that they must complete NEW Lessons each day.
For more information on what constitutes Usage, click on the button below.
Teacher Portal: Progress
Aside from Usage, the CAPIT Teacher Portal also tracks your students’ Progress (Fig. 9).
We use colors to indicate which students require your immediate attention.
The image on the right shows that one student completed 93 Lessons in Level 2 (Red), and another completed 173 Lessons (Green). Yellow indicates an average student.
Disparities in progress are common, but we should eliminate them by ensuring all students use CAPIT every day and complete their quota of lessons.
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A student’s Progress + Usage provides teachers with critical information on their students.
Colors and Averages
Yellow indicates an average student in either Progress or Usage (Fig. 11).
Green indicates an above-average student (Fig. 12).
Red indicates a below-average student (Fig. 13).
(We calculate averages by comparing each student to the entire class’s average performance.)
Three Types of Students
ADVANCED STUDENT
Usage: Above Average
Progress: Above Average
Keep them motivated to finish CAPIT.
LOW USAGE STUDENT
STRUGGLING STUDENT
Usage: Below Average
Progress: Below Average
We define Usage as the completion of a NEW CAPIT Lesson.
Usage: Average or Above Average
Progress: Below Average
Struggling students should spend an additional 15-20 minutes a day on CAPIT so they can catch up to their classmates. To learn how you can monitor your students’ daily activity, read below.
Your Friend, the Filter
The Filter—found on the bottom of the Teacher Portal—allows you to know with certainty which students used CAPIT and how many lessons they completed. The filter’s default setting is from the date your school or district created its CAPIT account through the present day (See Fig. 17).
To use the filter, enter your desired dates and click Filter. Your CAPIT Portal will now report only the data generated within your specified time-frame (Fig. 18). Now you can see who used the program today. 1 Day indicates a student who completed today at least one new lesson. 0 Days indicates a student who did not complete any new lessons on this date.
When you look to the left of the "Active Usage” column, you can see student progress made on this date. Fig. 18 shows that one student completed only 1 lesson in Level 2, and another completed 5 lessons. The bottom two students did not progress due to lack of Usage (1+ new lesson completed).
Teachers should use the filter regularly to ensure their students completed their daily and weekly quota of lessons and are on track to meeting their Yearly CAPIT Goals, thereby achieving optimal growth as readers.
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For ideas that will help you motivate your students to achieve their CAPIT Goals, please click on the button below.
WHAT DOES THE COLOR BLUE MEAN?
The Blue color indicates that the student skipped CAPIT lessons using the CAPIT Placement Test. (This is a good thing.)
Students can skip Level 1 using the CAPIT Placement Test (Fig. 19).
Students can skip part or the entire Level 2 using the CAPIT Placement Test (Fig. 12).
To learn more about the CAPIT Placement Test, CLICK HERE.
THE CAPIT PLACEMENT TEST RESULTS
When you scroll to the right, you will see your CAPIT Placement Test results (Fig. 21). The Placement Test has 11 sections. The Teacher Portal will indicate which Test your students passed.
In this example, one student completed 3 Sections of the Placement Test, and another student completed only one section.
Step-By-Step Guide
SETTING UP YOUR CAPIT ACCOUNT
Activating Your Teacher Account
This Guide will show you how to activate your teacher account. Please reach out if you need any support along the way. You can reach us at support@capitlearning.com.
If your Students' Profiles have not been set up, please reach out to your school administrator.
Next Step:
Logging In with Student Credentials
This Guide will show you how students log in with their student credentials. If you need support, please reach out to us at support@capitlearning.com. If your Students' Profiles have not been set up, or if you don’t know your students’ credentials, please reach out to your school administrator.
Directions for iPad
Directions for Chrome
Setting up CAPIT on Shared iPads
This Guide will show you how to set up CAPIT on shared iPads. If you need support, please reach out to us at support@capitlearning.com. If your Students' Profiles have not been set up, please reach out to your school administrator. If you need to share devices across your school, please have your administrator set up your iPads.
If you are logging into an iPad with a pre-existing account:
Setting up CAPIT on Shared Chrome Enabled Devices
Please always use a Chrome Browser
This Guide will show you how to set up your Students' Profile and your Teacher Profile on your Chrome-enabled devices. If you need support, please reach out to us at support@capitlearning.com.
DO NOT DELETE YOUR COOKIES
Our Chrome version uses Cookies. Please be sure not to delete the Cookies and Browsing History, as this will erase your login information. If you delete the Cookies and Browsing History, you may need to reassign CAPIT to the device. Please know that deleting your cookies and Browsing History, on purpose or by accident, does not delete your students’ progress or data. We store all student progress on our secure servers. After you reassign CAPIT to the device, your students will be able to pick up where they left off.
If your Students' Profiles have not been set up, please reach out to your school administrator. If you need to share devices across your school, please have your administrator set up your Chrome enabled devices.
If you are logging into a Chrome browser with a pre-existing account:
Navigating Your Teacher Dashboard
Our Teacher Dashboard tracks student daily-usage and student progress along the phonics continuum, providing you with actionable student data. For example:
If students have low usage, make sure they get more time on CAPIT;
If students have normal usage but little progress, structure their day to allow for a double-dipping of CAPIT. Extra time on CAPIT will give struggling students a chance to catch up to the rest of the class.
