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2025 Spring Updates

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AI-Powered Auto-Grading for Subjective Questions

Penda now uses AI to automatically score and provide feedback on student-written responses (e.g., essays). Teachers can preview, apply, or decline AI-generated grades in the Teacher Grading screen.

Key Features:

• Account-Level Control: District admins can enable/disable AI grading in a new Options page under account settings.
• Assignment Setup: AI grading is enabled by default on Step 1 of the Create Assignment flow but can be toggled off if allowed at the account level.
• PAS Plans: The AI option also appears in Step 1 of the New PAS Plan flow and can be turned off as needed.
• Teacher Grading Interface: Teachers can view AI status, preview suggestions, and accept or reject AI grades.
• Note: AI scoring runs every 12 hours.

Custom Report Builder – Scopes

You can now select specific scopes (e.g., schools, teachers, classes, courses, students, groups) to include in custom reports—enabling more targeted analysis based on your access level.

Quick Report Enhancements

Line Item Analysis Report

• Sort by average score to view standard proficiency at a glance.
• Apply a date range and download the full report.

Progress Report

Columns reorganized making it easier to track progress for initiatives and competitions. The columns now highlight:

• Average mastery
• Activities completed
• Mastered / Partially Mastered / Not Mastered

Essay Retry Improvements

When retrying an activity with an essay:

• Students are prompted to reload their previous response via a banner.
• This allows them to revise and improve rather than start over.

New Instructional Guides: NGSS (Elementary) & Texas TEKS

Now available in the Content --> Activities Library and Activity Preview screen. These guides support lesson planning, differentiation, and inquiry-based learning. Each guide:

• Unpacks standards
• Defines learning goals
• Highlights misconceptions and corrections
• Provides sample strategies and hands-on activities

Favorites Folder Enhancements

You can now view and select activities from your Favorites folder in Step 3 of the Create Assignment process—making it faster to assign your go-to content.