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GRACE STAR Assessment Handbook (page 11)

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GRACE Guidelines: Accommodations Vs Tools

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GRACE Guidelines: Accommodations Vs Tools

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Learn the difference between an accommodation and a tool and which ones are available for students to use.

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This page from the GRACE Star testing handbook explains how Star testing data should be utilized and analyzed in GRACE classrooms.

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GRACE Star Assessment Handbook (page 16)

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GRACE has specific guidelines for sending home information to parents. Please read those expectations and requirements here.

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GRACE Star Assessment Handbook (page 10)

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This page covers guidelines on using and implementing the Star Reading Spanish test within the GRACE system and with GRACE dual-language students.

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Please read the following page from the GRACE Star Testing Handbook to see what GRACE's expectations are for using data to drive instruction.

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This page from the GRACE Star Handbook lists key pages and information to reference in the Star Administration Manual.

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Please read this page from the GRACE Star Assessment Handbook to understand the expectations and requirements for teachers in regards to training videos.

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This is a brief overview of the Star Assessment and how it will be utilized in the GRACE system.

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GRACE STAR Assessment Handbook (page 12)

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GRACE Guidelines: Audio & Plan Accommodations

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GRACE Guidelines: Audio & Plan Accommodations

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This page of the handbook explains which grade levels can use the audio accommodations during testing and also how accommodations can be administered when a GSSP or TSP is in place for a student.

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GRACE STAR Assessment Handbook (page 13)

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GRACE Guidelines: Administering a Test with Accommodations

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GRACE Guidelines: Administering a Test with Accommodations

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Learn what to do when you need to pause or stop a test. Please read carefully as you don't want to accidentally lose students' testing data!

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GRACE Guidelines: Star Early Literacy vs Star Reading

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GRACE Guidelines: Star Early Literacy vs Star Reading

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Kindergarten and 1st grade teachers can find the guidelines regarding which test should be administered, Star Reading or Star Early Literacy. Guidelines for Star Math are also included in this document.

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This is a letter from the Diocese of Green Bay regarding the rollout of the Star Testing Program.

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GRACE STAR Assessment Handbook (page 14)

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GRACE Guidelines: Instruction Levels & Time Limit

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GRACE Guidelines: Instruction Levels & Time Limit

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Read about why Estimated Instruction Levels are not recommended and also what the time limit is for answering questions on the Star tests.

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The Star Implementation Guide explains scoring information and data points as long with how to implement the test to fidelity.

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GRACE STAR Assessment Handbook (page 15)

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GRACE Guidelines: Retesting & Deactivations

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GRACE Guidelines: Retesting & Deactivations

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Retesting and Deactivations should rarely occur. Read about which situations are appropriate for these functions and how to submit a request if needed.

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Use the Scaled Score (SS) ranges for fall, winter, and spring to see if you're students are on track to reach their growth goals in Star Reading.

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Use the Scaled Score (SS) ranges for fall, winter, and spring to see if you're students are on track to reach their growth goals in Star Math.

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Use the Scaled Score (SS) ranges for fall, winter, and spring to see if you're students are on track to reach their growth goals in Star Early Literacy.

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Use the Scaled Score (SS) ranges for fall, winter, and spring to see if you're students are on track to reach their growth goals in Star Spanish Reading.

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Use the Scaled Score (SS) ranges for fall, winter, and spring to see if you're students are on track to reach their growth goals in Star Spanish Math.

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This is a pre-designed letter in the Star portal that can be sent home with students to explain the Star testing experience.

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Who can do this with default user permissions?

District Level Administrators, District Dashboard Owners, District Staff, School Level Administrators, School Staff, Teachers

The Send Home Letter provides information to parents that allows parents and students to log in to the software from home using Home Connect. If your school has Accelerated Reader, Renaissance Home Connect allows students to see their progress on Accelerated Reader quizzes and their reading goals. If your school has Star products only, parents can use Renaissance Home Connect to sign up for email updates when their child takes a Star test.

Note that although students can see their scores and progress in Renaissance Home Connect, they cannot take quizzes or tests or complete assignments.

Follow these steps to print the report:

1. If you are not already on the Reports page, select Reports on the Home page; then, select Accelerated Reader / Reading Practice or Star / Assessment in the menu that opens.

When you go to the Reports page, the tab that is open by default depends on the choice you made in the menu.

2. Select Home Connect Send Home Letter in the Parent Reports section of the Accelerated Reader/Reading Practice tab or from the Parents and Other Reports section of the Star/Assessments tab. (If you have added the report to the Pinned Reports, you'll find it under that section at the top of the page.)

3. To choose the students who need letters about Home Connect, select the link after "Export letters for."

4. Choose the students who need letters. Teachers can only choose students in their own classes and groups.

In the popup window, if there is a Schools column, select a school. (This column isn't available if you only have access to one school.)

