What Is a Baseline Assessment?
A Baseline Assessment is a stress-free, time-saving alternative to traditional testing. It helps Doodle:
Identify each child’s current level of understanding
Detect learning gaps
Create a personalised work programme tailored to their strengths and areas for improvement
Baseline assessments are broken into short sets of questions that can be completed at school or at home, allowing children to work at their own pace in a relaxed environment.
When Should I Use a Baseline Assessment?
We recommend using baseline assessments:
Once a year for children in Reception and Year 1
At the start of each term for pupils in Years 2 to 6
Whenever a student’s programme seems too easy or too difficult
🧠 It’s important that children complete the baseline independently to ensure the programme is set at the right level.
How to Set a Baseline Assessment
Log in to the Teacher Dashboard
Go to Work programmes > View understanding
Select your class from the dropdown
To set a baseline for the whole class:
Click Start new baseline for whole class
Select the students you’d like to reassess
To set a baseline for an individual student:
Click on the student’s name on the left
Scroll to the bottom and click Set Baseline
To switch subjects, use the subject icons at the top of the page
How Do Baseline Assessments Work?
The number of question sets depends on the child’s age and the programme:
DoodleMaths
Under 4.5 years: 2 sets of 5 questions
4.5–5.5 years: 4 sets
5.5–6.5 years: 6 sets
6.5–7.5 years: 8 sets
7.5+ years: 10 sets
DoodleEnglish & DoodleSpell
Under 5.5 years: 2 sets
5.5–6.5 years: 4 sets
6.5+ years: 6 sets
Children don’t need to complete all sets in one go—they can return to them later by tapping the purple Baseline icon in their Learning Zone.
Setting the Right Level
At the start of the assessment, children will:
Confirm their month and year of birth
Set their confidence level using a slider:
Not confident = working below year group
Middle = working at year group level
Super confident = working above year group
🧒 Younger pupils may need help setting this up, but should complete the questions independently.
How to Answer Questions
Encourage children to:
Try their best and skip questions they’re unsure about
Avoid asking for help, as this could make the programme too difficult later on
It’s normal for the first few questions to feel too easy or too hard—Doodle uses this to find the right level.
If the questions are too easy:
The difficulty will increase gradually with each set
If the questions are too hard:
Doodle will lower the difficulty based on:
Time taken to answer
Incorrect answers
Skipped questions
Multiple attempts
How to Support Students During the Assessment
Encourage them to try their best and skip questions they’re unsure about
Avoid helping with answers—this could make the programme too difficult later
If questions are too easy, Doodle will gradually increase the difficulty
If questions are too hard, Doodle will adjust and lower the level accordingly
Supporting Younger Pupils During the Baseline Assessment
Younger children may need help setting up the confidence slider and confirming their month and year of birth. However, it’s important that they complete the questions independently. This ensures the programme is set at the right level for them.
⚠️ If the confidence slider is set too high or too low, the questions may start at an inappropriate level, which could affect the child’s confidence or engagement.
What Children Will See During the Assessment
Children won’t be told if their answers are right or wrong.
A star progress bar will fill up as they complete each set of questions.
At the end of each set, they’ll be asked how easy or difficult they found the questions.
Once the baseline is complete, the stars earned will appear in their target gauge.
All of this information helps Doodle build a personalised work programme that’s just right for each child.
How Long Does a Baseline Assessment Take?
The length of the assessment varies depending on the child’s age and confidence level:
Children may be asked up to 10 sets of 5 questions
The assessment can be completed over several days
After each set, children return to the Learning Zone and can continue when ready by tapping the purple Baseline icon
How Will I Know When It’s Complete?
The purple Baseline icon will disappear from the student’s Learning Zone
You may notice a drop in DoodleAge—this is normal and means Doodle is helping the child consolidate key learning before moving forward
💡 Need more help?
Our friendly support team is always happy to assist—just click the chat bubble in the bottom right corner of your screen.