Lastly, you can print reports you can send home to keep parents informed and involved.
To log into your Teacher Dashboard, go to https://dashboard.capitlearning.com/, Login using your email and password.
1
Grade level of the student.
4
Current level and lesson student is on.
2
The day the student completed their first lesson.
5
Students’ current status: Training, Learning or Completed.
3
The day the student completed their last lesson.
6
This columns hows how many days of continuous usage.
5
Students’ current status: Training, Learning or Completed.
You can view each student's progress in Level 2 and compare it to other students in your class.
You can view each student's Active Usage and compare it to other students in your class.
Click on the Yellow Box to view the Level 1 skills progression.
Click on the Pink Box to view the Level 2 skills progression.
Coming Soon…
Downloadable Student Reports you can share with parents.
Your Student's Username is what your student sees when they log into the CAPIT app.
You can also Filter Student Reports by date.
To be taken to our Teacher Corner click on Teacher Corner . Our Teacher Corner gives you access to important resources such as FAQ's, Guides, and our unique Downloadable Resources.
Note: You will be directed to a new page.
CAPIT Online PD
All new teacher should complete our CAPIT Onboarding & PD. The CAPIT Onboarding & PD is password protected. If you don’t have the login credentials, please reach out to your administrator.
The CAPIT Onboarding & PD explores critical topics, such as:
Teacher Portal
Teacher Corner
Downloadable Resources
Lesson Plan
Pacing Guide
The CAPIT Assessment
Skill Progression
Instructional Model
The CAPIT Pacing Guides
It’s all about the Pace!
The goal is to get all students to read by first grade. To attain that goal, students will need 100 days on CAPIT, which will ensure that PK students will finish Level 1, Kindergarten students will finish Level 2, and First Grade students will finish Level 3.
Teachers spend 10 to 15 Minutes in whole group instruction delivering CAPIT lessons, and then students spend 20 to 30 Minutes in independent practice—5 DAYS A WEEK.
Students should complete between 2-4 Lessons a day.
The CAPIT Lesson Plan
Teachers should demonstrate, teach, and discuss every Reading Skill and Spelling Card in front of the class. We created a document that lists and explains each Reading Skill for your convenience. Please refer to this document as you prepare your lessons.
You can download the Lesson Plan document by clicking on the button below.
How do I set up CAPIT?
Select the Teacher Dashboard and enter your credentials.
To access the CAPIT Reading program, Select CAPIT Reading and enter your credentials.
To use CAPIT Reading on an iPad, download CAPIT Reading from the App Store.
To set up your device, enter your Email and Password and Log In.
Enter the program and select your class. You will see your students’ profile, as well as your Teacher Profile.
If you are sharing devices across several classes, be sure to log in using the administrator’s credentials.
How Do I Set Up CAPIT on Chrome?
This guide will walk you through everything you need to know to get your Students' Profiles and your Teacher Profile set up on your Chrome-enabled devices. Please reach out if you need any support along the way. You can reach us at support@capitlearning.com.
DO NOT DELETE YOUR COOKIES
Our Chrome version uses Cookies to keep your students logged in. Please be sure to never delete your cookies or browsing history, as this will erase your login information. If you delete your cookies and browsing history, you will need to re-enter your Username and Password and reassign your students to their device. If you need to delete your cookies and browsing history, or you did so by accident, please know that your students' progress will not be deleted. All student progress is stored on our secure servers. But you will be required to re-enter your Username and Password and reassign your students to their device.
If your Students' Profiles have not been Activated, please do so before continuing with this step.
For more details see: STUDENT PROFILES: Creating and Activating Student Profiles.
PATIENCE IS A VIRTUE
It might feel like the Chrome version of CAPIT is not as responsive as the iPad version (it might even act up at times). This is because the iOS app resides on your iPad, whereas the Chrome app resides in the cloud on our secure servers. This means that your computer needs high internet speed to continuously talk to our servers. That's why when your internet is slow, the iOS App feels more responsive than the Chrome App. The best way to handle this is to tell your students to be patient and give CAPIT a few seconds to load.
Am I Using the Latest Version of CAPIT Reading on my iPad?
Latest Version: Version 3.7.4
We regularly improve and fix our CAPIT app. To check if you are using the latest version, navigate to the Home Page—you will find the version number on the bottom left corner. To update your iPad, go to the app store and search for CAPIT Reading. Compare your version with the version in the app store. If there is a discrepancy, please update the app. You can also set up your iPads for Automatic Downloads. Click Here for instructions. Updating CAPIT on a Browser is easy. Just refresh your browser until your CAPIT Reading version matches the version number in the iTunes store. If after a few "refreshes" the app fails to update, delete your cookies, and try again.
Your Teacher Profile
Teachers teach CAPIT lessons using their Teacher Profile for 10-15 minutes daily.
To learn more about the teacher experience, CLICK HERE.
We also provide teachers with Lesson Guides containing comprehensive lesson plans, creative and collaborative practices, and lesson scripts that help teachers teach phonics clearly and explicitly. Log into your Dashboard to access them.