If the Teachers column is available, at the top of the column, choose either All Teachers (to choose all the teachers in the school) or Select Teachers (to choose specific teachers; check the ones you want in the list). This column is not available to most teachers.

At the top of the Classes column, choose either All Classes (to choose all the classes for the teachers) or Select Classes (to choose specific classes; check the ones you want in the list).

Teachers and school staff will also see a Groups column. At the top of the Groups column, choose either All Groups or Select Groups; if you choose Select Groups, check the groups that you want to include. The first choice in the column is "Whole Class" or "Whole Classes"; choose this to report on the class(es) as a whole. Below that, you will see groups you created.

You may need to scroll to the right to see the Students column. At the top of the Students column, choose either All Students (to choose all the students) or Select Students (to choose specific students; check the ones you want in the list).

You can search the items in a column by clicking within that column and then typing Ctrl+F or control-F on the keyboard.

When you are done making your choices, select Apply (or Cancel to close this the pop-up without saving your choices).

1. Select Print to PDF. Note: The button may not appear to be active until you hover the cursor over it.

2. When your browser's print window opens, select the printer (or choose the save/print to PDF option) and choose the print options.

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Who can do this with default user permissions? District Level Administrators, District Dashboard Owners, District Staff, School Level Administrators, School Staff, Teachers The Send Home Letter pr...

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Click here to see how to print the Star Student Report and what type of information this report includes.

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Use the Star Student Report to help students understand their performance: how where they are relates to where they need to be. It also gives teachers an opportunity to motivate and encourage their students.
How do I get to this page?

1. Log in to Renaissance.

2. On the Home page, select Star Reading, Star Early Literacy, Star Math, or Star Spanish.

3. In the drop down-list, select Reports.

4. On the Star / Assessment tab on the Reports page, under "Parent and Other Reports," select Star Student Report.

Who can do this with default user permissions?

District Level Administrators, District Staff, School Level Administrators, School Staff, Teachers
florida b.e.s.t. standards and the star student report
For our customers in Florida, on the Star Student Report, domains are referred to as strands, and standards are referred to as benchmarks.

1. On the Star Student Report page, use the Assessment Types drop-down list to choose one Star product to create the report for. Note: The report will include both Enterprise and Progress Monitoring tests.

2. Use the School drop-down list to select a school.

If you are assigned to only one school, you will not see the School drop-down list.

School administrators and school staff can only select their own schools.

Teachers can only select schools that they are assigned to.

3. Use the Students drop-down list to select either a single class at the chosen school or All Classes at the chosen school.

School administrators and school staff can only select classes in their own school.

Teachers can only select their own classes.

To select specific classes, groups, or students at the chosen school, use the links below the Students drop-down list. Selecting one of these links will open a corresponding pop-up window; in that window, enter search criteria in the field at the top of the window to find specific classes, groups, or students with names that start with the criteria you enter (in the "Select Students" pop-up window, district- and school-level users can select a grade to narrow down the list of students). Once you've searched, check the box at the top of the list to select all the available choices, or make individual selections below it.

School administrators and school staff can only select classes, groups, or students in their own school.

Teachers can only select their own classes, their own groups, or students enrolled in one of their own classes.

Select the arrow in the heading of a column to re-sort by the data in that column. The arrow indicates which column is being used for sorting and the order of the sort: up arrow = A-Z, down arrow = Z-A).

Once you have made your choices, select Save Selection at the bottom of the pop-up window.

4. If you want to use demographic data to further refine the data in the report, select Change Demographics... (or Choose Demographics...).

By default, the "All" option is chosen for Ethnicity, Gender, Language, and Grade Level. To reduce the scope, choose the "Select" option at the top of the appropriate column and then check your selections in that column.

In the example above, the user has selected two Languages and three Grade Levels, while leaving Ethnicity and Gender at the default "All" options. Note: The Filter Reports by Ethnicity user permission may be set to prevent the use of ethnicities as a filter.

By default, the "All" option is chosen for Characteristics. To reduce the scope, choose Select Characteristics... and then check each characteristic you want students in the report to have. You must also choose any or all (after "Include students with") to specify whether students with any of the selected characteristics will be included in the report or only those with all of the selected characteristics.

In the example above, the user selected two Characteristics (ADA and ESL). Because any is selected, the report will include students who are ADA, ESL, or both. If all had been selected, only students who are both ADA and ESL would be included. Note: The Filter Reports by Characteristics user permission may be set to prevent the use of characteristics as a filter.

Once you are finished choosing demographic options, select Apply at the bottom of the window to save your choices (or Cancel to close the window without saving your choices).

5. Use the drop-down list to choose the dates you want to generate the report for. Dates will be in the current school year. You can select the entire school year (which will include the entire school year up to the current date-this is the default setting), an existing , or custom dates within the current school year.

