Data & Assessment


STAR Data Tools & Resources

The Sonoma County Office of Education offers districts support in accessing and using their electronic STAR results. This electronic file has very useful school information, but it can be difficult to use. SCOE helps districts extract relevant data from their STAR file and assemble it in a Microsoft Excel worksheet.

SCOE also offers classes (online and face-to-face) to help districts interpret and use their STAR data effectively. These classes are designed for users at various levels of knowledge and ability, enabling them to make sense of and apply their STAR data. This page is a support resource for these classes.

Goal Planning for 2012

Different Views of Your Data

STAR Results from CDE | Link
This is the California Department of Education's official Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) results and information page. Summary data is available for each school in California, by grade level.

DataQuest | Link
DataQuest is a web resource maintained by the California Department of Education. Educators, parents, and community members can access a wide range of information concerning their local schools, including:

  • Standardized Testing and Reporting (STAR) Results
  • Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)
  • California English Language Development Test (CELDT) Results
  • School Demographics
  • School Staffing

Educational Results Partnership | Link
Formerly known as Just for the Kids (JFTK), Educational Results Partnership is an affiliate of the National Center for Educational Accountability. It offers:

  • Clear and accurate data charts based on publicly available information from the California Standards Tests (CSTs) for language arts and mathematics
  • Help in benchmarking school performance against the top ten performing schools in the state, region, and county that have comparable student populations
  • Connections to higher performing schools to learn what works and a best practice framework/self-audit tool to help set measurable, attainable goals for improvement

SchoolCharts | Link
A resource from SchoolCity, this site has many useful charts and graphs displaying district and school achievement data. Graphs are frequently used in school accountability reports and stakeholder presentations. Users must register to use the free site materials.

Resources

California Modified Assessment (CMA) Participation | Link
This page summarizes the criteria for guiding individualized education program (IEP) teams in making decisions about which students with disabilities should participate in the California Modified Assessment (CMA).

Post-Test Guide | pdf
A portable document file (pdf) containing Educational Testing Service's complete 2011 STAR Post-Test Guide, this document is over 100 pages long and offers educators a detailed description of STAR results for 2011.

CST Summary Information | doc
This summary document encapsulates three important concepts for educators to understand about the CSTs.

CST Cluster Score Tables | pdf
The tables in this document summarize the number of items in each reporting cluster, along with the "Minimally Proficient" and "Minimally Advanced" percentages. This data is essential for analyzing CST cluster score strengths and weaknesses.

Educational Testing Service's (ETS) STAR Website | Link
Educational Testing Service offers guides and materials to help educators understand their STAR data file. Excerpts from the 2009 STAR Post-Test Guide are referenced above.

RSDSS/CTAP Region IV, Excel Templates for CST Analysis | Link
These Microsoft Excel tools from CTAP can help teachers analyze CST results for the students in their classroom by subject and reporting cluster.

Making the Case for Data-Driven Decision-Making | pdf
Making instructional decisions based on evidence of student learning can improve the efficacy of teaching. We make a case for data-driven decision-making in this SCOE Bulletin, published in September 2009. A companion video highlights strategies for sorting and analyzing CST data using Microsoft Excel.

Contact

  • Rick Phelan, Curriculum/Technology Specialist
    (707) 524-2847,