Plainly. ClassSense does not assess attention, diagnose ADHD, or treat it, and these settings do not replace an evaluation, a plan, or the support a student gets from you and from others at your school. They are display and pacing options. Some students find a quieter screen easier to work with.
What gets in the way during practice
Online practice has plenty of competing things on the page: a progress bar, a score, a timer, animations, a long scroll of questions. For a student who drifts easily, each one is a place to land. Teachers already respond to this on paper by folding a worksheet so only one row shows, or giving three problems at a time. These settings are the on-screen version of the same moves.
The Focus support bundle
On a student's supports page, ticking Focus support switches on two things:
- Focus mode. Only the current question is on screen. The rest of the practice is out of sight.
- Movement breaks. A short stand-up-and-move card appears every so often. You choose the interval: 10, 15 or 20 minutes.
The panel attaches a note about what teachers often choose this bundle for. It is a hint, not a recommendation. You decide which student gets which switch, and you do not need a label to turn anything on.
Switches that pair well with it
| If you notice | A setting you could try | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Clock watching or rushing | No timers | Nothing is timed, and timed games are hidden |
| Fixating on a score | Hide scores | No percentages or grades on screen |
| Upset after a wrong answer | Gentle feedback | Calmer, shorter wording |
| Sounds and motion are distracting | Calm, low-sensory look | Muted colours, no sound effects or animations |
| Trouble moving between tasks | Warn before changes | A heads-up before the next activity |
| Slowed by typing | Answer by tapping | Every answer is a tap |
One interaction to know about: turning on No timers hides the timed games. You can switch games back on for that student if you want them to have the choice.
A short trial that tells you something
Pick one observable problem
"Gives up after two questions" is useful. "Has trouble focusing" is too wide to test.
Turn on one or two switches
Start with focus mode alone, or with no timers if the clock is the issue.
Watch the same task for a week
Look at how many questions the student finishes in a sitting in the Students grid, and ask them what they noticed.
Keep, change or drop
If it did not help, switch it off. Nothing is locked in.
What you still do
- Seating, task length, directions in small chunks, and the human check-in. A setting cannot do any of those.
- Decide whether a movement break fits the room. It will not feel the same in the middle of a test.
- Handle any plan. Accommodations in a student's IEP or 504 plan are the plan team's call, and the panel's matching list is a convenience only.
- Keep these settings private. They are set by you for the student and are not shown to classmates.
Nothing here measures attention, and the mastery numbers still come from multiple-choice answers, so they say what a student answered, not why. See all the support settings, and differentiated instruction for the wider approach. If a student is falling behind, the page on students who fall behind goes further than settings can.
Common questions
Does ClassSense help students with ADHD?
It lets a teacher turn on focus mode, movement breaks, no timers and a calmer look for any student. Some students find a quieter screen easier. It does not diagnose or treat ADHD.
How often do movement breaks appear?
The teacher chooses 10, 15 or 20 minutes. The default is 15.
What does focus mode change?
It shows only the current question on screen instead of the whole practice set.
Do these settings count as an accommodation under a 504 plan?
That is for the plan team to decide. The settings change how lessons look and feel in ClassSense and do not replace a plan.