6. Use the Language drop-down list (to the right of Date Range) to choose whether to generate the report in English or Spanish.

7. Use the Scale drop-down list to choose which scale to use when showing student test scores.

If the Assessment Type chosen earlier was one of the Reading or Reading Spanish products, the Lexile® scale will be an available option.

For customers in Mississippi, the Star Enterprise Scale will be an available option for all products.

If only one scale is available, you will not need to select it.

8. Use the Benchmark Type drop-down list to choose which benchmarks will be shown on the report (State, District, or School).

9. Check any of the remaining options you wish to use before generating the report:

Static State Benchmark to show how students are expected to perform on the end-of-school-year test if taken on the date of their Star test. It uses the actual cut scores aligned to the state test levels (no time adjustment). If this option is unchecked, the report will show if students are on track by using current, time adjusted cut scores to better account for student learning that is yet to occur before the state test date arrives (this option only appears if State was chosen as the Benchmark Type).

For customers in Florida, if State is the chosen Benchmark Type and Static State Benchmark is checked, an additional option will be available: Show FAST Score (Grades K-2). Checking this option will include FAST scores on the report for students in grades K-2; dashes will be shown for students outside of those grades.

Show Domain Scores to show students' domain scores in the learning progression domains.

Show SGP to include Student Growth Percentiles.

Show Student ID to include student ID numbers. (Note: For customers in Florida, this option will be Show FLEID.)

Show Useful Terms to Know to include a list of terms and their definitions on the report.

Show Reading Range & Instruction Level to show student's reading range (ZPD or Lexile®) and instructional reading level (IRL). Note: This option only applies to Reading and Reading Spanish products; if a Math product was chosen earlier, this option will not be shown.

Hide Students without Data to exclude students without any test data from the report.

10. When you are finished selecting the options you want, select Update Report.

11. The data shown on the report will vary based on the options you've selected; the following example shows data for a student's Star Reading assessments.

The top part shows the student's name, ID (if that option was selected), most recent test date, grade, school, and the subject for the chosen product.

Below that is the score of the student's most recent test (on the selected scale), the benchmark category that score puts them in, and their Percentile Rank. Also shown (if the relevant options were selected) are the student's Reading Range (ZPD) and Instructional Reading Level, and the student's SGP (with a bar chart indicating if the student's growth is considered Low [SGP 1-34], Typical [SGP 35-65], or High [SGP 66-99]).

if you selected star math algebra or star math geometry as the assessment type...

Percentile Ranks will not be shown in the report.

The domains shown will be limited to Algebra or Geometry domains (instead of all Math domains).

notes on state benchmarks

The Benchmark Category Level will be shown by the Scaled Score. If State was chosen for the Benchmark Type, the name of the state benchmark will be shown; the following example is for the state of Florida:

Additionally, if State was chosen for the Benchmark Type and the Static State Benchmark option was selected earlier, the dashed line shown on the chart represents what the benchmark will be at the time of the state test; there will be a diamond on the line corresponding to each of the student's tests for easy comparison. The testing windows are shaded and labeled in the chart, and tests in the table are sorted first by the testing windows, then by date (in the example below, the testing windows for Florida are shown: PM1, PM2, and PM3).

Next is a record of the student's test activity: all tests taken with the selected product within the chosen dates are included. The data is shown as both a table and a graph.

Domain scores and the student's level of mastery in those domains (Beginning [0-59 percent], Developing [60-79 percent], or Secure [80-100 percent]) are shown at the bottom if that option was selected.

Finally, the useful terms to know are listed if that option was selected.

12. You can change any of the options you've chosen and select Update Report to regenerate the report.

13. Select at the top of the page to create a PDF of the report which you can print or save.

Students in the school district of Philadelphia have access to an adapted version of the Star Student Report. The report is limited to the student's own test data; students cannot access or view test data for other students.

Students who have access to the report will see a View My Star Report link in the upper-right corner of their Home page. When they select this link, a drop-down list will appear-the student should select a subject that they have taken a Star assessment for (only Star programs that the student's class has access to will be included in this list).

After the student selects a subject, the report automatically generates and opens in a new window. Unlike personnel, the student cannot select any options to change the data shown; the following default settings are always used:

Date Range: The entire current school year up to the present date is used.

Language: English is the default, although the student can change this by using the Language drop-down list at the top of the report:

Assessment Type: If a student has taken more than one type of Star assessment, they do not have to go back to their Home page to select a different one; they can use the Assessment Type drop-down list to choose a different assessment (the report will automatically update when a new assessment type is chosen).

Scale: The Star Unified Scale is used.

Benchmark Type: The default benchmark for the school district is used.

Domain Scores: These will be shown.

SGP: This will be shown.

Student ID: This will be shown

Reading Range & Instruction Level: These will be shown for Reading and Reading Spanish, using ZPD or Lexile® (based on the setting of the Lexile® range Preference).

