STAR Screening FAQs

Why is this test given?

We use STAR three times per year as a screener.  Screening assessments are short, reliable, nationally normed tests used to identify students who may need additional academic support. We look at the results to ensure all students are demonstrating academic growth and to identify students who may need additional support.

What if I did not receive a report for my student?

There are several reasons this might happen.  If your child was absent on test and/or make-up days, they would not have taken the test.  If your child took the test outside of the screening window, their report would not have generated for posting.  If your child has alternative testing as part of IEP designation, they may not have taken the test.  Please reach out to your child’s teacher if your child does not have a STAR report and they can provide you with specific details. 

Can I see my child’s test questions and answers?

Unfortunately, that isn’t possible. STAR assessments are computer-based and the questions vary from student to student based on the student's responses to the questions. STAR assessments pull from a bank of thousands of questions in Literacy and Math that span all levels of difficulty from Pre-k through 12th grade. The test is computer adaptive, meaning that the questions each child is asked are customized and will vary based upon their grade level and their response pattern.  If a student answers a question correctly, the next question will be more complex.  If a student answers a question incorrectly, the next question will be simpler.  The platform doesn’t allow for access to the specific questions a child is asked and/or the child’s responses.

Can you help me understand my child’s Scaled Score?  Is the score “good”?

The Scaled Score is derived from the difficulty of the questions and the number of correct responses. All students score somewhere between 600-1400 on the scale. This scale is unique to the STAR test and allows for a look at students’ growth over the course of the year.  It also allows for a look at student growth over multiple years, as students take the test beginning in Kindergarten and continue through 8th grade. 

Can you help me understand my child’s Percentile Rank?  Did they “pass the test”?

When many of us think of a traditional test, we think of a score that shows what percent of the material has been mastered, with a score of 65% generally considered passing.  The STAR test is different in that there is no “passing” or “failing”.  Rather than a “percent” mastery score, a Percentile Rank is determined.  This Percentile Rank is determined by a student’s performance on the test compared to the performance of other students.  The diagram below helps illustrate this.  It shows a “bell curve”, which represents all students who have taken the test.  Most students fall in the middle, which is represented by the “mountain” in the middle.  This middle is referred to as the “average range” and represents more than half of all the students who have taken the test nationally.  It is denoted as the 25th to 75th percentile.  Thus, a student whose Percentile Rank falls between 25 and 75 is considered to be in the average range, scoring the same as the majority of students who have taken the test. 

 

 

What happens if my child needs extra support?  Should my child be getting extra help? 

There are different levels, or tiers, of support available. Some students receive additional support in the classroom from the classroom teacher.  Other students identified for support receive additional intervention from both their classroom teachers and other teachers.  At the elementary level, this additional intervention is provided by Tiered Support teachers and can occur inside and/or outside the classroom. At middle school, this is provided in Literacy and/or Math support class. The district follows an aligned RTI process to look at STAR and other data to determine students’ need for support.  If it is determined that your child requires a tier of support that involves supplemental intervention, you will be notified by your school.

If my child fell below a certain level on the STAR test, will they automatically receive supplemental intervention from an interventionist?

No.  We know that one score from one moment in time provides us only with a starting point.  There are many facets to assessing a student's needs.  For example, it is a well established trend that fall STAR scores tend to reflect “summer slide”, which results from sustained time out of school and away from school academics.  We do not rush to provide additional supports in September to all students who show summer slide.  Rather, we welcome them back to school and into instructional routines and instruction, which oftentimes results in a rebound in subsequent STAR scores. In addition to keeping in mind the time of year students take the test, we use STAR as a trigger for a closer look when making decisions about students.  The 25th percentile is a well established cut-point to determine which students are triggered for a closer look, although this is not the case in the fall, when we factor in the summer slide mentioned above.  We look at many other pieces of information to determine what support a student needs.  Classrooms are places where a wide range of students’ needs can be met.  We aim to provide as much of that support in the classroom as possible, and for the classroom teacher to remain integral in providing that support, as they are the people at school who know your child best.

