Assessment Instrument Table: STAR Reading™
Element
Instrument
Name
Purpose
(Intended
Use)
Population
When? How
frequently?
Content Area
(s)
Description
Name of specific
instrument (more
than vendor name).
Name of the company
or organization that
produces the
instrument.
The described
purpose and
appropriate uses of
the instrument.
Who (which students)
could be assessed
using the instrument.
How frequently the
instrument can be
administered in a
school year, and
recommended or
required
administration
windows.
Content area or areas
being assessed.
Assessment Instrument Information
STAR Reading™
Renaissance Learning™, Inc.
STAR Reading is a student-based, computer adaptive assessment for measuring student achievement in
reading. STAR fulfills a variety of assessment purposes, including interim assessment, screening, standards
benchmarking, skills-based reporting and instructional planning, and progress monitoring. STAR Reading is
by far the most widely used reading assessment in K12 schools. Educators get valid, reliable, actionable data
in about 15 minutes.
Independent readers in grades 1 through 12
As an interim assessment, STAR was designed for frequent administration. Educators can administer STAR
three times per year in fall, winter, and spring. Educators may also administer STAR as a progress monitoring
assessment as often as weekly. If a school wants to see a trend line that estimates proficiency on state tests,
they administer an additional STAR Reading and/or STAR Math test in late fall.
STAR Reading is a K–12 assessment that focuses on measuring student performance with skills in five
domains:
• Word Knowledge and Skills
• Comprehension Strategies and Constructing Meaning
• Understanding Author’s Craft
• Analyzing Literary Text
• Analyzing Argument and Evaluating Text
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Element
Learning
Objectives
Description
Specific learning
objectives being
assessed, at as
detailed a level as is
provided. This may
be "topics" or
categories or may be
actual learning
objective statements.
Assessment Instrument Information
STAR Reading is a K–12 assessment that focuses on measuring student performance with skills in five
domains:
• Word Knowledge and Skills
• Comprehension Strategies and Constructing Meaning
• Understanding Author’s Craft
• Analyzing Literary Text
• Analyzing Argument and Evaluating Text
STAR Reading’s items test 475 grade-specific skills (multiple items are available to measure each skill).
Closely related skills are organized into skill sets, which are provided on the following table.
Domain
Word Knowledge and Skills
Skill Set
Vocabulary Strategies
Vocabulary Knowledge
Comprehension Strategies and
Constructing Meaning
Reading Process Skills
Constructing Meaning
Organizational Structure
Analyzing Literary Text
Literary Elements
Genre Characteristics
Individual
Metrics
The scores provided
at the individual
(student) level.
Understanding Author’s Craft
Author’s Choices
Analyzing Argument and Evaluating
Text
Analysis
Evaluation
Scaled score (SS) all the results of STAR Reading tests across grade levels are converted to a common scale
using an IRT model; these scores range from 0 to 1400. These Scaled Scores are useful in comparing student
performance over time and in identifying performance and all criterion and norms associated with that
scale.
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Element
Description
Assessment Instrument Information
The following scores which include comparison points in the score are also provided:
Grade equivalent (GE) score indicates the grade placement of students for whom a particular score is
typical. If a student receives a GE of 10.7, this means that the student scored as well on STAR Reading as did
the typical student in the seventh month of grade 10. Ranging 0.0 to 12.9+, GE scores represent how a
student’s test performance compares with other students nationally; they are norm referenced.
Estimated oral reading fluency (Est. ORF) is reported as an estimated number of words a student can read
correctly within a one-minute time span on grade-level-appropriate text. It is an estimate of a student’s
ability to read words quickly and accurately in order to comprehend text efficiently. Students with oral
reading fluency demonstrate accurate decoding, automatic word recognition, and appropriate use of the
rhythmic aspects of language (e.g., intonation, phrasing, pitch, and emphasis).
Instructional reading level (IRL) is a criterion-referenced score that indicates the highest reading level at
which a student is at least 80 percent proficient at recognizing words and understanding material with
instructional assistance.