The student can select Print in the upper-right corner of the page to print the report.

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Use the Star Student Report to help students understand their performance: how where they are relates to where they need to be. It also gives teachers an opportunity to motivate and encourage their...

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This document provides an overview of all the Star Test accommodations that are available to students within the testing portal.

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The Star Math Audio preference and the Accommodations "Audio (Star Math - English)" preference both address the same function: providing audio in Star Math for students who need it. There are specific interactions between these preferences that need to be taken into account:

If a student needs only audio support for Star Math (audio playing automatically for each item) and NO other accommodations, use the Star Math Audio preference. (Note: This preference was set for K-2 students in Florida.)

If a student needs audio support for Star Math (including the ability to control when audio is played), has an IEP or 504, and needs ANY other accommodations (screen reader, item masking, color contrast, etc.), use the Accommodations "Audio (Star Math - English)" preference.

Is the audio different between the preferences?
The pre-recorded audio is the same for both preferences. The Star Math Audio preference plays audio automatically, while the "Accommodations - Audio (Star Math English)" preference allows educators to turn off the audio's autoplay if necessary.

Note: Screen reader support that requires a JAWS reader license per student will read everything on the page using JAWS technology. This is only recommended for students who need this support as everything on screen is read including headers, answer choices and status, and buttons.
How do I get to this page?
There are two ways to get to this preference-use whichever method you prefer.
Method 1:

1. Log in to Renaissance.

2. On the Home page, select your initials in the upper-right corner. In the drop-down list, select Edit Preferences.

3. On the Preferences page, select Accommodations in the Individual Student Preferences section of the page.

Method 2:

1. Log in to Renaissance.

2. On the Home page, select Star Reading or Star Math. In the drop-down list, select Preferences.

3. On the Preferences page, select Accommodations in the Individual Student Preferences section of the page.

Who can do this with default user permissions?

District Level Administrators: any student in any school in the district

School Level Administrators: any student in their own school

Teachers: any student in one of their own classes or groups

Students who are blind/visually impaired or have other special needs may find it difficult to take the standard Star assessments. By setting this preference, you can give those students access to assistive tools and technologies which can help them take the English versions of the Star Math Enterprise and Star Reading Enterprise assessments.

1. After you select Accommodations on the Preferences page, use the School , Classes , and Students drop-down lists to choose which students to set the preference for.

You can only select one school at a time; only the schools available to you will be shown in the list. (If you only have access to one school, you will not need to select it.)

You can only select one class at a time; only the classes available to you will be shown in the list. (If you only have access to one class, you will not need to select it.)

All of the students in the selected class will be shown in the Students list. You can check them one at a time, or you can choose Select All at the bottom to check/uncheck all of the students at once. (If you only have access to one student, you will not need to select them.)

2. For each student, select the accommodations you want that student to have access to during an assessment.

guidance for setting the accommodations preference
Review your student's specific needs in the IEP or 504 plan and make selections accordingly:

Select any accommodations that should appear on the Accommodations Toolbar.

If a student uses assistive technology, select Screen Reader or Other under "Assistive Technology." Note: A student's school needs to provide any necessary assistive technology, such as a JAWS license.)

If a student requires unlimited time, select Unlimited Time under "Allotted Time."

If a student needs to use audio during a test, select whichever "Audio (Star Math - English)" option is most appropriate:

If the audio can be played automatically, select Audio & Auto-play.

If your student needs to be able to start and stop the audio, select Audio with Auto-play turned off.

If your student doesn't require audio, select Audio Off.

If your student uses a screen reader, we recommend selecting Audio with Auto-play turned off or Audio Off.

accommodations toolbar
When any of these options are chosen, they will appear in a toolbar on the screen while the student is taking the test. The student can use the toolbar to select and use whichever tools you are making available:

Response Masking: The student can eliminate answers shown on the screen.

Calculator: The student can use an on-screen calculator.

For some Star Math questions, a calculator and/or formula sheet is automatically provided, regardless of the setting of this preference.

The calculator accommodation only affects Star Math Enterprise assessments; it does not affect Star Math Progress Monitoring, Star Math Geometry, or Star Math Algebra assessments.

Color Contrast: The student can change the contrast levels of the text and images on the screen to improve visibility.

Font Size/Zoom: The student can "zoom in" or magnify the text and images on the screen to improve visibility.

Highlighter: The student can use a virtual highlighter to highlight parts of the text in an item.

Line Reader: The student can drag a line reader on the screen which will visually isolate one or more lines of text.

assistive technology

Screen Reader: The text on the screen can be read by screen-reading programs. Renaissance Learning uses and recommends the JAWS screen reader on Windows in Chrome.

