Technical Manual - Renaissance Learning

STAR Early Literacy Enterprise in the ClassroomRecommended UsesIntended PopulationSTAR Early Literacy Enterprise was designed for regular assessment of literacyskills and concepts. Although intended primarily for use from pre-kindergartenthrough grade 2, it may be used to assess any student who is not yet anindependent reader. Because students vary widely in age at the pre-kindergartenlevel, teachers should exercise discretion when using STAR Early LiteracyEnterprise with this population. In the research and development of STAR EarlyLiteracy Enterprise, children three and four years of age took the test and mostattained Scaled Scores well above the minimum level. Because successful testadministration requires the ability to use the mouse or keyboard to select answersto test questions, children who are not successful in the hands-on exercise sectionof STAR Early Literacy Enterprise should not be encouraged to take theassessment section.STAR Early Literacy Enterprise may also be used for assessment of grade 3students, and of remedial students in grades 4 and above. By the end of grade 3,most students will have mastered the literacy skills that STAR Early LiteracyEnterprise assesses. Such students will achieve Scaled Scores approaching 900,the top end of the scale. 18 Such high STAR Early Literacy Enterprise scores will beuseful for determining that a student is functioning at a mastery level. However,STAR Early Literacy Enterprise may not be a useful measure of growth amongstudents who have already attained mastery of literacy skills. Beyond that point,an assessment of traditional reading growth is more appropriate, and teachersmay choose to administer a standardized reading achievement test, such as STARReading.In terms of administering STAR Early Literacy Enterprise to remedial students atgrade 3 and beyond, teachers should recall that items for the test were designedspecifically for young children. In making the decision whether to use STAR EarlyLiteracy Enterprise to assess older students, teachers should evaluate whether theformat and content of the items are appropriate for their students. While someolder students may find the STAR Early Literacy Enterprise items engaging, othersmay not be motivated to perform their best on a test that seems designed for ayounger age group.18. Perfect scores of 900 are rare among third graders; scores of 850 and above indicate a substantialdegree of mastery of early literacy skills.STAR Early LiteracyTechnical Manual114