 |
 |
| |
SchoolCity STARS (Standardized Test Analysis and Research System) is a secure, easy-to-use, web-based software system requiring minimal technical training for users. It is designed for use at every level - region, district, sub-district, school, grade, teacher, class, and student.
With the passage of President Bush’s “No Child Left Behind” (NCLB) Act, the countdown to compliance has begun. Are you ready?
- Do you have the proper systems in place to ensure that your student achievement data is disaggregated (or broken down) into the four student groups required by the No Child Left Behind Act to determine Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)?
- Race/Ethnicity
- Economically Disadvantaged
- Disability Status
- Limited English Proficiency
- Are your teachers, principals, and administrators prepared to use the disaggregated data to improve instruction for each child and close the student achievement gap?
- Will you be ready to disseminate the disaggregated data via report cards to every parent and the community at large via the Internet, local media, or public agencies?
Unless your answer is “yes” to all three questions, you must start disaggregating, using, and disseminating your data. The NCLB Act requires that 100 percent of students in each disaggregated student group meet or exceed “proficiency”—as defined by your state—by the 2013-14 school year.
And to meet the requirements of some parts of the Act, you must also disaggregate and report data by gender, migrant status, and students not tested.
American Productivity and Quality Center (APQC: www.apqc.org) created the STARS product in 2002. APQC is a recognized leader in benchmarking, knowledge management, measurement, process improvement and quality. APQC has worked for over 25 years to help organizations improve and since, 1996 has focused on using that knowledge to work with educators.
The APQC Education Initiative works with schools, districts, states, and higher-education organizations to achieve excellence and equity for all students. APQC developed STARS after years of research and extensive discussions with educators at the administrative and instructional levels. These educators deal with data issues on a day-to-day basis and understand the requirements of the NCLB Act.
In 2003, SchoolCity and APQC created a strategic alliance and partnership to deliver STARS to School districts across the United States. Under this partnership SchoolCity owns rights to the STARS product and both parties work together to deliver this innovative solution to the education community.
SchoolCity STARS, is a web-based application that allows input of norm-referenced, criterion-referenced, and benchmark tests for use by administrators and teachers to view summary and detail level reports regarding performance at all levels. SchoolCity STARS (Standardized Test Analysis and Research System) is a secure, easy-to-use, web-based software system requiring minimal technical training for users. It is designed for use at every level - region, district, sub-district, school, grade, teacher, class, and student. A large variety of tests formats such as Stanford 9(SAT 9), CAT 6, CST, SABE, CELDT, CAHSEE, TAAS, TAKS, CAPA, FCAT, ITBS, TAP and local state level tests are already incorporated into STARS.
STARS is currently being used and deployed by counties of education, large and small districts in Texas, Oklahoma, California and other states. STARS is customizable and incorporates many data domains needed by school districts to support better data-driven decision making within schools.
|
 |
|