Chrome Settings for CAPIT Reading
DO NOT DELETE YOUR COOKIES
Because our Chrome version uses Cookies to keep your students logged in, please be sure to never delete your cookies or browsing history, as this will erase your login information. If you delete your cookies and browsing history, you will need to re-enter your Username and Password and reassign your students to their device. If you need to delete your cookies and browsing history, or you did so by accident, please know that your students' progress will not be deleted. All student progress is stored on our secure servers. But you will be required to re-enter your Username and Password and reassign your students to their device
CHECK YOUR SETTINGS
Our Chrome version uses Cookies to keep your students logged in. If your Chrome Browser is failing to keep your Teacher Account (and students) logged into CAPIT, it is possible that your Chrome Settings need to be changed to the following three settings:
To allow sites to save and read cookie data.
To not delete local data when you quit your browser.
To not block third-party cookies, as this will prevent third-party websites (like CAPIT) from saving and reading cookie data.
Changing your Chrome Settings is easy. Simply follow the steps below.
How Do I Log My Child into the CAPIT Program?
Open your Chrome Browser
Go to: www.capitlearning.com
Click SIGN IN
The CAPIT Reading Program for students is on the LEFT
The Teacher Portal is on the RIGHT
Be sure to sign into the CAPIT Reading Program for students
by clicking: SIGN-IN
You will be taken directly to the CAPIT Reading program.
Enter your Email and Password
Click: Log In
Do not click on Teacher Corner
The Teacher Corner is used to log out of a CAPIT account
Click on the big blue button to enter CAPIT Reading
Click on Home
Do not select the Teacher Profile
The Teacher Profile is for parents
Click on the Student Profile
Choose a Password by clicking on two pictures-icons
The order of the two pictures is part of the Password
For Teachers and Parents with Multiple Students
To learn how to logout of one CAPIT account and use the device with a different CAPIT account,
CLICK HERE.
How Do I Access CAPIT on an iPad?
Download CAPIT Reading from the App Store on your iPad
Please DO NOT download the CAPIT Books app.
Need Help Setting Up Your Students On CAPIT?
CLICK HERE to set up Your Students on an iPAD.
CLICK HERE to set up Your Students on CHROME.
How Do Students Log Into CAPIT from Home?
If you are using an iPad, download the CAPIT Reading program from the app store by CLICKING HERE
If you are using a Chrome Browser, go to:
Students can log into their account directly using the Username and Password that the school or district assign to them. Schools and districts are encouraged to choose credentials the student already knows. CAPIT will then assign a three-digit Site Code to each school and automatically add the code to the beginning of the student's Username.
Please note that this does not affect current users who logged in with a Parent Account. They will have the option to stay logged in as they are or use their new credentials to be taken directly to their user.
The image to the right is a screenshot of what students see when they log in with their personalized credentials.
Click on the big blue button to enter CAPIT Reading
How Do I Log Out of a CAPIT Account?
I want to logout of a CAPIT account on my device and use my device with a different CAPIT account. How do I do that if I am a teacher or a parent?
Follow these simple steps:
On your device, click on Logout (Fig. 1)
Enter your credentials (email and password) and click on the button that says Log Out (Fig. 2)
Click on the button that says OK (Fig. 3)
Enter the credentials of the new CAPIT account and click on the button that says Log In (Fig. 4)
This is what it looks like when you are logged in as a student (Fig. 5)
This is what it looks like when you are logged in as a teacher (Fig. 6)
How Can I Support Struggling Readers Using CAPIT?
When students make mistakes, let’s not enable them by giving them the answers. You can empower your students with two tools: our Visual Mnemonics, and our Sound Chart.
If students see a letter and forget the sound that the letter spells—Ask them: “What does it look like?” They will try to remember our Visual Mnemonic (see Fig. 1).
If students forget a Spelling—Direct them to the Sound Chart. It contains all the Sounds and Spelling Patterns the students have learned so far (see Fig. 2).
Our Visual Mnemonics & Sound Chart give students the ability to self-correct and the confidence to become Independent Readers.
Does CAPIT Have a Strategy for Working With Struggling Readers?
Absolutely!
When a student cannot hold on to specific sounds or cannot blend sounds to create words, we recommend our DBRR (Divide, Blend, Review, Reteach) strategy. Do this four to five times a week, and see your student grow by leaps and bounds.
Watch the webinar, and please read the instructions.
Are Tiles Missing in a CAPIT Lesson?
Sometimes we ran out of space and had to put "letter tiles" on another screen. Students can navigate to these tiles by clicking on the "arrows."
Why Do the Tiles Not Go Down Automatically?
We intentionally programmed the tiles in the Spelling Tests to mimic physical tiles that don't move independently.
Why?
Students initially think they need to lower (all) the tiles between each word. But after a few weeks, when students can finally hold and manipulate sounds in their mind, students have a lightbulb moment—they realize they don't need to lower all the tiles, and instead, they can leave them up and create a new word with old tiles. Students then begin moving tiles horizontally (left-to-right and right-to-left) and not only vertically (up-and-down). This realization is a critical stage in becoming a reader and speller. It is also exhilarating to witness.
What Do the Stars Represent?
