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Email TopicRenaissance Analytics shows students' performance in relation to district and state benchmarks for Star Reading, Star Math, and Star Early Literacy.
District Star benchmarks are targets that are set by the district in Renaissance software. District administrators set the number of benchmark categories and the Star Percentile Rank scores that determine the basis for each category (cut scores); these Percentile Rank scores are based on Star norms and show how students perform in comparison to other students nationally who are in the same grade and who tested at the same time in the school year. Districts also select the minimum proficiency level - that is, the lowest benchmark category that is considered to be proficient. For more information about setting District benchmarks on your Renaissance site, see Viewing/Editing District Benchmarks.
State benchmark categories in Star represent predicted proficiency on state tests when a linking study has been done between the state test and Star Math or Star Reading. (State benchmarks are not available for Star Early Literacy or any of the Star Spanish assessments.) State tests are criterion-referenced tests. Your Renaissance site is set up with the benchmarks for your state; these benchmarks cannot be changed. For more about state benchmarks in Renaissance software and the estimated cut scores, see Viewing Estimated Cut Scores (for State Tests); for links to information about the Star state linking studies used to determine state benchmarks, see Star State Linking Studies.
If your students are taking the state assessment, you may benefit from using the state benchmark to forecast performance based on our growth norms. If you’re creating an intervention plan for your school, you may use the district benchmark settings to identify which students are in need of immediate support.
For more information about the difference between norm-referenced and criterion-referenced assessments and scores, see What's the difference? Criterion-referenced tests vs. norm-referenced tests, or watch this video.
For additional guidance regarding benchmarks and cut scores, see:
- Star Early Literacy—Enterprise Benchmarks and Cut Scores
- Star Early Literacy Spanish—Benchmarks and Cut Scores
- Star Reading—Enterprise Benchmarks and Cut Scores
- Star Reading Spanish—Benchmarks and Cut Scores
- Star Early Literacy and Star Reading—Unified Benchmarks and Cut Scores
- Star Math—Enterprise Benchmarks and Cut Scores
- Star Math Spanish—Benchmarks and Cut Scores
- Star Math—Unified Benchmarks and Cut Scores