Percentile rank (PR), ranging from 1–99, is a norm referenced score that indicates the percentage of a
student’s peers whose scores were equal to or lower than the score of that student. Percentile Ranks show
how an individual student’s performance compares to that of his or her same-grade peers on the national
level.
Normal curve equivalent (NCE) score, ranging from 1–99, is norm referenced. It is similar to the percentile
rank score but is based on an equal-interval scale; NCEs are scaled in such a way that they have a normal
distribution, with a mean of 50 and a standard deviation of 21.06 in the normative sample for a given test.
Student growth percentile (SGP) is a measure of growth between a pre- and post-test relative to the
growth made by other students in the same grade with the same pre-test score. It is a simple and effective
way for educators to interpret a student’s growth rate relative to that of his or her academic peers
nationwide. SGPs for STAR Reading are calculated using an approach similar to the Colorado Growth Model.
Lexile® Measure - The Lexile scale is a common scale for both text measure (readability or text difficulty)
and reader measure (reading achievement scores); in the Lexile Framework, both text difficulty and person
reading ability are measured on the same scale. The Lexile Framework expresses a book’s reading difficulty
level (and students’ reading ability levels) on a continuous scale ranging from below 0 (BR400L) to 1825L or
more.
Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) is an individualized range of readability levels based on a student’s
results from a STAR Reading assessment. Books students choose to read within their ZPD range should
neither be too difficult nor too easy and should allow students to experience optimal growth. A Lexile ZPD
range is also available, which is a student’s ZPD Range converted to the MetaMetrics® Lexile scale of the
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Element
Description
Assessment Instrument Information
readability of text.
Individual
Comparison
Points (cut
scores)
Information provided
regarding how good is
good enough
performance on the
instrument.
STAR Reading provides maps of Scale Score Ranges to:
• Grade Level Equivalent Scores (from 0.0 to 12.9+)
• Percentile Ranks (associated with Grade Placements)
• Instructional Reading Level Conversions
These maps provide comparison points for Scaled Scores by grade level.
Districts can set performance categories based on their own cut scores for the STAR Scaled Score to colorcoded individual and group performance by category, such as: At Benchmark, On Watch, Intervention, and
Urgent Intervention. Once cut-scores have been set, STAR reports categorize individual students’ scaled
scores according to these color-coded performance categories.
Aggregate
Metrics
Scores provided at
the group level. The
groups for which
scores are reported.
The group could be a
grade level, school,
district, or
disaggregated groups
(e.g. race/ethnicity,
gender, IEP status,
FRL status) Specify
the group(s) and the
score(s) provided.
All but the STAR Reading Scaled Score include comparison points as part of the metric definition.
When districts set cut scores for individual student scaled scores to establish performance categories, these
categories are used to provide aggregate metrics, including the percent and number of students by district
benchmark category (available by grade at the district, school levels) across years of available data. These
metrics can be calculated using cross-sectional data (same grade year to year) or for the same students over
multiple years. [Longitudinal Report]
The following additional aggregate metrics are also provided:
•
•
•
Median Student Growth Percentile -- the middle student growth percentile within the included group.
This metric is reported for different time periods (fall to spring, spring to spring) by grade level within
school, grade level within the district, and by class.[Growth Report, Student Growth Percentile Report]
Average scores at the school by grade level and classroom levels of the following individual metrics:
Scale Score, Grade Equivalent, Percentile Rank, Norm Curve Equivalent, Instructional Reading Level, and
Estimated Oral Reading Fluency [Growth Report]
Percent of students in or above the estimated mastery range for reading standards (CCSS or CAS) by
school and by class within the school - STAR Reading provides an estimate of the students' mastery of
standards by aligning them to the same 1400-point difficulty scale used to report STAR scores. The
Estimated Mastery Range identifies a band of scores where the student is just below or above mastery.
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Element
Description
Aggregate
Comparison
Points
(vendor)
Information provided
regarding how good is
good enough
performance at the
group level.
