Results must be timely and clearly communicated to students, teachers, and parents. Because most students in a Discourse setting respond without a delay in communication to the teacher, the goal of seamless integration of assessment and instructional practice is automatically achieved. For example, an 8th grade algebra teacher in a Minneapolis Discourse class writes problems on the chalkboard then asks students to enter their answer on their terminals. With the press of a button, the response of every student who has given the right answer turns green on the teacher's monitor, and the percentage of students who have answered correctly appears on the screen. Immediately, the teacher knows whether to move on or continue with more practice.
Students then work individually on problems appearing on their terminals.
The teacher can follow the work of all students, providing help to those who need it, not just to those who ask. At any time, the teacher may work through more examples with the class as needed. When students finish, the teacher pulls up a report and reviews performance on the spot. The teacher identifies problem areas for the group but also knows where individual remediation is required. Performance data are recorded on the computer so that reports may be printed and records updated later.