Cut Scores, Benchmarks, and Benchmark Structures
Several of the Star Reading and Star Reading Enterprise reports use cut scores, benchmarks, and benchmark structures to identify students who are having difficulty.
- A cut score is either a converted Percentile Rank (PR) score or, in the case of state benchmarks, a Scaled Score (SS).
- Cut scores that are chosen as targets for students to meet or surpass are benchmarks.
- School benchmarks are targets that apply to every student in a school (each grade has its own benchmarks). These are available for all Star Reading and Star Reading Enterprise customers.
- District benchmarks are targets that apply to every student in a school district; these are only available for Star Reading Enterprise customers.
- A state benchmark correlates the Star Reading test scores within a school to a state test. A state benchmark is only available to customers who are (a) using Star Reading Enterprise and (b) are in a state that has a test linked to the Star Reading scale.
Each type of benchmark can have different values; for example, state benchmarks may be higher than district benchmarks. For Star Reading Enterprise, one of these benchmarks can be chosen as a default benchmark (to be used in situations where a benchmark is required but one hasn't been chosen).
Unlike Star Reading Enterprise, Star Reading only uses one benchmark (school), so there is no need to select a default benchmark.
- The number of categories, the category names, and the minimum proficiency level chosen create a benchmark structure. There are four default categories, but the number of categories in the structure can be changed from two to five.
|
Category |
Description |
Default Cut Score |
| |
At/Above Benchmark (green) |
Students meeting or exceeding the benchmark score |
At/Above 40 PR |
| |
On Watch (blue) |
Students slightly below the benchmark score |
Automatically calculated as the range between "At/Above Benchmark" and "Intervention" |
| |
Intervention (yellow) |
Students below the benchmark score |
Below 25 PR |
| |
Urgent Intervention (red) |
Students far below the benchmark score |
Below 10 PR |
Click one of the following links for instructions on how to change the number of categories in the structure and the cut scores and benchmarks that define them.
The procedures differ based on which version of the program you are using. If your school is part of a mixed district (where some schools are using Star Reading and others are using Star Reading Enterprise), follow the instructions for Star Reading Enterprise.