Assessment Instrument Information
The percentage of students who score in or above this range indicates overall progress toward
standards mastery. [State Standards Report]
Because most of the individual metrics provided for Star Reading are norm-referenced scores, almost all of
the aggregate metric provided by this vendor also include a comparison point within the metric definition.
This includes the following metrics (described above):
• Percent/Number Scoring at District-determined Performance Levels -- note districts determine the
comparison points used in these metrics when they set their own cut scores for different performance
levels.
• Median Growth Percentiles
• Average Grade Equivalent
• Average Percentile Rank
• Average Norm Curve Equivalent
• Average Instructional Reading Level
• Average Estimated Oral Reading Fluency
• Percent of Students in or Above Estimated Mastery Range for Reading Standards
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Element
Aggregate
Comparison
Points (CDE)
Description
Cut scores identified
by CDE for requests
to reconsider
Assessment Instrument Information
See tables below for aggregate metrics for which CDE established comparison points as part of the 2014-15
Request-to-Reconsider process. CDE provided comparison points include Fall and Spring Mean Scale Scores
and Median Growth Percentiles for each grade level.
Note: The CDE comparison points for STAR Reading for the 2016-17 Request-to-Reconsider process are
currently being revised.
READING – Scale Scores by Grade Level
Fall Scale Scores
Data Reports
Description of data
reports that are
provided/available at
the individual and
aggregate level(s).
Spring Scale Scores
Scale Score Growth (Fall to
Spring)
Grade
50th Percentile Mean
Scale Score
50th Percentile Mean Scale
Score
Median Growth Percentile
Meets Level
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
78
197
344
445
524
631
773
876
967
1075
1132
1178
181
334
436
515
619
757
861
959
1068
1126
1173
1220
50
50
50
50
50
50
50
50
50
50
50
50
Scores are displayed on a variety of reports that educators can choose to run at the classroom, grade,
school, or district level. In addition, administrators can customize many of the STAR reports to view
information about participation and performance across the district and by various demographic subgroups
(for example, students receiving free and reduced lunch, English language learners, etc.).
Below we describe some key STAR Reading Reports, including the levels for which the report is available.
Growth Proficiency Report (student, class, grade, district) The Growth Proficiency Chart plots SGP and
proficiency on a quadrant graph so that educators can easily see whether students are challenged and
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Element
Alignment
Description
Information provided
by the vendor about
alignment of this
instrument to other
instruments,
standards, etc.
Assessment Instrument Information
growing every year, regardless of their academic starting point.
Growth Report (student, class, grade, school) show educators whether students are reaching their growth
expectations. The Growth Report includes median student growth percentiles (SGP) and averages for the
following metrics: SS, GE, PR, NCE, IRL, ORF. STAR Reading Scaled Scores range from 0–1400. STAR Reading
Grade Equivalents range from 0.0–12.9+. IRL letter codes include PP (Pre-Primer), P (Primer, grades .1–.9),
and PHS (Post-High School, grades 13.0+). The range of Percentile Ranks is 1–99. Normal Curve Equivalents
range from 1–99 and appear similar to Percentile Ranks, but they have the advantage of being based on an
equal interval scale.
Longitudinal Reports (grade, school, district) show educators whether students in each grade are growing
from year to year. Educators can compare the same grade year to year or the same students over multiple
years. Metrics on this report include: Percent of Students by District Benchmark Category and PR.
State Performance Reports (student, class, grade, school, district) predict student performance on highstakes tests. Predictions account for the amount of growth that typically occurs between the date of the last
STAR test taken and the date of the state test. At the school, grade, and district levels, this report lists the
percentage and number of students projected to be at each performance level assessed by the state test
when the test is administered. At the class level, the report shows the average scores for the class.