Students begin a spelling test with three stars. These stars indicate students' scores as they work through the assessment. Each time a student does not answer the question correctly, they lose a star. If in the end, the student has one star, they achieved 80% (because they got 8 out of 10 questions, that’s a B in our book); 2 stars indicate 90% (because they got 9 out of 10 questions, that’s an A); three stars earn 100%.
(The Level 1 Unit Assessment has only one star because the student needs to earn 100% to proceed.)
Do Students Need Three Stars to Progress in CAPIT?
Students do not need three stars to progress. Students can progress in CAPIT with two or even a single star. Students don't need to go back and earn three stars on every lesson, but they are certainly welcome to do so.
Why is the CAPIT Highlighter Not Working?
My student is highlighting all the letters but the app is saying it's wrong!
Our Spelling Cards contains a Highlighter Interface. It asks students to segment a word into separate sounds (i.e. phonemes) using colors. The key here is that students must separate the word into separate SOUNDS, not LETTERS. So, although the word "cat" has 3 sounds and 3 letters, words like "off" and "egg" which have 3 letters get only 2 colors because they have only 2 sounds, and words such as "mess" and "duck" which have 4 letters get only 3 colors because they have only 3 sounds.
Our Highlighter Interface prepares beginner students for dealing with the more complicated digraphs and diphthongs (e.g. sh, ch, oo, oi).
Unclear Sounds and Words
Some of the voice recordings in CAPIT sound unclear, and students struggle to identify the sound or word they hear. Why?
This is a challenge because phonemes are subtle and sound similar to other phonemes (e.g., /m/ /n/ /ng/). Additionally, some words are hard to identify when heard in isolation (e.g., /thin/ sounds like /fin/).
We keep notes of every trouble-making word and regularly re-record them or replace them with a word that is easier to identify.
Another solution we found was to add an image to the word whenever possible. Unfortunately, we can't depict some words with an image (e.g., but, it). Our long-term goal is to add an image whenever possible.
Here are two simple suggestions that can help in the meantime:
Please remember to check which lesson and skill the confusion is occurring. The 'unknown' word will likely follow the spelling pattern taught in that lesson. For example, if that lesson introduces the /th/ sound, the word is most likely /thin/ and not /fin/.
Please make sure your students have access to over-the-ear headphones when using CAPIT. Good headphones can help block out noise and help students identify sounds and words.
Lastly: we ask teachers to contact us when they stumble upon an unclear sound, word or phrase, so we can continue to improve our program.
We appreciate your help!
The CAPIT Pronunciation Guide
Learning to read requires that students discriminate between phonemes. This is hard to do when students can't correctly identify and pronounce each phoneme. This is why students who don’t pronounce sounds correctly often struggle “hearing” how sounds blend together to form words (NRP 2000, 2-104).
Our Pronunciation Guide contains sound files of common phonemes as well as short video clips detailing how each sound is formed (courtesy of Rachel’s English).
We urge you to share our Pronunciation Guide with your students’ parents so they too can learn ho w to correctly pronounce each phoneme.
How Long Does it Take Students to Complete a Lesson in CAPIT?
The answer to this question depends on the type of lesson, the level, and the student’s age, and the student’s ability. But there are general guidelines:
Level 1
Level 1 Lessons take about 5 minutes;
Level 1 Assessments take between 5 to 10 minutes.
(Fig. 1)
Level 2 and Level 3
Level 2 and Level 3 contains four types of activities (Fig. 2):
CAPIT Books take about 5 minutes;
Reading Skills take about 5 minutes;
Spelling Tests take between 5 to 15 minutes;
Spelling Cards take between 5 to 15 minutes.
How Should I Teach Sight Words?
We highly recommend using the Sound and Spelling Cards to create a Sound Wall (also known as a Word Wall) to organize and teach the spelling of Sight Words. We suggest teachers add words when they come up. If the word "the" becomes necessary for you to teach, show your students the /th/ card and point out how we spell it: th. Now write the word “the” on a sticky note, underline the “th” spelling, and stick it under the Sound and Spelling Card (as seen in the pictures to the eight).
To learn more about approach to teaching Sight Words, CLICK HERE.
To learn more about our approach to building a Sound Wall, CLICK HERE.
Placement Test Essentials
What is the purpose of the Placement Test?
Answer: All students begin their journey by taking a Placement Test that places students at the right point in the phonics continuum. After students are placed, they start/continue their journey, mastering one foundational skill after another.
Who is the Placement Test for?
Answer: The Placement Test is for new students only. Whether in the beginning or middle of the year, only new students need to take the Placement Test. Students always continue where they left off in the previous year.
Is the Placement Test an assessment?
Answer: No! The Placement Test is not a diagnostic test to be administered at the beginning of a school year. The only students who take the Placement Test at the beginning of the school year are those who have never been on CAPIT before. The Placement Test checks the student's knowledge for advanced skills and helps students skip content they already know.
Is there a scenario that warrants returning a student to the Placement Test?
Answer: Yes! When a student claims they are bored! For example, a student who made careless errors taking the Placement Test is placed into Level 1 even though they DO know the sounds and can even read and spell CVC words. This student should take the Placement Test to skip to the next skill level.
Is there a scenario that warrants putting a student back and resetting their progress?
