Spotlight on STAR 2008

What Kinds of Score Reports Will Parents and Guardians Receive?

All parents and guardians of students who participate in the STAR Program will receive at least one score report that shows how well their students are meeting California content standards for each subject area tested. The school district will send the STAR Student Reports to each student’s home within 20 working days after the school district has received them. This mailing date may be different for each school district; however, results should be received no later than the end of September 2008. Results are confidential and will be shared only with parents or guardians and the student’s teacher.

Separate Reports Provided

Parents and guardians receive California Standards Test (CST) results in the STAR Student Report. For students in grades three and seven, test results for the California Achievement Tests, Sixth Edition Survey (CAT/6 Survey) are included with the CST results in the STAR Student Report. A separate report is sent to the parents and guardians of students who participate in the following STAR Program tests:

• California Alternate Performance Assessment (CAPA)
• California Modified Assessment (CMA)
• Standards-based Tests in Spanish (STS)
• Aprenda, La prueba de logros en español, Tercera edición (Aprenda 3)

STAR Student Report: CST and CAT/6 Survey

CST Results. The STAR Student Report provides overall scale scores, performance levels, and content area results for each subject area tested by a CST. Overall scores are reported on a scale ranging from 150 to 600. The CST results for each subject area tested also are reported by performance levels: advanced, proficient, basic, below basic, or far below basic. The state target is for all students to score at the proficient or advanced level on the CSTs.

In addition, all CST results are reported by content areas that show how a student performs on clusters of standards within each subject tested. These results are reported as percent correct scores. A graphic also compares the student’s performance to that of students throughout California scoring proficient on the CST for each subject tested.

California Reading List (CRL) Number. The CRL is a Web-based tool that allows students and their parents or guardians to access lists of book titles organized by levels of reading difficulty. Ranging from 01 to 13+, the CRL number links the student score on the CST in English-language arts with a list of books at an appropriate level for the student. The list is available on the California Reading List Web Page.

CAT/6 Survey Scores. For students in grades three and seven, the CAT/6 Survey scores for each subject area tested are reported as percentile ranks. The 50th percentile rank is the national average, and a score between the 40th and 60th percentiles is considered an average score.

STAR Student Report: CAPA and CMA

CAPA Scores. The STAR Student Report for CAPA provides overall scale scores and performance-level results for English-language arts and mathematics. Overall results for the CAPA are reported on a scale ranging from 15 to 60 in English-language arts and mathematics. Results also are reported by performance levels: advanced, proficient, basic, below basic, or far below basic.  The 2008 CAPA results for science in grades five, eight, and ten show a percent correct score.

CMA Scores. The STAR Student Report for CMA shows how well students taking the test achieved California content standards in English-language arts and mathematics in grades three through five and in science in grade five. The 2008 CMA report provides a percent correct score for each subject tested.

Designated Primary Language Test Reports

The two designated primary language tests (DPLTs) have separate reports. The STS student report provides results that show how well students achieved California content standards in reading-language arts and mathematics, in grades two through seven. The STS results provide percent correct scores for each subject tested. The Aprenda 3 student report displays student scores as percentile ranks for each subject tested (reading, mathematics, and language, in grades eight through eleven, and spelling, in grade eight only). The percentile ranks compare each student’s scores with scores of Spanish-speaking English learners in a national sample.