State Standards Reports (student, class, grade, district) gauge students’ current and projected mastery
according to the Colorado Academic Standards as well as the Common Core State Standards. Users may
choose which of the standards to view on these reports. At the student level, these reports measure an
individual student’s performance on the state standards via SS; at the class level, the report shows the
percentage of students demonstrating mastery of the standards; and at the district level, the report show
how each grade level within a school or the district as a whole is performing.
Samples of additional data reports and a detailed explanation of each report’s purpose(s) can be viewed at:
http://doc.renlearn.com/KMNet/R0053249615EE616.pdf.
Renaissance Learning provides an alignment report which illustrates how the specific skills assessed by STAR
Reading map to the Colorado Academic Standards including Grade Level Expectations (GLEs) and Evidence
Outcomes (EOs). See http://doc.renlearn.com/KMNet/R005599262950854.pdf for the alignment report for
grades pre-K–12. Note that STAR Reading is also aligned to Standard 2, Reading for All Purposes, of the
Colorado Academic Reading, Writing, and Communicating Standards. STAR Reading skills include alignments
under each grade-level expectation of this standard for grades pre-K–12.
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Element
Technical
Quality
Description
Assessment Instrument Information
Renaissance Learning provides a similar alignment report illustrating how the skills assessed by STAR
Reading map to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). See
http://doc.renlearn.com/KMNet/R0054754DF237B33.pdf for this alignment report. During the analysis of
the alignment between STAR Reading skills assessed to the CCSS, two types of alignment emerged and serve
to clarify the way in which product skills meet standards. The alignment type was either direct or
foundational. The CCSS the alignment report includes the following types of alignments:
• Direct alignment – the product skill directly and specifically meets one or more of the skills in the
standard either fully or partially.
• Foundational alignment – the product skill is necessary to meet the skill in the standard either through a
prerequisite or related relationship.
Information about the The STAR Reading Technical Manual (http://doc.renlearn.com/KMNet/R004384310GJD780.pdf) presents
technical quality of
details about the assessment’s technical quality. Key information is summarized below.
the instrument.
Validity
Reference to
Validity refers to the extent to which a tool accurately measures the underlying construct that it is intended
technical analysis if
to measure. Validity evidence is frequently presented as correlations between an instrument and other
available
instruments that measure the same construct. Meta-Analysis shows the average uncorrected correlation
electronically.
between STAR Reading and all other reading tests to be 0.78, (the average correlation would have exceeded
0.85 if adjusted for range restriction and attenuation to less than perfect reliability). The National Center on
Intensive Intervention (NCII) and Progress Monitoring also evaluated the technical quality of STAR Reading
and determined that the vendor provided “Convincing Evidence” of the Validity of the Performance Level
Score.
Reliability
Reliability refers to the degree of measurement precision of an instrument and the extent to which a test
yields consistent results from one administration to another and from one test form to another. The STAR
Reading tests provide two ways to evaluate the reliability of scores: reliability coefficients, which indicate
the overall precision of a set of test scores, and conditional standard errors of measurement (CSEM), which
provide an index of the degree of error in an individual test score. See the Technical manual for details
regarding these reliability estimates. High levels of consistency were demonstrated by both types of
reliability estimates. The National Center on Intensive Intervention (NCII) and Progress Monitoring also
evaluated the technical quality of STAR Reading and determined that the vendor provided “Convincing
Evidence” of the reliability of the performance level score.
National Norms for STAR Reading were updated during the 2014-15 school year to represent more current
estimates of the population of US school children. Introduced in June of 2011, STAR Reading was the first
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Element
Description
Assessment Instrument Information
standards-based version of the test assessing a wide variety skills and instructional standards, as well as
reading comprehension. A nationally representative sample of students who had tested in both the fall and
spring (of one of two school years) were drawn from routine administrations. A post-stratification
procedure was used to approximate the national proportions on key characteristics. Post stratification
weights from the regional, district socio-economic status, and school size strata were computed and applied
to each student’s Rasch ability estimate. Norms were developed based on the weighted Rasch ability
estimates and then transformed to STAR Reading scaled scores.
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