Answer: Yes! When someone else did the work for the child. It could be a friend or family member. The signs that someone else did the work is that the student cannot progress further in the program—which is immediately apparent—the student cannot progress to the next lesson. In this scenario, we will return the student to learn the missing skills. Please reach out to our Success Team for help.
What happens to the student's data if we reset their progress?
Answer: Resetting a student's progress deletes all their usage and progress—work that took a student months and even years to accomplish. We only delete student progress if we know a student needs to be set back. Students work hard on CAPIT, and we do not delete their progress unless an administrator requests that we do.
Don't students experience a summer slide and have to go back to review old skills?
Answer: No. Aside from exceptional circumstances, our students do not regress over the summer. CAPIT is one long formative assessment—we embedded multiple assessments into every lesson, and our competency-based progression ensures that students can only progress by proving they can implement all previous skills with automaticity. It's like learning how to ride a bike; once you know how it is easy to get back on.
My students have all been on CAPIT last year and are now in different places in the program. Should I reset their progress and have them all start from the beginning?
Answer: No! Resetting a student's progress deletes all their usage and progress—work that took a student months and even years to accomplish. We only delete student progress if we know a student struggles with the content and needs to be set back. Remember, CAPIT is an individualized program, and students progress independently at their own pace. Students work hard on CAPIT, so let's show them we are proud of their hard work. We recommend teachers spend the first week on CAPIT monitoring their students to ensure they can succeed in their current lessons before contacting CAPIT to reset them.
The CAPIT Placement Test
The Placement Test
Before new students begin learning with CAPIT, they must take the Placement Test to demonstrate mastery of critical foundational reading skills. Students are then placed in the program at a customized skill level.
The Placement Test is launched automatically when a student first enters the program, but teachers can relaunch the test at any time if they believe a student can skip lessons they already know. See below for instructions on relaunching the test.
Students begin the Placement Test by clicking on the Test icon.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
DURATION: The Placement Test can take a few seconds, an hour, or even a week—depending on your student’s knowledge and skill level. Students should work on the Placement Test for no longer than 20-25 minutes in a sitting.
SECRET CODE: Make sure your students don’t have your secret code, as this will allow them to launch and relaunch the Placement Test. If you believe that your students know your code, be sure to change it.
The Placement Test Journey
This is the CAPIT Placement test. Notice that it is comprised of 11 tests/skills (Fig. 2).
Test 1 checks for knowledge of letter sounds. Students who demonstrate they know the letters and their sounds will skip CAPIT Level 1 and begin learning at a later point in CAPIT. Please be aware that we give first-time students three chances to pass Test 1. After the third failed attempt, CAPIT will place the student in Level 1. This is perfectly normal for first-time students.
DO THIS BEFORE YOUR STUDENTS TAKE THE PLACEMENT TEST
Prepare your students for the Placement Test by opening the Test in your Teacher Profile (Fig. 3).
Click on the Test (Fig. 4).
Demonstrate Test 1 (Fig. 6).
Test 1, Matching Sounds with Letters
Test 1 in the CAPIT Placement Test checks if students know the sounds corresponding to the Lowercase and Uppercase letters (Fig. 7). Show your students how you listen to a sound, and then match it with a letter.
Students who pass Test 1 will automatically skip Level 1 of CAPIT.
Demonstrate Test 2
Now click on Test 2 (Fig. 8).
Test 2, Spelling Test
Test 2 in the CAPIT Placement Test checks if students can read and spell CVC words (Fig. 9). Show your students how you listen to a word, and then drag the correct letter-tiles into the right holes.
Now your students know how to take the test.
The Exit Warning
After students complete a few tests, they can stop and pick up where they left off on the following day. But if a student stops in the middle of a test, they will lose their progress and need to retake that test. CAPIT will warn the student before they exit in the middle of a test (Fig. 10).
Relaunching the Placement Test (a)
Some students will stumble during the Placement Test and accidentally get placed below their skill level. This scenario can occur if students were working in a noisy room or just fooling around and making errors; either way, they will not be happy working on skills they already know.
When a teacher discovers a student who can work at a more challenging skill level, the teacher should relaunch the Placement Test by clicking on the Placement Test icon on the Level Menu screen (Fig. 11).
Relaunching the Placement Test (b)
The Placement Test is behind a lock (Fig. 12) that ensures students can’t relaunch the test independently. Teachers will need to enter their 4-digit secret code.
Are There Missing Tiles?
Nope!
Sometimes we ran out of space and had to put "letter tiles" on another screen. Students can navigate to these tiles by clicking on the "arrows" (Fig. 13).
How Do I Know if a Student Finished a Test?
Please see Fig. 14.
The window says: You’ve completed Test 4!
Notice that all four bars are filled in with a solid green color. Each bar represents a section, and test four has four sections.
Fig. 15 shows a student who completed only the first of four sections—notice that only one green bar is filled in with a solid green color. This student is in the middle of Test 4.
The Placement Test Scope and Duration
The Placement Test consists of 11 tests, testing 11 foundational reading skills. Each test takes between 5 to 10 minutes to complete, and they do not complete all 11 tests in one sitting; they can spread the work over a few days. The test will not end until either the student completes all 11 tests or begins making mistakes.