Should I be worried about my child’s score?  If my child did not get a certain Scaled Score or Percentile Rank, will they be held back from moving to the next grade?

The purpose of sharing this report is most certainly not to worry parents.  Rather, it is to equip you with one of many pieces of information about your child to help drive ongoing conversations with the school.  When looking at your child’s report, keep in mind that this is only one measure of your child’s ability.   Many other formal and informal assessments and observations help paint a complete picture of your child’s abilities, strengths, and areas to target next. If something in the report is of concern, a conversation with your child’s teacher will help you understand how the school is meeting your child’s needs, and how you can partner with the school to support your child.

My child did better/worse than I thought they would do?  Why is that?

The first thing to keep in mind is that the STAR test captures “a moment in time.”  There are many factors that can cause a student’s performance to seem inconsistent with other measures.  Some students find that computer assessments allow them to focus more, while others find it distracting. Sometimes students are having an “off day” or might rush through the assessment.  Even the day of the week, time of day, or time of year can impact scores.  For example, it is typical for students to show a dip in scores in September after a long summer break.  Similarly, a student may test better on a Tuesday morning than on a Friday afternoon.  For these reasons, it is important to look at the overall trend in your child’s STAR data in addition to each individual test.  As an analogy, a baseball player's batting average is a better indicator of their performance than any one at-bat. 

What do I do with this information?

There is nothing specific you need to do.  Our hope, however, is that this information equips you with one of many pieces of information about your child to help inform conversations with the school.  A strong school-home partnership is a cornerstone of our district’s beliefs about how best to support all students.  The more informed parents are, the better able they will be to partner with the school in our shared aim of helping your child achieve academic success and grow to their full potential.

Why are there two different STAR Literacy tests – Early Literacy and Reading?  How do you decide which Literacy test a student takes?  

There are two different Literacy tests–Early Literacy and Reading.  Students typically take only one of these two tests.  While both tests assess literacy skills, the Early Literacy test focuses more on the foundational reading skills, while the Reading test focuses on increasingly complex reading skills.  All Kindergarten students take the Early Literacy test (beginning in the winter of their Kindergarten year) and then progress to the Reading test when they demonstrate readiness.  The vast majority of students transition from the Early Literacy test to the Reading test by the end of 3rd grade at the latest.  The Early Literacy test is nationally normed for students in grades K-3, while the Reading test is normed for all grades.

My child is in the DLBE program.  Do they take the STAR tests in English or Spanish?

Students in DLBE@MKES take the Math test in EITHER English or Spanish.  They take a literacy test (either Early Literacy or Reading) in BOTH English and Spanish.  Based on their literacy proficiency, they may take the Early Literacy in one language and the Reading test in another language.

My child is in the DLBE program.  My child’s scores in one language are different than the other language.  Why is that?

Variations in scores between the two languages represent a student’s developing mastery of literacy skills relative to each language.  When making decisions about the need for additional literacy support, performance in both languages is taken into consideration.  It is important to keep in mind that the norming pool against which students are compared is composed largely of students who are receiving monolingual literacy instruction.

What if my child has an IEP or is already receiving tiered support, is not yet performing near grade level, nor necessarily working on grade level skills during the school day? How should I interpret the results of the STAR assessment?

For students already receiving tiered support or special education, progress monitoring is happening more frequently and with additional assessment tools to measure progress towards individual goals. The best way to use STAR to measure growth and progress is to follow the Scaled Score.  This allows parents to track the growth of a student’s performance on this test over time and compare the student to his own previous performance.  STAR is not intended to assess specific curriculum, programs, or topics covered.  It is a general outcome measure assessment.

Who should I talk to if I have more questions?

The first person to reach out to is your child’s teacher or team of teachers.  If they are unable to answer a question for you, they will be able to either reach out to get you the answer or to provide you with the best person to contact.