The Buros Institute of Mental Measurements publishes independent, critical reviews of assessment instruments. Two reviewers evaluate each assessment. Each provides a description of the assessment, documents the development of the assessment, and examines the assessment's reliability and validity data. AUTHOR: R. J. de Ayala. For information on obtaining a copy of review, email the Renaissance Research Department: research@renaissance.com.

"This research was commissioned by the Department for Education in 2020 to understand the progress pupils make in the 2020 to 2021 academic year and estimate the impact of the disruption to schooling as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on that progress.The interim findings are based on more than 400,000 reading and maths assessments taken in the first half term of autumn 2020. The report is in 3 parts: -presentation of study sample sizes -examination of historical trends in assessments to develop an approach to measuring the impact on assessment scores of the disruption to schooling as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic -estimation of the average impact on reading and mathematics scores of the disruption to schooling as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic" The Full Report is available online: <https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6239cbb1e90e07799a20bc0e/Understanding_progress_in_the_2020_21_academic_year_Interim_findings_Jan2021.pdf>.

FastBridge Social, Academic, & Emotional Behavior Risk Screener (SAEBRS has been rated highly by the National Center on Intensive Intervention (NCII) as academic screening assessment. The Full Review is available online: <https://charts.intensiveintervention.org/bscreening>.

FastBridge CBMmath Automaticity has been rated highly by the National Center on Intensive Intervention (NCII) as academic progress monitoring assessment. The Full Review is available online: <https://charts.intensiveintervention.org/aprogressmonitoring>.

FastBridge CBMreading Reading English has been rated highly by the National Center on Intensive Intervention (NCII) as academic progress monitoring assessment. The Full Review is available online: <https://charts.intensiveintervention.org/aprogressmonitoring>.

FastBridge earlyMath Grouping and Place Value has been rated highly by the National Center on Intensive Intervention (NCII) as academic progress monitoring assessment. The Full Review is available online: <https://charts.intensiveintervention.org/aprogressmonitoring>.

How Kids Are Performing: Tracking the Impact of COVID-19 on Reading and Mathematics Achievement: Fall 2020 Edition is based on insights from millions of student assessments. The report explores key questions, including: 1. Did the pandemic have an impact on the reading and mathematics performance of students as they entered the 2020-2021 school year? 2. Is the impact of the pandemic reflected in growth outcomes? Were existing achievement gaps exacerbated? 3. Do the impacts on performance and growth vary by subgroup? 4. Can we interpret the pandemic's impacts in instructional terms? The report is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R63289>.

"The purpose of our research was to cobine the efforts of the Education 230 Research Group and myON, Renaissance to enhance the Hungarian Education System. Within the wframework of the research, the objectie was to conduct research regarding the effects of using the ditial reading program myON on the acquistiation of English as a second language, as measured by Star, Renaissance assessments. . . Our findings highlight that myON has positive impacted both teachers' ability to utilize feedback from assessments and students' ESL reading and language acquistion wihile also having an emporing and motivating effect on both."Citation: Education 2030 Research Group. (2020). Using modern digital learning programs to scaffold learning in grades 5-8: Research report on the effects of using a digital reading program, myON by Renaissance to support the acquisition of English as a foreign language. Eszterházy Károly University.Email research@renaissance.com to request a copy of the report from the Renaissance Research Department.

Newly Updated! Foundation of Star Adaptive Assessments explains the science behind our purposeful, proven, powerful, and predictive assessments: Star Early Literacy, Star Spanish Early Literacy, Star Reading, Star Spanish Reading, Star Math, and Star Spanish Math. Topics covered include an overview of each assessment, computer adaptive testing, item response theory, the item development process, dynamic calibration, how the learning progressions were developed and fuel the assessments, key reports, growth measurement, SGP, linking studies, research support, and reliability and validity information. The full report is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R14807>.

From the abstract: "There is no denying the impact that the coronravirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak has had on many aspects of our lives. This article looks at the potential impact of COVID-19 on student learning as schools abruptly morphed into virtual learning environments using data from several instructional, practice, and assessment solutions offered by Renaissance. First, three hypothetical learning scenarios are considered using normative data from Star assessments to explore the potential impact on reading and math test performace. Next, data on Focus Skills are used to highlight which grades may have missed the most foundational math and reading content if instruction was stopped or reduced. Last, data from two of Renaissance's practice tools are used to evaluate whether students were practicing key skills following school closures. The article concludes that academic decline will likely occur but may be tempered by the increased use of practice tools; effects may look different for math and reading; and may impact grades and schools differently. As such, schools may need to leverage decision-making frameworks, such as the Multi-tiered Systems of Support/Response-to-Intervention (MTSS/RTI) framework, more than ever to identify needs and target instruction where it matters most when school begins in fall 2020."Citation: Wyse, A. E., Stickney, E. M., Butz, D., Beckler, A., & Close, C. N. (2020). The potential impact of COVID-19 on student learning and how schools can respond. Educational Measurement: Issues and Practice, 39(3), 60-64. The Full Article is available online: <https://doi.org/10.1111/emip.12357>.

From the Abstract: "Repeated measurements of student ability (i.e., progressing monitoring) is an essential element of informed decision-making when adjusting instruction. An important characteristic of progress monitoring measures is frequent administration to identify areas of concern and to evaluate academic growth. The purpose of this study was to determine if Star Math is sensitive to small incremental growth across a semester. Within two southern school districts, 114 fifth grade students' progress monitoring data were collected weekly, and a latent growth curve was used to estimate students' change in math ability. Results indicated Star Math is sensitive to small incremental growth, with a statistically significant and positive slope, suggesting students using Star Math showed improvement in ability over the semester."Citation:Johnson, K. N., Thompson, K. L., & Farmer, R. L. (2020). Determining growth sensitivity of Star Math with a latent growth curve model. Canadian Journal of School Psychology, 35(3), 197-209.The full article is available online: <The full article is available online: <https://jackbhuber.files.wordpress.com/2020/04/just-pressing-buttons.pdf>.>.

DETAILS: Location: Turkey; Design: Internal, correlational; Sample: Students in Grades 2-7; Duration: 8-week trial between May 1, 2020 and June 30, 2020. RESULTS:'The results of the analyses of the Lexile scores showed that there were positive gains in the pupils' reading ability, on average, between the pretest and the posttest at each grade level and that gains increased as grade increased which is desirable. In addition, a strong relationship (.67) was evident between the average number of words read and average change in Lexiles by grade, indicating that the number of word reads was a strong predictor of growth in reading. In addition, the amount of time spent reading as well as number of books read suggests myON helps foster reading habits known to improve English learning. Analyses of the two major research questions support the use of myON for extensive reading in the EFL classroom.'

This study involved 10,000 students from Grades 1-12 and examined Freckle Math usage and growth in general math ability (Star Math Student Growth Percentile) over the fall-to-winter period in the 2019-2020 school year. With sustained use of Freckle Math following recommended usage guidelines for minutes per day (15 to 30 minutes per day, depending on grade level), students consistently demonstrated greater than expected increases in general math ability.The Full Report is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R63038>.