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Diagnostic Testing Instructions

  • Updated

Follow the steps below for Diagnostic testing. The teacher and student can use a desktop or laptop computer, a Chromebook™, or a tablet.

For guidelines for the assessment administrator during testing, see Diagnostic Directions During Administration.

  1. On the teacher device, log in to your Renaissance site; then, select Star Phonics under Assess Students on your Renaissance Home page.
    the Renaissance Home page with the Star Phonics tile
  2. Select Diagnostic Testing.
    select Diagnostic Testing
  3. Next, select New Diagnostics or Pending Diagnostics. For New Diagnostics, you choose the skills to assess; for Pending Diagnostics, you assess students on skills that were previously flagged as needing diagnostics.
    the New Diagnostics and Pending Diagnostics options
  4. New Diagnostic:
    If you chose "New Diagnostic," select the options for Diagnostic Testing; then, select Next.
    options for a new diagnostic
    Pending Diagnostic:
    If you chose "Pending Diagnostic," select the student and test to view pending diagnostics for. Then, choose the diagnostic test to begin by selecting Start Diagnostics next to the corresponding skill. The skills that are listed are those that were checked on the Student's Recommended Diagnostic Report (typically skills for which the student's score was less than 3).
    select Start Diagnostics for the skill that you want to assess
  5. You'll see the code for the student device. Do not select Begin Test until the code has been entered on the student device as described in the following steps. Note: The code expires after 10 minutes - if you enter the code on the student device after it has expired, you'll receive an alert; to get a new code, select Refresh Student Code on the teacher device.
    the code
  6. On the student device, go to your Renaissance site and have the student log in. Then, have the student select Star Phonics.
    select Star Phonics
  7. Enter the code on the student device; then, select Enter. If you are administering the assessment remotely, tell the student the code so they can enter it on their device.
    enter the code
  8. On the teacher device, you can select the diagnostic student directions, which include a paragraph for you to read to the student and guidance for marking incorrect and correct pronunciations. You can also find guidelines in Diagnostic Directions During Administration.
    the link to directions and guidance
  9. When you're ready to begin the test, select Begin Test.
    the Begin Test button
    The teacher device will look like this:
    example of the teacher view
    The student device will look like this:
    example of the student view
  10. Students should only be given 3 seconds to read each word. The orange blinking dot is a visual reminder of the time allowed; it blinks in 1-second intervals.
    the orange dot
    As the student reads the words, mark the words according to the scoring instructions on the page. You can close the instructions by clicking the x. To open the instructions again, select i.
    select X to close the instructions
    The rhyming word below each nonsense word helps you identify the correct pronunciation.
    example of the rhyming word
    As noted in the instruction box, you can select individual letters or letter combinations to mark part of the word incorrect.
    example of a letter combination marked incorrect
    Select the green box to mark the entire word correct.
    example of a word marked correct
    Select the yellow circle to mark the word skipped. All skipped words will appear at the end of the test, giving the student a second chance to read them. (Select Skipped Words at the end of the assessment to show the words.)
    example of a skipped word
    To add notes, click the orange box, select the word, and type the note in the field on the left.
    example of the note drop-down and the Notes field
    Once you are done marking the words, select Next to go to the next set of words. This will also advance the student's screen. Repeat this step until the test is complete; on the last item, select Submit.
    select Next
  11. Once the Diagnostic Test is complete, 3 reports are automatically generated:
    • First you'll see the Diagnostic Student Tile Report, which shows you the student's incorrect pronunciations in red. You can select View Notes to see any notes you entered during the assessment. Select Print to print the report. Select Next to see the next report.
      example of the Diagnostic Student Tile Report
    • Next, you'll see the Diagnostic Instructional Recommendations, which shows the student's score on each of the skill categories and the student's errors at the beginning, middle, or end of words. Select Back if you want to go to the previous report; select Print to print this one. Select Next to see the next report.
      example of the Diagnostic Instructional Recommendations
    • Finally, you'll see the Diagnostic Student Bar Graph, which shows up to 5 of the most recent diagnostic scores for the tested skill. Select Done when you're done viewing the reports.
      example of the Diagnostic Student Bar Graph

For questions, please contact Support.

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