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Star Record Book - Skill Recommendations - Group Recommendations

  • Updated

Group Recommendations let you create instructional groups of students, view skill recommendations for them, and view resources for those skills which can be assigned.

notes on groups of students

Although these groups are created in a fashion similar to groups created for reporting purposes, there are some differences:

  • These groups are for viewing skills only; they cannot be used in reports or for any other purpose.
  • There can be a maximum of 100 students in a group (this does not apply to Star CBM assessments).
  • These groups cannot be saved, but the last set of groups you work on will be cached in your web browser. If you were to create groups, log out of Renaissance, and then log back in using a different browser (or on a different computer), the groups would not be available to you.

How do I get to this page?

    1. Log in to Renaissance.
    2. On the Home page* . . .
      • For Star:
        • Renaissance Next: Select Star in the sidebar, then select either Star Reading, Star Early Literacy, Star Math, or Star Spanish.
        • Legacy Mode: Select Star Reading, Star Early Literacy, Star Math, or Star Spanish.
      • For Star CBM:
        • Renaissance Next: Select Star in the sidebar, then select either Star CBM Reading, Star CBM Math, or Star CBM Lectura.
        • Legacy Mode: Select Star CBM Reading, Star CBM Math, or Star CBM Lectura.
    3. In the drop-down list . . .
      • For Star (Renaissance Next and Legacy Mode): Select Record Book.
      • For Star CBM (Renaissance Next and Legacy Mode): Select Record Book & Assessments.
    4. In the Star Record Book, on the Latest Assessments tab, after you've selected the subject, school, and class or group (if necessary), select Plan Instruction with nearpod or Plan Instruction above the table of students.
    5. In the pop-up window, select Group Recommendations.
      The pop-up window, with Group Recommendations highlighted.

* You can also get to the Record Book by selecting Star Record Book on the Star / Assessment tab of the Reports page, under “Screening and Instructional Planning”.

Who can do this with default user permissions?

District Level Administrators, District Staff, School Level Administrators, School Staff, Teachers

florida b.e.s.t. standards and the star record book

For our customers in Florida, on the Star Record Book, domains are referred to as strands, and standards are referred to as benchmarks.

  1. A list of the students you have chosen opens in a slide-out window. If you want to work with different students:
    1. Use the School and Class or Group drop-down lists to select different students.
    2. Use the Assessment drop-down list to select a different assessment type.

      The School, Class or Group, and Assessment drop-down lists.
    As with the main page of the Record Book, you cannot select schools or classes/groups you don't have access to, and if you only have access to one school or class/group, you will not need to make a selection.

  2. By default, groups are created that you can place students in. The number of groups depends on what type of assessment you selected:

    Star Early Literacy, Star Early Literacy Spanish, Star Math, Star Math Spanish, Star Math Algebra, Star Math Geometry, Star Reading, or Star Reading Spanish

    1. Four groups are created by default. Use the Groupings drop-down list to change the number of groups (from 1–10).
      The Groupings drop-down list.
    2. Place a student in a group by selecting the circle at the intersection of the student's row and the group's number.
      An example of 14 students, in descending alphabetical order, placed in 4 groups; 4 of the students are not grouped.
      • Students can only be in one group at a time.
      • You can leave a student out of all groups by selecting the circle in the "Not Grouped" column.
      • If you've already placed students in groups but want to start over again, select Clear All Groups above the rightmost column. This will remove all the students from their groups and make them "Not Grouped."
      • By default, the students are arranged with the lowest scores at the top; the benchmark categories the scores fall in are also indicated by colored squares. Select the Student or Score column headings to re-sort the data. (Hovering over the heading will indicate the current sort order: an up arrow is A–Z / low–high; a down arrow is Z–A / high–low.)
      • Benchmark values can vary from grade to grade; if a class or group has students from more than one grade, the benchmarks may appear to be inconsistent. Hover on a student's score to see which benchmarks apply to a student's score.
        A student's score being hovered over; the relevant benchmark is shown in a pop-up.

    Star CBM Reading or Star CBM Math

    1. Two groups are created (Included and Not Included). Use the Measure drop-down list to select a measure to base the groups on. (Rapid Automatic Naming measures cannot be selected because they have no aligned skills.)
      Two versions of the Measure drop-down list. On the left are the measures for Star CBM Reading; on the right are the measures for Star CBM Math.
    2. Students are placed in the "Included" group by default if (a) their score has benchmarks and is in the On Watch or Intervention category, or (b) their score doesn't have benchmarks but it would be in On Watch or Intervention in the nearest grade and season. (Scores indicating that students would be in At/Above Benchmark in the nearest grade and season are placed in the "Not Included" group and have a green check A green check mark inside a circle.  next to the score.) Add or remove students from groups by selecting the circle at the intersection of the student's row and the desired group's column.
      An example of 14 students, in descending alphabetical order, split between the Included and Not Included groups.
      • Students can only be in one group at a time.
      • If you've already placed students in groups but want to start over again, select Clear All Groups above the rightmost column. This will remove all the students from their groups and make them "Not Included."
      • By default, the students are arranged with the lowest scores at the top; the benchmark categories the scores fall in are also indicated by colored circles. Select the Student or Latest Correct Per Minute (CPM) column headings to re-sort the data. (Hovering over the heading will indicate the current sort order: an up arrow is A–Z / low–high; a down arrow is Z–A / high–low.)
      • Benchmark values can vary from grade to grade; if a class or group has students from more than one grade, the benchmarks may appear to be inconsistent.
  3. Once you have the students arranged in groups, select View Skills in the upper- or lower-right corner of the slide-out window.

