STAR Score Definitions

Grade Equivalent (GE) is a norm-referenced score ranging from the lowest grade to the highest grade

included in the norming sample. Grade Equivalent scores range from 0.0 to 12.9+. They represent how a student's test performance compares with that of other students nationally.

• Star Math and Star Reading: The minimum GE score is 0, shown as either 0 or < K; values below 0 are shown as < K.
  
• Star Early Literacy: The minimum GE score is –1; 0 is shown as 0; values below 0 are given a PK prefix with a number indicating the month, which is the inverse of positive GE values:

For example, if a 5th-grade student has a GE of 7.6, their score is equal to that of a typical 7th grader after the sixth month of the school year. This score does not necessarily mean that they are capable of doing class work at the 7th-grade level. It only indicates that their skills are well above average for their grade level.

A GE score preceded by “>” is a capped score. GE scores in excess of three grade levels above the student’s

actual grade are capped, meaning that such GE scores are shown as “> [student’s actual grade level + 3].”

This prevents the misinterpretation that students with excessively high GE scores are capable of work at those

higher grades.

Grade Placement (GP) is a numeric representation of a student’s grade level. It is shown as a decimal, with

the whole number being the student’s grade and the decimal being the percentage of the school year that

has passed when a student completed an assignment or test; for example, a GP of 3.25 would represent a

third-grade student who is one-quarter of the way through the school year. For purposes of this calculation, a

“school year” is the span between First Day for Students and Last Day for Students, which are entered as part

of the new school year setup process. GP is important because PR and NCE values are based not only on the

Scaled Score but also on the grade placement of the student at the time of the test

Percentile Rank (PR) is a norm-referenced score that provides a measure of a student’s math/reading ability

compared to other students in the same grade nationally. The percentile rank score, which ranges from 1 to 99,

indicates the percentage of other students nationally who obtained scores equal to or lower than the score of a particular student. For example, a student with a percentile rank score of 85 performed as well as or better

than 85 percent of other students in the same grade

Scaled Score (SS) is useful for comparing student performance over time and across grades. A scaled score

is calculated based on the difficulty of questions and the number of correct responses. Because the same

range is used for all students, scaled scores can be used to compare student performance across grade levels.

For different programs, GE scores can go below zero. How these values are shown on reports varies between programs:

Student Growth Percentile (SGP) is a norm-referenced quantification of individual student growth derived

using quantile regression techniques. An SGP compares a student’s growth to that of his or her academic

peers nationwide. SGPs range from 1–99 and interpretation is similar to that of Percentile Rank scores; lower

numbers indicate lower relative growth and higher numbers show higher relative growth. For example, an SGP

of 70 means that the student’s growth from one test window to another exceeds the growth of 70% of students

nationwide in the same grade with a similar achievement history.

Instructional Reading Level (IRL) is calculated after a student completes a Star Reading test; it is a criterion-referenced score that is the highest reading level at which a student is 80% proficient (or higher) at comprehending material with assistance. Research has found that this level of comprehension corresponds to being at least 90–98% proficient at recognizing words; Star Reading does not directly assess word recognition.

Instructional Reading Levels are:

• Pre-Primer (PP)
• Primer (P)
• 1 through 12
• Post-High School (PHS)

For example, a student receives a 215 Scaled Score (SS) on Star Reading. Her IRL is 1.6, indicating she can likely recognize 90 to 98 percent of the words and comprehend 80 percent of the text that students in the middle of first grade are expected to recognize and comprehend. Her GE is slightly higher, at a 2.1, telling us that having the ability to read text at a 1.6 level with instructional assistance is actually about average for second graders at the beginning of the school year.

If the educator wants to know what level of instructional materials a student should be using for ongoing classroom instruction, the IRL is the preferred score. Instructional materials at a slightly lower level than GE can help the student focus on learning the skills and content rather than decoding words.

For more score definitions to access the STAR testing Support Website: https://star-help.renaissance.com/hc/en-us/sections/11314699541915-Scores