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Guide to Assessments

Home → Departments → Teaching & Learning → Guide to Assessments

Star Reading and Math Tests

About the Star test: Star is a standardized test used by many districts across the country. Students take the test on a computer and the questions adjust to get easier or harder based on student answers. The test generally takes around 15-20 minutes for each subject.  

How we use Star: Bellevue School District uses Star to help identify students who may need additional supports or be ready for greater challenges, and to measure academic growth over time. 

Who takes Star tests?

Grade 2  Star Math in the fall, winter and spring 
Grades 3-5  Star Math and Star Reading in the fall, winter and spring 
Grades 6-8  Star Math and Star Reading in the fall and spring 
 High School Star Math in Algebra 1, Geometry, and Algebra 2 courses; fall and spring

How do I see test results? Student scores will be available in ParentVue a day or two after testing. You will see the date the test was administered, the school name, and two scores: state proficiency level and national percentile rank. 

Proficiency Level shows if students are meeting state standards, and is aligned to student performance on the state Smarter Balanced Assessments. There are four proficiency levels: 

At/Above Standard  Level 4: The student has exceeded state achievement standards 
Level 3: The student has met state achievement standards 
Below Standard  Level 2: The student is below state achievement standards 
Level 1: The student is well below state achievement standards 
   

Percentile Rank shows how a student scored compared to other students in the same grade nationally. For example, if a third-grader has a percentile rank is 73, it means they scored as well or better than 73% of third graders nationally. 

Star Spanish: If your student is in a dual language or one-way Spanish immersion program and took the Spanish version of Star, you will see percentile rank but not proficiency level because Star has not yet mapped the Spanish version of the test to the state Smarter Balanced Assessment. The percentile rank shows how your student scored compared to students nationally who took the Spanish version of Star. 

Additional Scores: If your child’s teacher shares additional Star reports with you, you may also see something called scaled score. The scaled score is a raw score that isn’t easy to interpret on its own, but it is the basis for calculating other measures like percentile rank and proficiency level. In 2021-22 the Star publishers changed the scale behind the scaled score from the Enterprise Scale which we’ve used for many years to a new scale called the Unified Scale. They did this for technical reasons and it does not affect proficiency level or percentile rank. It’s like changing from Fahrenheit to Celsius when measuring temperature.  

If your child’s scaled score changed dramatically from 2020-21 to 2021-22 it is likely due to the switch from Enterprise to Unified scales and is not a cause for alarm. Please use proficiency level or percentile rank to get a sense of your child’s progress over time. 

Washington State Standardized Testing

Bellevue School District follows Washington State testing requirements.

Teaching & Learning
The Bellevue School District acknowledges that we learn, work, live and gather on the Indigenous Land of the Coast Salish peoples, specifically the Duwamish and Snoqualmie Tribes. We thank these caretakers of this land, who have lived and continue to live here, since time immemorial.