    The View Skills button.
  4. Each group of students (Grouping 1, Grouping 2, etc.) will have its own list of skills, chosen based on the median score of all the students in the group. (For Star CBM assessments, the skills—which are based on the measure, not the students' scores—are for all students in the "Included" group; the name of the group will be the selected measure.) The number of students in the group, their median scaled score, and their names are shown at the top of the list.

    The first group of students, with the number of students (3), their median scaled score (233), and their names.

    Below the median scaled score, select Show Details to see a detailed breakdown of the benchmarks being used and where the students' scores are in relation to those benchmarks. If groups are made from students in more than one grade, and school benchmarks are being used, there will be a separate bar shown for each grade. Select Hide Details to close this view.
    The three students in the group are shown in relation to the school benchmarks.
  5. The recommended skills for each group are shown, arranged by grade, in their preferred teaching order—focus skills are indicated by a lightning icon: . Use the arrows in the upper-right corner next to the students' names to expand or collapse the list for a group.
    A partial list of recommended skills, including two focus skills.
  6. Select Skill Details below the name of a skill to open a slide-out with more information about that skill. You can use the < Prev Skill and Next Skill > links at the top of the slide-out to move between skills in the list; scroll to the bottom of the slide-out to print or save the skill info. Use the Close button in the upper-right corner to close the slide-out.
    The details shown for one of the skills, including a shorter version of the skill name, the skill area, domains, domain level expectations, standards, and subskills.
  7. Select Prerequisite skills below the name of a skill to open a slide-out with prerequisite skills and resources related to those skills, if available (select a resource to preview it in a new window). Use the Skill Details link under the name of a prerequisite skill in the slide-out to find out more about it; it works the same as the Skill Details link described in the previous step. Use the Close button in the upper-right corner to close the slide-out.
    A prerequisite skill is shown for one of the skills, with a link to a Nearpod resource for that skill. The Close button is in the upper-right corner of the slide-out; the Print or Save button is at the bottom.
  8. To print or save the skill details or prerequisite skills, select Print or Save at the bottom of the slide-out.
    The Print or Save button.

    This opens the print dialog, where you can choose to print directly to a printer or to use an option that allows you to save to a PDF.

    You can also select Print or Save the bottom of the main page, which will print or save the entire list of skills. Note that if you have a list collapsed on the screen, it will also be collapsed in the PDF; make sure you have all the lists expanded that you want included in the PDF.
  9. If the Provider Content Availability preference is set to show Nearpod resources, most skills will have Nearpod resources shown with them. Select a resource to preview it (in Nearpod) in a new window or tab. If you decide to use the lesson, select Add to My Lessons at the bottom of the preview.

    At the current time, no Nearpod resources are available for Spanish skills.


    The preview window for a selected Nearpod lesson. The Add to My Lessons button is at the bottom.

    When you select a Nearpod lesson to preview it, you may see this pop-up window:

    The Nearpod pop-up window. The 'Cancel' and 'Continue in New Tab' buttons are at the bottom. The 'Don't show again' box is below them. The 'See how it works!' link is above them.

    • Select Continue in New Tab to see the preview, or Cancel to cancel the preview.
    • To avoid seeing this pop-up window again in the future, check Don't show again before selecting Continue in New Tab or Cancel.
    • Selecting See how it works! will take you to a website that explains how Nearpod works.

Adjusting the View

  • You can make a number of changes to the skills displayed by using the controls above the first list:
    The Edit Groups, List Length/Domains, and Edit Skill View controls are highlighted.
    • Select Edit Groups to make changes to the groups you've created. This re-opens the slide-out where you originally created them.
    • Use the List Length and Domains drop-down lists to change the maximum number of skills to show (5, 10, 15, or 20) and whether to include skills from all domains or a single domain of your choice.
    • Select Edit Skill View to change any of the following:

      The Edit Skill View pop-up window.
      • Choose whether to show the skills arranged in their preferred teaching order, or arranged by domain.
      • Select Show short skill names (less detail) to shorten the names of the displayed skills. For example: "Synthesize ideas from close reading of literary texts and secondary sources to draw complex conclusions about text meaning and/or significance" would be shortened to "Synthesize ideas to draw complex conclusions".
      • Select Only show Focus Skills lightning icon to only show focus skills in the list.
      • Skills from an English assessment are always shown in English; skills from a Spanish assessment can be displayed in English or Spanish. Select the language you prefer under "View Spanish Skills in".
      • Some skills are transferable (universal skills that transfer across English and Spanish, as well as other languages). To have these skills highlighted with the dual arrows icon, select Identify English/Spanish Transferable Skills.

      After making selections in the pop-up window, select Apply for your changes to take effect, or Cancel to close the pop-up without saving your changes.

  • You can make more significant changes by using the controls at the top of the page:
    The English/Spanish control, the search field, the Subject/School/Class or Group drop-down lists (with the Update button), and the Student Recommendations and Browse Learning Progression tabs.

    • Select the English | Español links to change the language of the entire page from English to Spanish and back again. Note: This will not affect the language of the learning progression skills.
    • Enter a standard or keyword for a skill in the search field and then select the search icon to find specific skills.
    • Use the Subject, School, and Class or Group drop-down lists to change the students you are working with without having to return to the Record Book. After making your choices, select Update; you will need to create new groups out of the students you have selected.
    • Select the Student Recommendations tab to view the skills recommended for individual students; select the Browse Learning Progression tab to view the Learning Progression by grade and domain.
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