Students who complete all 11 tests will skip Level 1 and Level 2 and begin learning in Level 3.
Fig. 16 explains the correlation between the 11 tests, the skills they check for, and the lessons skipped.
To download the key CLICK HERE.
My Student is Stuck in the Placement Test
An administrator can remove a student from the CAPIT Placement Test by following these steps.
Step 1: Log into the admin Dashboard and find the student you wish to remove from the Placement Test;
Step 2: Please uncheck the box next to the words “Required to take tests.”
Step 3: Keep clicking the “Next” button until you see the message “Successfully saved the student.”
Step 4: The student needs to log out of CAPIT and then log back in.
(Expand the images below by clicking on them with your mouse.)
What is the Relationship Between the Placement Test and the CAPIT Lessons?
The CAPIT Placement Test has eleven sections, and each checks for a specific foundational skill. When students pass a section, they test out the lessons in CAPIT that correspond to the tested skill. To learn which lessons correspond to each test section, download The CAPIT Placement Test Lesson Key from our Teacher Corner under Downloadables.
The Lock
Why Did a Lock Pop Up and Disable CAPIT?
When a student makes 3 mistakes in a row in particular exercises, a LOCK will disable the program (Fig. 1). To remove the Lock, enter your Secret Teacher Code. You will find your Teacher Code in your Teacher Dashboard.
Please be mindful when entering your Secret Teacher Code in front of your students. You don’t want them to learn it. If the secret gets out, you will need to generate a new Code. CLICK HERE to learn how to generate a new code.
Now it's your turn to teach your student. No one can do this better than you.
How Can I Help My Student?
Sound Chart: Show your student how to rely on the Sound Chart to look up sounds and spelling patterns.
Define Words: Explain the meaning of each “word.” It is hard to read and spell words one doesn’t recognize.
Give Context: Use these “words” in a sentence.
Most Likely, the student was rushing and being impatient. Urge your student to s l o w d o w n.
Perhaps the student forgot how to complete this particular exercise. Show them how.
The Lock and Distance Learning
What should the student do if the Lock pops up and there are no adults to enter the Secret Code?
The student should click on the back arrow at the top-left corner of the screen (Fig. 2: The Back Arrow). This action will navigate the student to the Lesson Menu, giving the student another chance at completing the lesson. Because each lesson begins with a review of the new concept, students who listen carefully and don't rush should be able to complete the exercise.
Your Secret Teacher Code
CAPIT assigns a unique 4-Digit Secret Code to every teacher and displays it in their Teacher Dashboard (Fig. 1).
The Lock
When a student makes 3 mistakes in a row in particular exercises, a Lock will disable the program (Fig. 2). To remove the Lock, enter your Secret Teacher Code.
How You Change Your Secret Teacher Code?
Please be mindful when entering your Secret Teacher Code in front of your students. You don’t want them to learn it. If the secret gets out, you will need to generate a new Teacher Code through your Teacher Dashboard (Fig. 3).
Please note that your Secret Teacher Code is compatible with all the devices in your school. Teachers don’t need to memorize more than one secret code.
How Do I Change My CAPIT Secret Teacher Code?
When a student makes 3 mistakes in a row in particular exercises, a LOCK will disable the program (Fig. 1).
To remove the Lock, enter your Secret Teacher Code. CAPIT assigns a unique Teacher Code to every teacher and displays it in their Teacher Dashboard (Fig. 2).
Please be mindful when entering your Secret Teacher Code in front of your students. You don’t want them to learn it. If the secret gets out, you will need to generate a new Teacher Code through your Teacher Dashboard (Fig. 3).
Please note that your Secret Teacher Code is compatible with all the devices in your school. Teachers don’t need to memorize more than one secret code.
Can Students Go Back and Redo Old Lessons?
CAPIT allows teachers to Lock/Unlock previously completed lessons.
CAPIT allows teachers to customize the journey for PK & TK students in CAPIT. When students are ready to move forward in their learning, teachers can use the toggle to lock previously completed lessons, encouraging students to progress to learn new material. (Fig. 1)
CAPIT locks previously completed lessons by default for students in Kindergarten and above, encouraging them to progress to learn new material.
If students need to go back and review a previously completed lesson/skill, teachers can enter their secret teacher code and give the student access to any previously completed lesson. (Fig. 2)
If teachers want to provide individual students access to ALL previously completed lessons for review, they can do so using a toggle that "unlocks" previously completed lessons. (Fig. 1)
How Do I Calculate Usage Time on CAPIT?
QUESTION: Is it actual time/minutes spent? Does coloring the letter count as Usage? How about playing the Matching Games or the ABC Song?
ANSWER: The most critical analytic collected by the CAPIT Dashboard is the students’ Days of Progress. We define Days of Progress as a day that a student completes a CAPIT Lesson. Playing the Matching Game or the ABC Song will not count as a Day of Progress.
Here are some practical examples:
If a student completed even one lesson, their progress counts as 1 Day of Progress.
If students learned on CAPIT for ten days, but on three days, they played games or colored and did not complete any lessons, the CAPIT Dashboard will credit them with only 7 Days of Progress.
