Star Assessments align to Oklahoma Academic Standards and support state’s Reading Sufficiency Act

WISCONSIN RAPIDS, Wis. (June 28, 2018) – Renaissance^®, a leader in pre-K–12 learning analytics, announces that the Oklahoma State Board of Education (OSBE) has approved Renaissance Star Early Literacy^® and Renaissance Star Reading^® for screening in grades K–3 to support the Reading Sufficiency Act.

Teachers can use the assessments to determine which students may need further testing to determine their specific reading needs. They can also use Renaissance Star Assessments^® as diagnostic tools to pinpoint students’ reading skills and subskills within the Oklahoma Academic Standards. In addition, Oklahoma educators can use Star Early Literacy and Star Reading to monitor student growth and progress throughout the school year.

In 2014, Broken Arrow Public Schools (BAPS) in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, adopted Star Assessments to keep every student on track to achieve learning objectives. Educators at BAPS experienced powerful results by evaluating the assessment data and adjusting instruction to support the state’s Reading Sufficiency Act, which requires that all students read at grade level by the end of third grade.

Beth Johnson, a former BAPS instructional technology specialist, who is now an Assistant Principal at BAPS’ Wolf Creek Elementary School, said, “One of our first ‘aha’ moments occurred when Star Assessments predicted with 99 percent accuracy our third-graders’ performance on upcoming state tests. Of the 1,400 students benchmarked, the assessments accurately predicted results for 1,393 … Having that Star Assessment data ahead of state testing gave teachers, students, and parents critical preparation time.”

“We’re pleased to be a preferred reading assessment for districts in Oklahoma,” said Laurie Borkon, vice president of government affairs at Renaissance. “For more than three decades, we’ve worked alongside educators in the state to help them achieve student growth goals. We look forward to continuing to support Oklahoma educators as they guide readers along their academic journeys.”

In about 20 minutes, the research-proven Star Assessments provide actionable, accurate data that helps teachers to personalize instruction, promote growth, and position students for lifelong success. A recent linking analysis proves Star Assessments accurately predict students’ performance on the Oklahoma School Testing Program (OSTP) assessments in English Language Arts and mathematics.

For example, educators can use Star Reading scores to identify which students in grades 3–8 are at risk of missing grade-level performance benchmarks, then use this data to proactively adjust instruction and improve student reading outcomes before end-of-year testing occurs.

For additional information and resources about Renaissance solutions for Oklahoma educators, please view this report. For more information about Star Assessments, please visit: https://www.renaissance.com/products/assessment/star-360/.

About Renaissance

Renaissance^® is a leader in pre-K–12 learning analytics—enabling teachers, curriculum creators, and educators to drive phenomenal student growth. Renaissance’s solutions help educators analyze, customize, and plan personalized learning paths for students, allowing time for what matters—creating energizing learning experiences in the classroom. Founded by parents, upheld by educators, and enriched by data scientists, Renaissance knows learning is a continual journey—from year to year and for a lifetime. Our data-driven, personalized solutions are currently used in over one-third of U.S. schools and more than 70 countries around the world. For more information, visit www.renaissance.com.

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