Other: These settings should be selected for students who use screen readers, speech-to-text (speech recognition), switch devices, other assistive technology, and those who use a keyboard without a mouse.

allotted time
If Unlimited Time is checked here, students will have 900 seconds (15 minutes) to answer a question. If there is no activity from the student within this amount of time, the student will be shown a dialog box. The student will have 60 seconds to respond in the dialog box and return to the same test item, resetting the "900 second" clock. If the student does not respond within 60 seconds, the student's current progress on the test will be saved and the test will be ended (treated as a paused test; see Pausing, Stopping, and Resuming a Star Math/Star Reading Test with Accommodations Set).
audio (star math enterprise-english only)

Audio & Auto-play: Items will be read out loud to the student; this will happen automatically when the question is first presented, and the student can choose to replay the audio if they wish.

Audio with Auto-play turned off: Items can be read out loud to the student if and when they choose.

Audio Off: There will be no audio provided for the question or the answers, and there will be no audio controls on the screen.

alternate response

If Braille is checked here, visually-impaired students can use Braille for Star CBM Reading and Star CBM Math assessments (provides extra tools and accommodations for students to use while taking some English Star Assessments; includes Nemeth and UEB Braille files for math paper assessments).

The FAST Paper-Based Form option is for customers in Florida. When it is checked for a student (in grades K-2), that student can have a paper-based form of the Star Reading or Star Math assessment given to them. Teachers enter the student responses via the Star Record Book.

3. When you have finished making your changes, select Save Changes to save them (you will see a confirmation message once your changes have been saved). You can also select Undo Changes to undo your changes to the preference setting.

4. Select Back at the top of the page to return to the Preferences page when you are done.

When a student is taking a test with any Accommodations set, the procedure for pausing or resuming their test is different from the usual method.

If any Accommodations Preference settings are changed for a student who has a paused test, the original settings will remain in effect when the test is resumed. In order for the new settings to take effect, the student needs to start a new assessment.

If a class has the Math Test Type preference set to Algebra or Geometry and a student in that class has any of the Accommodations above set for them, that student will not be presented with the Star Math Algebra, Star Math Geometry, or Star Math Progress Monitoring tests; they will only be presented with the Star Math Enterprise test. Note that the settings for the Star Math Audio Preference and Extended Question Time Limits Preference will still apply for Algebra or Geometry tests.

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which audio preference should i set for students using star math? The Star Math Audio preference and the Accommodations "Audio (Star Math - English)" preference both address the same function: prov...

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This document provides a brief overview of the Star Reading Spanish assessment and how to adjust the level of intervention for students at varying levels of dual-literacy.

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Supporting Emergent Bilinguals/Multilingual Learners with Star Reading English and Star Reading Spanish

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Renaissance Star assessments are available in English and Spanish. Assessing students in multiple languages allows educators to analyze students’ demonstrated strength and areas of growth in both l…

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It is the expectation in GRACE that testing data is being used to drive instruction. Learn how to do that with Star data by viewing this video from Renaissance.

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Check out this How-To Video on interpreting and understanding Star Assessment data and coding terms provided by Renaissance.

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Scaled Scores is similar to the NWEA MAP RIT. Understand how to interpret and monitor students' scaled scores in Star.

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What is a scaled score? Learn why many tests use a scaled score to report student achievement, and what you need to know when comparing scaled scores.

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This video will assist you with monitoring student growth in the Star test using the SGP data point.

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Did you know there is no universally accepted method to determine a year's growth in a year's time? It's true!

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Your complete guide to the Star Test and how to administer it to students.

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Star Reading Test Introduction Read Aloud

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Star Reading Test Introduction Read Aloud

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Check out this script provided by Star that teachers can read to their students out loud prior to taking the Star Reading test.

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Star Reading Test Introduction Read Aloud

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Check out this step-by-step introduction that teachers can read to students prior to taking the Star Math test.

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Star Early Literacy Test Introduction Read Aloud

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Star Early Literacy Test Introduction Read Aloud

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Check out this script provided by Star that teachers can read to their students out loud prior to taking the Star Early Literacy test.

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Early Literacy Test Introduction Read Aloud

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Review these Star Reading Sample Items with students for practice prior to the start of testing.

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Review these Star Math Sample Items with students for practice prior to the start of testing.

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Review these Star Early Literacy Sample Items with students for practice prior to the start of testing.

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Teachers in K-3 should use this criteria list to determine which reading test to administer to young students.

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Learn about the different Star Assessments, who to administer the tests to, and what kind of data is gathered from the tests.

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This introductory video is required for ALL GRACE TEACHERS. Please watch prior to any August in-services or Star training sessions.

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Administering a Test with Accommodations

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Administering a Test with Accommodations

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Read this article to review how to pause, stop, and resume a Star Math/Star Reading test with accommodations set during the testing process.

