Star Reading, Star Math, Star Early Literacy, and Star Spanish Questions
Why might student counts in Renaissance Analytics not match student counts shown in Star reports?
- District Screening Windows: Only tests taken in the district screening windows are included in Renaissance Analytics. If students take more than one test in those windows, only the most recent test for each student is included in Renaissance Analytics. Star reports may include tests that were taken in other time periods, such as school screening windows that are outside of the district screening windows.
- Test Types: Renaissance Analytics includes only Enterprise tests from Star Reading, Star Math, and Star Early Literacy. It does not include Progress Monitoring tests, Star Math Algebra or Geometry tests, or Star Custom assessments. (The types of Star tests that your students take depend on the settings of these preferences: Enterprise Tests (School), Enterprise Tests (Class), and the Math Test Type class preference.)
- Benchmarks and Norm-Referenced Scores: Renaissance Analytics shows data for students for which benchmark information and norm-referenced scores are available. For some situations, benchmark information and norm-referenced scores are not available, such as for kindergarteners taking a Star Math test or Pre-K students taking a Star Early Literacy test. Those tests are not included in Renaissance Analytics.
- Students Enrolled in Multiple Schools: If a student is enrolled in multiple schools and classes, the student selects a class when taking a Star test, and that class selection associates the student's test score with a specific school. In Renaissance Analytics, the student's test score will be associated only with that school, and not with other schools that the student is enrolled in.
- Historical Data: Past data may include only students who are currently enrolled or both currently enrolled students and those who are no longer enrolled. If you filter or compare by current grade level, Is SPED, EL Status, migrant status, or SPED status, then only currently enrolled students with the values you select are included. For example, if you filter for students who are currently in 5th grade, then the data will show students who are currently enrolled and in 5th grade now over the selected years (when they were in previous grades). If you filter or compare only by gender or primary ethnicity, the data will include both students who are enrolled now and those who were enrolled in the past so that you can see if there were differences in performance by gender or ethnicity over time. This is also true when you filter or compare by school level and/or school region.
Why am I missing Star assessment data in Renaissance Analytics?
District screening windows may have been changed or deleted in Renaissance, or schools may have been removed from district screening windows. Note that only assessments taken in the district screening windows are shown in Renaissance Analytics, and if schools have custom date ranges within the district screening windows, only assessments taken during those timeframes will be included. For more information, see District Screening Windows and Renaissance Analytics.
Why are Student Growth Percentiles (SGPs) different in Renaissance Analytics and Star reports?
In Renaissance Analytics, Student Growth Percentile requires a Fall test score, and the first Fall test (August - November) is used as the starting point; Star reports may use other tests as the starting point. Renaissance Analytics also reports current Student Growth Percentiles, which means it shows the Student Growth Percentile that is associated with the latest test in the second window of the growth period (such as Fall to Winter or Fall to Spring); Star reports may show either current or window-specific Student Growth Percentiles. For more information about Student Growth Percentiles, the windows used, and Star, see Student Growth Percentile (SGP).
The benchmark categories shown in Renaissance Analytics aren't what I expect to see
Renaissance Analytics uses the District benchmarks set up in Renaissance software, and it reflects the State benchmarks that you can also see in Renaissance software. For more information, see District and State Benchmarks in Renaissance Analytics.
Are deactivated Star tests included in Renaissance Analytics?
No. Tests that you deactivate in the Star Record Book are not included in Renaissance Analytics, Star reports, or calculations.
If a student has mastery data for a standard, does that mean the student was assessed on the standard?
Students do not need to be tested on an item on a specific standard in order for Star to generate a score for a standard. Mastery scores are based on the student's grade and the student's Star score. Based on years of testing and decades’ worth of data on how students with the same scale score performed on the set of items each student encountered on the test, Renaissance estimates how all students would perform on all items. Regardless of which items a student interacts with, Star can generate scores for any standard that has any item data in the assessment item bank. Star can estimate a score of every standard even when there is no item in the Star assessment bank. Renaissance has learning progressions for every state, which includes skills for every standard. By using Star item data for a subset of those skills, Renaissance can place every skill, and therefore every standard, on the same scale as Star. Additionally, even if a student is performing two grade levels below assigned grade level, with the data about how other students are performing, scores can be estimated at the assigned grade level.
Why might students show results for grades other than their own (such as 9th-graders showing 11th-grade standards)?
