--- title: Understanding Student Achievements as a Teacher description: "Learn how student achievements work in DashPledge, including Read-a-thon, Move-a-thon, fundraising milestones, certificates, and how teachers can monitor student accomplishments." url: "https://dashpledge.com/docs/understanding-student-achievements-as-a-teacher/" updated: "2026-08-18" category: "Teachers & Classrooms" --- # Understanding Student Achievements as a Teacher ## Understanding student achievements DashPledge can recognize students as they reach participation or fundraising milestones during an eligible campaign. Achievements give teachers another way to monitor progress and celebrate student participation throughout a fundraiser. Available achievements depend on the campaign type and the milestones configured for the fundraiser. ## Where can I see student achievements? Sign in to your DashPledge Teacher Dashboard. Depending on the campaign, achievement information may appear with a student's progress or in other classroom activity areas. Each student's achievements are based on that student's eligible progress. ## How do students earn achievements? Students can earn achievements when they reach eligible milestones established for the campaign. Depending on the fundraiser, achievements may be based on: - Activity progress - Reading minutes - Move-a-thon activity - Fundraising progress - Amount raised - Participation milestones - Other campaign-specific goals Not every fundraiser uses the same achievements. ## Read-a-thon achievements For a **Read-a-thon**, achievements may recognize students for reaching reading milestones. As eligible reading minutes are recorded, students can progress toward available reading achievements. Accurate reading records are important because incorrect or duplicate entries can affect milestone progress. ## Move-a-thon achievements For a **Move-a-thon**, achievements may recognize students as they reach eligible movement or activity milestones. The activity measurement used depends on how the school's Move-a-thon is configured. Teachers should record activity using the fields and measurements provided for the campaign. ## Fundraising achievements Some achievements may be based on fundraising progress. As eligible donations are associated with a student's fundraiser, the student can progress toward fundraising milestones. Fundraising achievements are separate from activity achievements. ## Can a student earn multiple achievements? Yes. A student may earn multiple achievements as they reach different eligible milestones during the campaign. Reaching one milestone doesn't prevent the student from continuing toward additional achievements. ## Are achievements the same for every student? The available milestone structure may be shared across participating students, but each student's achievements are based on their own eligible progress. One student earning an achievement does not automatically award it to other students in the classroom. ## What are achievement certificates? Some eligible milestones may provide a personalized DashPledge certificate recognizing the student's accomplishment. When available, a certificate can include information such as: - Student name - Achievement or milestone - Campaign information - Recognition message Certificate availability depends on the campaign and milestone. ## When does an achievement appear? When DashPledge recognizes that a student has reached an eligible milestone, the achievement can appear with the student's progress information. If an achievement doesn't appear immediately, refresh the page and confirm that the underlying activity or fundraising total is correct. ## What if an achievement looks incorrect? First, determine what the achievement is based on. For an activity achievement, verify the student's activity total. For a fundraising achievement, review the student's fundraising progress. If the underlying total is incorrect, correct the activity information using the available tools or ask the appropriate fundraiser administrator for assistance. If the progress is correct but the achievement still appears incorrectly, visit **Troubleshooting**. ## Can teachers manually award achievements? Achievements that are based on DashPledge campaign milestones should be generated from eligible progress rather than manually assigned by a teacher. This helps keep achievement criteria consistent across participating students. ## Can teachers change an achievement? Teachers should not manually change milestone-based achievements. If an achievement was generated from incorrect activity information, correct the underlying activity when possible. If the achievement remains incorrect afterward, contact the fundraiser organizer or DashPledge Support. ## Are achievements the same as leaderboard rankings? No. **Achievements** recognize students for reaching defined milestones. **Leaderboards** compare eligible progress among participating students or classrooms. A student does not need to be at the top of a leaderboard to earn an achievement. ## Do achievements change fundraising totals? No. Achievements recognize participation or progress. They do not create donations or change the amount raised. Fundraising totals continue to be based on eligible donations associated with the fundraiser. ## How should teachers use achievements? Achievements can be a positive way to recognize participation throughout the campaign. Teachers can use them to: - Celebrate progress - Encourage continued participation - Recognize milestones - Motivate the classroom - Highlight individual accomplishments appropriately Achievements should complement participation rather than make students feel that only the highest totals matter. ## Protecting student privacy When recognizing student achievements, follow your school's policies and the fundraiser's privacy settings. Information displayed publicly may be different from information available inside the Teacher Dashboard. Visit **Privacy & Security** for additional guidance. ## What's next? You now have the core guides for the Teacher Dashboard: - Joining DashPledge as a teacher - Viewing and managing students - Logging Read-a-thon and Move-a-thon activity - Tracking classroom progress - Understanding leaderboards - Understanding student achievements For additional campaign-management questions, visit **Fundraisers & Campaigns**.