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Pausing, Stopping, and Resuming a Star Math/Star Reading Test with Accommodations Set

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Situations may arise in the classroom which interrupt a test (for example, a surprise fire drill). If this happens, the teacher or test monitor can stop the test, either pausing it so the student c…

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This is an article provided by Renaissance explaining their approach to bilingual testing and how tests are specifically designed to meet the needs of these students.

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According to estimates, between 60 and 75 percent of the world's population speak two or more languages. The benefits of bilingualism are well documented: A larger working memory, better reading and listening skills, greater empathy and openness, and expanded job opportunities. Bilinguals are also better at multi-tasking and solving problems, and they generally perform better than monolinguals on standardized tests (Vince 2016; Kinzler 2016; Burton 2018).

In the US, we've traditionally looked at emerging bilingual students through the lens of "What don't they know yet?" and "What do they need?," which places a lot of emphasis on deficits. In our new webinar, we suggest taking an asset-based approach instead, where we seek to understand what these students know and can do in both languages-and how we can build on this. We focus particularly on students who are learning in Spanish and English, and we explain how you can use Star Assessments to support strong biliteracy.

In this blog, we'll share several key ideas from the webinar. We invite you to watch the webinar recording for a more detailed discussion of these points-and to learn about our own experiences as bilingual learners.

An important change to our perspective

Moving from a deficit- to an asset-based approach to learning is not a new idea. For example, in 2008, García, Kleifgen, and Falchi argued that English Language Learners are actually emergent bilinguals, functioning in both their native (or home) language and in English, their new language and that of school. Ignoring these students' home language, they add, perpetuates inequalities in education, discounts the cultural knowledge and understandings this student population brings to the classroom, and incorrectly assumes they have the same needs as monolingual learners.

A number of organizations have embraced this view. The Council of Great City Schools (2017), for example, points out that students' home languages are "key resources" that "can help them in developing both the social and academic registers of English. Students benefit academically when their home cultures and languages are recognized as assets." The WIDA Consortium (2014) takes a similar view, stating that "all children bring to their learning cultural and linguistic practices, skills, and ways of knowing from their homes and communities. [The] educator's role is to design learning spaces and opportunities that capitalize on and build upon these assets."

Perhaps the most persuasive argument for an asset-based approach comes from a longitudinal study by Thomas and Collier (2017), which we discuss in detail in the webinar. These authors reviewed more than 30 years of student performance data to determine which language programs produce the best (and the worst) results. Not surprisingly, dual-language programs that build upon students' knowledge and skills in their home language are the most effective at closing achievement gaps between emerging bilinguals and native English speakers. English-only programs, which largely discount students' home language, are the least effective.

These and similar findings have had a major impact on the work we do at Renaissance. In 2016, we released Spanish-language versions of our computer-adaptive Star Reading, Star Math, and Star Early Literacy assessments. Like their English-language counterparts, these Spanish versions of Star identified the skills that students had mastered. This is obviously important information to have, especially for pinpointing the skills a student has learned in Spanish that can be transferred to English-such as identifying key ideas and details in reading, or multiplying and dividing fractions in math.

However, we realized that Star could be enhanced to also provide detailed instructional planning information in Spanish-which would better meet the needs of the many bilingual and dual-language programs across the US. So, we challenged ourselves to adopt a more asset-based approach, with the goal of achieving parity between Star Assessments in Spanish and in English.

This has been the focus of our work over the last 18 months or so, and this work will continue into 2021 and beyond. But we recently reached the position where we could, so to speak, relaunch our Spanish-language Star Assessments, and we're excited to share the new features with educators.

Supporting literacy in two languages

The English-language Star Assessments are built on detailed learning progressions for reading and math, which list the skills across grades K-12 that students must master for college and career readiness. Renaissance has created learning progressions for all fifty US states (plus Washington DC), to ensure the progression of skills matches the sequence and organization of each state's learning standards.

In August, we were thrilled to become the first K-12 assessment company to release an authentic learning progression for Spanish. La progresión de la lectura de Renaissance shows you how literacy develops in Spanish across grade levels and domains, as represented in this graphic:

Each skill in the progression (represented by the different cubes) is placed in a sequence to show when it could sensibly be taught in relation to all the other skills intended for that year. Skills were first ordered based on how students would typically be expected to learn them. To determine this order, we analyzed a variety of Spanish reading standards, including the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) in Spanish; the CCSS en Español; the California CCSS en Español; and standards from Puerto Rico, Mexico, Chile, and Peru.

This ordering of skills was then validated by an external reviewer, and by using data from thousands of administrations of Spanish-language Star Assessments. The final order is a suggested sequence and provides context for where students are in their Spanish literacy development. Just like the English progression, this new Spanish progression is a valuable tool in helping educators to answer the question: What's next?