Students do not need to be tested on an item on a specific standard in order for Star to generate a score for a standard. Mastery scores are based on both student grade and the student's score. Based on years of testing and decades’ worth of data on how students with the same scale score performed on the set of items each student encountered on the test, Renaissance has the unique ability to estimate how all students would perform on all items. Regardless of which items a student interacts with, Star can generate scores for any standard that has any item data in the entire assessment item bank. Star can estimate a score of every standard even when there is no item in the Star assessment bank. Renaissance has learning progressions for every state which includes skills for every standard. By using Star item data for a subset of those skills, we can place every skill, and therefore every standard, on the same scale as Star. Additionally, even if a student is performing two grade levels below assigned grade level, with the data about how other students are performing, scores can be estimated at the assigned grade level.
Other reasons may include:
- For Star Math, high school mastery may include geometry and algebra standards, which are not linked to a specific grade.
- For Star Reading, the student’s grade level may have been corrected after their most recent test, but the test score itself will reflect the assigned grade at the time.
Accelerated Reader Questions
Why might I see differences in data in Accelerated Reader Reports versus Renaissance Analytics?
Some Accelerated Reader reports don't include all quiz types; Renaissance Analytics includes all types: Reading Practice, Other Reading, Article, Literacy Skills, and Vocabulary Practice Quizzes. You may also see slight differences based on how reports round or truncate values.
myON Questions
Why don't I have myON data in Renaissance Analytics?
myON data is available if you access myON through your Renaissance Home page. If myON is not on your Renaissance Home page, in Renaissance Analytics, you will only see data for students whose Star tests are linked to myON.
Freckle Questions
Why might I see differences in data in Freckle versus Renaissance Analytics?
Renaissance Analytics only includes students that were added into Freckle through Renaissance software. Students that you added or imported in Freckle directly will not be included in the Renaissance Analytics data.
Why don't I have Freckle data in Renaissance Analytics?
Freckle data is available if you access Freckle through your Renaissance Home page. If Freckle is not available there and you log in to Freckle separately, the data will not be in Renaissance Analytics.
Lalilo Questions
Why don't I have Lalilo data in Renaissance Analytics?
Lalilo data is available if you access Lalilo through your Renaissance Home page. If Lalilo is not available there and you log in to Lalilo separately, the data will not be in Renaissance Analytics.
Star CBM Reading, Star CBM Math, and Star CBM Lectura Questions
Why might counts in Renaissance Analytics not match counts elsewhere in Renaissance software?
- District screening windows: For benchmark data, Renaissance Analytics uses the Star district screening windows to report data instead of the Star CBM screening windows/seasons; this provides data on narrower, district-defined windows. Only tests taken in the district screening windows are included in the benchmark data in Renaissance Analytics. If students take more than one test in those windows, only the most recent test for each student is included in Renaissance Analytics. Star CBM Data Insights uses the Star CBM screening windows instead, and it uses the earliest test in each window instead of the most recent.
- Students Enrolled in Multiple Schools: If a student is enrolled in multiple schools and classes, the student's test score is associated with the school in which the teacher assessed the student. In Renaissance Analytics, the student's test score will be associated only with that school, and not with other schools that the student is enrolled in.
- Historical Data: Past data may include only students who are currently enrolled or both currently enrolled students and those who are no longer enrolled. If you filter or compare by current grade level, Is SPED, EL Status, migrant status, or SPED status, then only currently enrolled students with the values you select are included. For example, if you filter for students who are currently in 1st grade, then the data will show students who are currently enrolled and in 1st grade now over the selected years (when they were in previous grades). If you filter or compare only by gender or primary ethnicity, the data will include both students who are enrolled now and those who were enrolled in the past so that you can see if there were differences in performance by gender or ethnicity over time. This is also true when you filter or compare by school level and/or school region.
Why am I missing Star CBM benchmark assessment data in Renaissance Analytics?
District screening windows may have been changed or deleted in Renaissance. Note that only assessments taken in the district screening windows are shown in Renaissance Analytics (no matter which schools use the district screening windows). For more information, see District Screening Windows and Renaissance Analytics.
Other Questions
How are students who are enrolled in more than one school handled in Renaissance Analytics? What about students who transfer from one school to another?
In Renaissance Analytics, students' test data is included in the school where each assessment was taken. If a student took an assessment at School A and then transferred to School B, you won't see that assessment in the data for School B - it will be shown for School A. (This is different from Star reports; in those reports, assessments are shown for the school where the student is currently enrolled, regardless of where the assessment was taken. In Star reports, the assessment would be shown for School B.)
Why don't have I have a Renaissance Analytics tile on my Renaissance Home page?
Only School and District Level Administrators and staff have the tile; it is not available to teachers. If you are an administrator, your user permissions may have been changed. In the user permissions in the Renaissance software, under Data Analytics, administrators can choose whether to check/enable access to Renaissance Analytics for District Administrators, District Dashboard Owners, District Staff, School Administrators, and School Staff. The permission does not give teachers access to Renaissance Analytics since it is not available for teachers.