Star Renaissance Diagnostic and Progress Monitoring Assessments

How to access your child's scores in the Parent Portal: Test Scores [Aeries]-attachment.

Star Renaissance Assessments for grades TK-12 are administered in the fall, winter, and spring. Star Renaissance Assessments in Early Literacy, Reading and Math measure students' skills at the beginning, middle, and end of the year compared to grade-level standards. The Star Assessments are adaptive tests administered individually on the computer. The Star Assessment is not our only data source to guide instruction and monitor student progress and growth. However, the Star Assessments are useful, standards-based measures and are predictive of student performance on the end-of-year CAASPP.

In order for us to make the necessary instructional, programmatic, and student support adjustments within the school year, we need to incorporate local assessments that are predictive of state assessments. As you examine your student’s scores, please remember that these are diagnostic and not summative tests. They measure progress toward what your child should master by the end of the year. Students are not expected to have mastered all these standards at the start of the school year or after half a school year's instruction. This data provides a better understanding of what skills your student has mastered and allows educators to differentiate their instruction to better address the educational needs of your student.

Interim Assessments

CAASPP Interim Assessment Blocks (IAB's) for grades 3-11 are administered in the fall and winter.  CAASPP IAB's are designed to support teaching and learning throughout the year.  The focused IAB’s selected by our curriculum committees focus on no more than three targets and allow teachers to check where students are at that moment in time.  These interim benchmark assessments provide teachers with detailed information about student progress toward mastering skills measured by the summative assessments.

They are one measure that help evaluate the effectiveness of standards-based tier one instruction aligned with our district's adopted guaranteed viable curriculum. Another benefit of the CAASPP IAB’s is that students can become comfortable with the online platform used for the summative testing.

Summative Assessments

The state of California's Assessment System is designed to give information to teachers, students, and their families about what students know and are able to do an whether they are on track to be ready for success in college or career when they graduate from high school.  As required by the Education Code, students in grades 3-8, 11 participate in the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) in English Language Arts and Mathematics.  Additionally, as part of the state assessment system, students in grade 5, 8, and once in high school complete the California Science Test (CAST).  These measures are aligned to the California State Standards.  Additionally, all students identified as English Learners, must take the English Language Proficiency Assessment of California (ELPAC) annually.

These summative assessments are intended to evaluate students' knowledge and skills by comparing performance to learning standards or goals.  Summative Data provides us with an overall description of a student's learning status at the end of the period of learning.  It also provides us with comparable data to understand student learning at the student group, district, county and state levels.  It informs program level and school improvement planning when combined with other measures.

Parent Guide to Understanding The Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments
Understanding Your Child's Student Score Report

The Physical Fitness Test (PFT) is part of the state testing program. California has chosen the FITNESSGRAM® as the annual PFT for students in public schools. The FITNESSGRAM® is a comprehensive health-related fitness test developed by The Cooper Institute.

All students in grades five, seven, and nine are tested.

The FITNESSGRAM® has five fitness areas:

• Aerobic Capacity
• Abdominal Strength and Endurance
• Trunk Extensor Strength and Flexibility
• Upper Body Strength and Endurance
• Flexibility

The PFT is administered between February and May. You will receive additional information from your school about the specific dates and times of testing.

More information about the PFT can be found on the California Department of Education PFT web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/tg/pf/. For more information about your child's scores, contact your child's teacher and/or the school office.

Read "A PARENT GUIDE TO UNDERSTANDING The California Physical Fitness Test and FITNESSGRAM®" in English and Spanish