Connecting assessment to instruction

To illustrate how this new Spanish learning progression might impact day-to-day teaching, let's consider a student named Carla. As we explain in the webinar, Carla is a fourth-grader in a dual-language immersion program-a program whose goal is biliteracy. Carla recently took the Star Reading assessment in both English and Spanish. (We should note here that Star supports in-person and remote administration, and is well-suited for distance- and hybrid-learning environments. Students typically complete a Star Reading assessment in about 20 minutes, meaning that it's possible to administer both the English and Spanish assessments in a relatively short period of time-although we don't recommend administering the two assessments back-to-back.)

The results of the English assessment show that Carla is performing slightly above grade level. Her Instructional Planning Report lists the literacy skills she is ready to learn in English, based on the learning progression for her state (in this case, Wisconsin):

Now let's turn to the results of Carla's Spanish assessment. Once again, she is doing quite well, performing slightly above grade level. Here, the Instructional Planning Report lists the literacy skills she is ready to learn in Spanish, based on la progresión de la lectura de Renaissance:

We have several comments here:

First, we should note that educators can run many of the Star Spanish reports in both Spanish and English. They might choose to run the reports in English when they need to share performance and instructional planning information from the Spanish assessment with colleagues who are more comfortable working in English.

Second, note that Carla's reports have skills in common-in other words, transferrable skills. Granted, this won't always be the case, given that each language has unique skills that don't apply to the other. (Examples: Recognizing onset and rime in English, and recognizing accent marks in Spanish.) But there are also commonalities, as we can see from these report extracts:

Carla is ready to learn two very similar skills. In English, it's Explain how to determine the author's purpose, which is a grade 5 skill in the learning progression for the Wisconsin Academic Standards. In Spanish, it's Explicar cómo el punto de vista de los narradores sesga la historia, which is a grade 5 skill in la progresión de la lectura de Renaissance. In this scenario, Carla's English and Spanish Language Arts teachers will likely want to collaborate on teaching this skill, since there's no need to start "from scratch" in each language.

This raises an obvious question: What role does Star Reading in Spanish play in English-only programs? We discuss this point in detail in the webinar, giving the example of a student named Jim, who's a newcomer to the US and who struggles on the English version of Star Reading. Administering Star Reading in Spanish will identify the literacy skills that Jim has already secured. This will provide a more complete picture of what Jim truly knows, helping his teachers decide where to focus instruction.

Celebra lo que saben

In this blog, we've only skimmed the surface of what Star Assessments have to offer, and we invite you to watch the webinar for an in-depth discussion of each of these points. We're also working on other new resources to support educators' use of Star in Spanish, including a detailed white paper on the development of la progresión de la lectura de Renaissance. In the meantime, we invite you to explore Star in Spanish and all of the new features-including student growth percentile (SGP) scores to help you measure growth. And, as we mentioned earlier, we have additional features in development for the coming months, to ensure that Star continues to provide tools and resources to accelerate learning for all.

References

Burton, N. (2018). Beyond words: The benefits of being bilingual. Retrieved from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/hide-and-seek/201807/beyond-words-the-benefits-being-bilingual

Council of Great City Schools. (2017). Re-envisioning English language arts and English language development for English Language Learners. Retrieved from: http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED588760.pdf

Garcia, O., Kleifgen, J., & Falchi, L. (2008). From English Language Learners to emergent bilinguals. Equity Matters: Research Review 1.

Kinzler, K. (2016). The superior social skills of bilinguals. Retrieved from: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/13/opinion/sunday/the-superior-social-skills-of-bilinguals.html

Thomas, W., & Collier, V. (2017). Validating the power of bilingual schooling: Thirty-two years of large-scale, longitudinal research. Annual Review of Applied Linguistics, 37, 1-15.

Vince, G. (2016). The amazing benefits of being bilingual. Retrieved from: https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20160811-the-amazing-benefits-of-being-bilingual

WIDA. (2014). The early English language development standards. Retrieved from: https://wida.wisc.edu/sites/default/files/resource/Early-ELD-Standards-Guide-2014-Edition.pdf

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Assessing emergent bilinguals: Celebra lo que saben

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Learn how students who are learning in Spanish and English, can use Star Assessments to support strong biliteracy.

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Use this checklist to ensure fidelity when administering the Star assessment.

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Estimated Instructional Levels should only be adjusted on Star testing if a specific GSSP or TSP states it is an accommodation for a student. Learn more about this process by reading the article here.

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There are two ways to get to this preference-use whichever method you prefer.
Method 1:

1. Log in to Renaissance.

2. On the Home page, select your name in the upper-right corner. In the drop-down list, select Edit Preferences.

3. On the Preferences page, select Estimated Instructional Levels in the Individual Student Preferences section of the page.

Method 2:

1. Log in to Renaissance.

2. On the Home page, select Star Reading, Star Math, or Star Spanish. In the drop-down list, select Preferences.

3. On the Preferences page, select Estimated Instructional Levels in the Individual Student Preferences section of the page.