If a student completed two lessons in 1 day, the Dashboard would still count it as 1 Day of Progress.
Looking to motivate your students to complete new CAPIT lessons every day? Keep Reading below…
Motivating Your Students
We created a chart to help motivate your students by rewarding them for completing CAPIT Lessons.
You should regularly look at your Teacher Dashboard to see how many Days of Progress your students used CAPIT to complete new lessons. Look for Days of Progress to see how many days each student used CAPIT—that’s how many Stars each student deserves on their CAPIT Reader Chart.
REMEMBER: Only completing a CAPIT Lesson will register as a Day of Progress.
Our CAPIT Reader Chart helps you to reward students for their effort, not just their success, because it doesn’t matter how many lessons students complete each day—even one lesson will count as a Day of Progress.
CLICK HERE to download our CAPIT Reader Chart.
Does CAPIT Have Student Reports?
We sure do. Click on the arrow next to the student’s name.
CAPIT Student Reports are gorgeous and packed with information.
Resetting Student Progress
Teacher Question: I would like to test my students to get a baseline score. Could you please reset them so they could retest?
While we understand why teachers may want a baseline of their students, with CAPIT, this is unnecessary. Remember that CAPIT is one long formative assessment. We recommend that all students continue to work where they left off the previous year (or over the summer). With CAPIT, students need to demonstrate their knowledge by completing lessons. Each lesson is a kind of test.
If teachers believe that some students are not challenged enough by CAPIT, they can relaunch the Placement Test and have the student attempt to skip to a more challenging section (CLICK HERE for instructions to launch the Placement Test).
If teachers believe that students may have had help from a parent or older sibling and truly can't do the work on their own, please reach out to success@capitlearning.com, and we will be happy to help reset the student. We will need permission from an administrator.
Please remember: a reset will erase the student’s progress and usage.
CAPIT Tech-Check
Thank you for contacting CAPIT. We apologize for any inconvenience and will do our best to solve any technical issues you might be experiencing.
Below are some simple troubleshooting techniques that may resolve your issue or, at the very least, provide us with necessary technical information regarding the CAPIT account.
Restart the CAPIT program (i.e., close your browser and reopen it; close out the CAPIT app on an iPad and reopen it);
Double-check the student’s login credentials;
Log out of CAPIT, and then log back in;
If you are using a computer or Chromebook, ensure that you are using a Chrome browser;
Attempt to log in using another device;
Check the device's internet connection by opening another internet-dependant program (i.e., YouTube);
Ensure your chrome browser is up to date;
Delete your browser cookies;
If you are using the CAPIT iPad App, ensure it’s the latest version (https://apps.apple.com/us/app/capit-reading/id966853325);
Delete and re-download the CAPIT app;
Confirm that your device is compatible with CAPIT (CLICK HERE);
Check if your device’s memory is full of videos and pictures;
If none of these actions solved your problem, please reach out to support@capitlearning.com, and someone will be in touch with you shortly.
Thank you for your help!
Tech Requirements
Internet
A high-speed Internet connection is required for each device running CAPIT Reading
Supported Devices
CAPIT Reading runs on computers, Chromebooks, and tablets running the latest version internet browser
CAPIT Reading runs on any iPad device which runs on iOS 13 or higher
Please turn on automatic updates on your iPad. Go to Settings. Tap App Store. Turn on or turn off App Updates.
Supported Web Browsers
CAPIT Reading runs on Google Chrome 58+, Firefox 52+, and Safari 13+
Important Chrome Settings for CAPIT Reading
CAPIT Access for Teachers & Students
Web App for Students & Teachers: https://read.capitlearning.com/startmenu
iPad App for Students & Teachers: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/capit-reading/id966853325
Web Portal for Teachers and Administrators: https://dashboard.capitlearning.com
Please Whitelist the Following URLs:
Domains
www.capitlearning.com
discover.capitlearning.com
portal.capitlearning.com
sounds.capitlearning.com
http://capit-learning.auth.us-west-1.amazoncognito.com/
fonts.googleapis.com
js.stripe.com
https://api.mixpanel.com
read.capitlearning.com
https://static1.squarespace.com/
https://ispri.ng
https://pro.ispringcloud.com
https://ispringcloud.com/
ispringmail.com
s4.ispringsolutions.com
mail.ispringsolutions.com
https://vimeo.com/
dashboard.capitlearning.com
assets.capitlearning.com
https://www.flagsmith.com/
Even better: .capitlearning.com
Email
noreply@quizresults.eu
Is CAPIT Compatible With Old Devices?
If the program crashes, freezes, or just acts glitchy, it’s possible you are using an old device.
CAPIT Reading is compatible with all Chrome-enabled devices and iPads 4 and up. Please remember that older devices have slower processors and less memory, and this can cause the program to freeze up, feel glitchy, and crash.
iPad Users should keep in mind that Apple periodically releases iOS updates that take up the iPad's working memory. These updates leave little memory for apps like CAPIT to run on.
If you are using an older device, unburden it by deleting unused applications. Also, be sure to shut down all other applications before launching CAPIT. CLICK HERE to learn how to shut down apps on the iPad.
CLICK HERE to view our tech requirements.
If you are unsure about your tech, please speak with your tech coordinator.
