Product updates
Get details on new features and enhancements that support continuous student learning–no matter how you’re providing instruction. Check back often for the most up-to-date product news and insights.
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Renaissance Roadmap Report: 2020 End-of-year Update
In 2020, we introduced great new product features to support student learning wherever it occurs. Chief Product Officer Todd Brekhus shows you what’s new and provides a sneak peek at what’s coming in 2021.
Current update
Schoolzilla now supports standards-level analysis for Star data
Now, with the addition of standards-level data, you can dig deeper to understand how your students are performing on particular standards.
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Recent updates
Focus Skills are now available in Spanish
Renaissance is proud to announce that Focus Skills are now available in the Star Spanish learning progression within the Star software.
Are students taking Star computer-adaptive assessments in-school or remotely?
Starting December 4, 2020, students will indicate where they are testing by simply answering one question—Are you inside your school? Adding this question before a student starts an assessment makes it much easier to capture this important information.
Manage, track, and assign with confidence
Newly added features ensure that students stay on track with their work and get the practice they need.
Star Record Book now features students’ performance across test types within screening windows
The updated Star Record Book allows you to easily see and compare student results from multiple Star Assessments—computer-adaptive and CBM—immediately after testing!
Nonfiction passages in Star CBM Reading
The Passage Oral Reading measure of Star CBM Reading has been available for grades 1–6 since Star CBM assessments were first made available in September. Now, when testing a fourth-, fifth-, or sixth-grade student, you’ll have the option to administer a nonfiction passage for field testing purposes.
No matter the starting place, a pathway to learning
Identifying student needs and giving both teachers and students a sense of direction is at the core of Freckle.
myON and Accelerated Reader together
Students can now launch myON directly from AR, encouraging students to keep reading wherever they are with helpful tools and exciting book choices.
Star CBM: New assessments provide in-depth insights
When you logged in to the Renaissance Growth Platform this September, you may have noticed that a new assessment has been added to the Star assessment suite: Star CBM. Star CBM Reading (grades K–6) and Star CBM Math (grades K–3) allow you to observe and assess students’ development so you can better target instruction and intervention to each learner’s specific needs.
Near or far, distance learning leveled up
Freckle brings an improved student experience on mobile devices, making it even easier to practice.
Star Reading Spanish and Star Math Spanish now linked to Texas STAAR Spanish
We have recently completed a statistical study that links the results from Star Reading Spanish and Star Math Spanish to the end-of-year summative assessment State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness Spanish (STAAR Spanish) in reading and mathematics for grades 3 and 4.
Support for bilingual learners with Star Spanish enhancements
Educators can now use the same reports, data, and tools for tests taken in Spanish that they already rely on when testing students in English.
Helping students with lower bandwidth internet have an optimal experience in myON
With the goal of boosting equity in mind, myON has recently added the capacity to automatically address lower bandwidths to optimize the reading experience for every student. This new feature allows titles to load up to four times faster than before.
New district-level reporting in Star Assessments
Administrators now have access to new district-wide analytics. Starting in August and continuing throughout the 2020-2021 school year, new and existing Star customers will gain access to new, interactive dashboards powered by Schoolzilla— at no extra cost.
Support for remote administration of Star Assessments
Later this fall, you’ll be able to see reporting showing if a test was taken at school or in an alternative location. With this added feature, you’ll be able to report on how students were tested and consider any adjustments to your remote testing and communication plans.
New Growth Proficiency Category displayed on the Star Growth Report
The Star Growth Report summarizes growth between two testing periods in the same school year as soon as a student has both a pretest and posttest score. Teachers can run the report for a class or specific groups of students by SGP window, and administrators can see growth for each class or grade in their schools.
New add-on publishers available for myON
Students deserve to read books that can serve as cultural mirrors. Too often, books feature children who only appear white. Or worse, non-white characters reinforce the stereotypes that fuel institutional racism and inform bigotry.