Who can do this with default user permissions?

District Level Administrators: any student in any school in the district

School Level Administrators: any student in their own school

Teachers: any student in one of their own classes or groups

Star Math, Star Math Spanish, Star Reading, and Star Reading Spanish normally start a student's first test with questions slightly below the student's grade level. If the student has taken one of these tests in the past six months, the program uses the results from the last test to decide the starting difficulty level for the next one.

However, when students have an Estimated Instructional Level set, the program uses that level to decide how difficult the first question should be. Change the Estimated Instructional Level when a student's starting level does not align with the student's grade. Setting the Estimated Instructional Level will only impact the student's very first assessment or if the student has not assessed within a 180-day span.

The setting of this preference does not affect any practice questions a student may receive before a test.

1. After you select Estimated Instructional Level on the Preferences page, use the Schools , Classes , and Students drop-down lists to choose which students to set the preference for.

You can only select one school at a time; only the schools available to you will be shown in the list. (If you only have access to one school, you will not need to select it.)

You can only select one class at a time; only the classes available to you will be shown in the list. (If you only have access to one class, you will not need to select it.)

All of the students in the selected class will be shown in the Students list. You can check them one at a time, or you can choose Select All at the bottom to check/uncheck all of the students at once. (If you only have access to one student, you will not need to select them.)

2. For each student, select a grade level from the drop-down lists after the student's name in the Instructional Reading Level column (for Star Reading and Star Reading Spanish) and Math Instructional Level (for Star Math and Star Math Spanish).

To set the same preference for all the students shown at the same time, select Set All... , select grade levels for Instructional Reading Level and/or Math Instructional Level , and then select Apply to All .

3. When you have finished making your changes, select Save Changes to save them (you will see a confirmation message once your changes have been saved). You can also select Undo Changes to undo your changes to the preference setting.

4. Select Back at the top of the page to return to the Preferences page when you are done.

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How do I get to this page? There are two ways to get to this preference-use whichever method you prefer. Method 1: Log in to Renaissance. On the Home page, select your name in the upper-right corn...

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The default time limit should not be adjusted for students unless a GSSP or TSP states this is needed for an accommodation. Learn more about timing limits during Star testing here.

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There are two ways to get to this preference-use whichever method you prefer.
Method 1:

1. Log in to Renaissance.

2. On the Home page, select your name in the upper-right corner. In the drop-down list, select Edit Preferences.

3. On the Preferences page, select Extended Question Time Limits in the Individual Student Preferences section of the page.

Method 2:

1. Log in to Renaissance.

2. On the Home page, select Star Reading, Star Early Literacy, Star Math, or Star Spanish. In the drop-down list, select Preferences.

3. On the Preferences page, select Extended Question Time Limits in the Individual Student Preferences section of the page.

Who can do this with default user permissions?

District Level Administrators: any student in any school in the district

School Level Administrators: any student in their own school

Teachers: any student in one of their own classes

Use extended question time limits for students with special needs who need more time to read or answer the test questions. Star tests do not have overall time limits, but each test question has a standard time limit. The standard and extended times vary between products, question types, and the student's grade:

For Star Math (English) and Star Reading (English), the "Allotted Time" (Unlimited) setting for the Accommodations Preference will override the settings of this preference.

1. After you select Extended Question Time Limits on the Preferences page, use the Schools , Classes , and Students drop-down lists to choose which students to set the preference for.

You can only select one school at a time; only the school(s) available to you will be shown in the list. (If you only have access to one school, you will not need to select it.)

You can only select one class at a time; only the classes available to you will be shown in the list. (If you only have access to one class, you will not need to select it.)

All of the students in the selected classes will be shown in the Students list. You can check them one at a time, or you can choose Select All at the bottom to check/uncheck all of the students at once. (If you only have access to one student, you will not need to select them.)

2. For each student, check (or uncheck) the Extend question time limit... box(es) after the student's name in the Setting column for each program you want that student to have extended time for.

To set the same preference for all the students shown at the same time, select Set All... , check (or uncheck) the Extend question time limit... box(es) , and then select Apply to All .

3. When you have finished making your changes, select Save Changes to save them (you will see a confirmation message once your changes have been saved). You can also select Undo Changes to undo your changes to the preference setting.

4. Select Back at the top of the page to return to the Preferences page when you are done.

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How do I get to this page? There are two ways to get to this preference-use whichever method you prefer. Method 1: Log in to Renaissance. On the Home page, select your name in the upper-right corn...

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Please review this document to understand the various types of test Star offers along with the GRACE schedule for testing students in K-8.

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After reviewing students’ Star Reading and/or Star Early Literacy test scores, consider discussing targeted at-home activities from the list provided with parents at parent-teacher conferences. These activities can also be used for small group instruction and/or during intervention sessions.