How Do I Project CAPIT on my Digital Board?
For Audio: Take the Audio Jack (see picture to the right) that you normally plug into your computer and plug it into your device. The sound will play through your classroom speakers.
For Visual: Take the VGA Cord (see picture to the right) that you normally plug into your computer and plug it into your device using a VGA Adapter. Here are links to a VGA Adapter for Newer iPads and for Older iPads. The video will play on your digital board.
If you have access to Apple TV the process is seamless via AirPlay.
My Student Can't Click on a CAPIT Matching Test With a Mouse (On Chrome)
CAPIT is compatible with all Chromebooks and Computers with a Chrome browser. Please note that with some touchscreen Chromebooks and Computers, the Matching Games and Level 1 Assessments will only function with the touchscreen, and will not work using a mouse.
Why is There an X on a Student’s User Profile?
If you see an X on a student’s user profile (Fig. 1), you need to trigger a sync with your Teacher Portal. Click on the top-left button (Fig. 2) until you arrive at the User Page (Fig. 3). This action will sync the device with the portal.
If the X is still there, try restarting the app. CLICK HERE for instructions.
If the X remains, and/or you notice a discrepancy between your student’s progress on the device and your Teacher Portal, please contact us immediately @ support@capitlearning.com.
What Do I Do When CAPIT Loses Internet Connection?
CAPIT Reading functions only when it is connected to the internet. This ensures that student progress is never lost. When the internet goes down (and the app can't send progress to the Teacher Portal), you will see this Failed Pop-Up Screen, and the app will be disabled until the internet connection is re-establish. You do not have to do anything. Just wait patiently for the internet to return. If the app stays offline for longer than 5 minutes, the student will be taken to the Home Screen. Please explain to your students that when they see this pop-up, they don't need to do anything. They should wait patiently for the internet to return. If you are experiencing long internet outages, please speak with your tech-coordinator.
Why am I Having Volume Issues with CAPIT?
iPads have 2 volume settings. One controls the iPad's speaker and the other controls your headphones. The two work independently of each other. This can lead to a situation where you get good volume on the speaker but no volume once you plug in your headphones. So please remember to adjust your volume again after inserting your headphones.
If you ever connect your iPad to your digital board—and forget that it is still connected—you may wonder why you have no volume on your iPad. This is because the volume is transferring to the digital board. Be sure to disconnect from your board, and your volume will once again come through the iPad speaker or your headphones.
Please note that some students might accidentally connect to the digital board in your room or to a digital board in a nearby room via Airplay. Make sure to check the Airplay setting on their device even if you haven't personally connected to a digital board with that iPad.
Why Did CAPIT Lose Its Sound?
Currently, the app will lose sound if the iPad is in Mute or Do Not Disturb. The iPad still plays sound through its audio jack/headphones. Here is how you restore sound to the speakers:
For Older iPads: Turn on your iPad, open your Settings, and click on General. On the right, you will see a section titled USE SIDE SWITCH TO. There are two options: Lock Rotation & Mute. If Mute is selected, please change it to Lock Rotation. Now try CAPIT again.
For Newer iPads: Turn on your iPad, open your Settings, and click on Do Not Disturb. On the right, check that Do Not Disturb is off. Now try CAPIT again.
You can also swipe down from the top-right corner to view Control Center and make sure the Mute button and Do Not Disturb button aren't enabled. See Fig. 1 and Fig. 2.
Please note that we have a fix for this issue that will be go live in our next update. Thank you for your patience.
Which Headphones Should I Use with CAPIT?
Learning to read requires that students discriminate between phonemes. This is hard to do in a noisy classroom.
We recommend that students use over-the-ear headphones.
We highly advise against using earbuds. Earbuds don’t block out noise, and they fall out. Invest in good over-the-ear headphones. They are worth it.
Setting Up a Sound Challenge Class
Go to this website: https://sounds.capitlearning.com/.
To create a class, choose the bottom left box: "If you are a teacher, click here to join the CAPIT Sound Challenge."
Create an account using your school email address, or sign up with Facebook, Google, or Apple.
Again: be sure to create the account using your school email address for chances to win prizes for your students.
Choose to create a Class account (up to 30 students).
Create a room name that will show up on the Global Leaderboard.
You will receive an email with your Room Name and Room Code. Your students will use the code to enter your class.
Logging Your Students Into Your Sound Challenge Class
Students access the CAPIT Sound Challenge here: https://sounds.capitlearning.com/.
Students should select the top box: "If you are a student, click here to enter the CAPIT Sound Challenge."
Your students enter your class by entering the Room Code you received in an email after creating your class.
The first time the student logs in, they will select three things: an Avatar, a background color for their avatar, and then a name.
Students can then choose to listen to the CAPIT Alphabet Song or one of our four challenges: Beginner, Advanced, Expert, Genius.
After completing a challenge, the student can see their class leaderboard and compare their time to their classmates' time. They can also view the global leaderboard to see how their class ranks across the country.
Permanently Delete Your CAPIT Sound Challenge Account
To initiate the permanent deletion of your CAPIT Sound Challenge Account, kindly click the button below to send us an email request. We will process the removal of your account within 2 business days. We appreciate your engagement with us. Thank you.