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>.

From the abstract: "For young Spanish-English dual language learners (SE-DLLs), early literacy skills, including phonological awareness and alphabet knowledge in Spanish as well as English, are crucial to their reading success. However, there is a lack of research about how SE-DLLs develop early literacy skills, and how their rates of performance can inform evidence-based intervention. This article examined to what degree SE-DLLs with disabilities or at risk for later reading difficulties on early literacy skills demonstrated growth on English and Spanish measures of early literacy when compared with their typically developing peers. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyze growth for 325 SE-DLLs on four Individual Growth and Development Indicators that assessed phonological awareness and alphabet knowledge in English and Spanish. Results indicated that at-risk and typically developing children showed significant slopes for all measures and that at-risk children grew faster than typically developing children on Spanish alphabet knowledge measures." Citation: Wackerle-Hollman, A. K., Duran, L. K., & Miranda, A. (2020). Early literacy skill growth in Spanish-speaking children with and at risk for disabilities in early childhood. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 40(1), 24-38.The Full Report is available online: <https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1257815.pdf>.

To develop Pathway to Proficiency reports for Florida Star Math schools, we linked our scaled scores with the scaled scores from Florida's achievement test. This technical report details the statistical method behind the process of linking Florida's state test (Florida End-of-Course (EOC) Assessments for Algebra 1 and Geometry, FSA in the software) and Star Math scaled scores. The Full Report is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R63028>.

To develop Pathway to Proficiency reports for Wyoming Star Reading and Star Math schools, we linked our scaled scores with the scaled scores from Wyoming's achievement test. This technical report details the statistical method behind the process of linking Wyoming's state test (WY-TOPP) and Star Reading and Star Math scaled scores. The full report is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R53903>.

This technical manual is a compendium of all relevant information about content and item development, reliability and validity, norming, and score definitions for myIGDIs Early Literacy by Renaissance.Email research@renaissance.com to request a copy of the technical manual from the Renaissance Research Department.

Many traditional screening measures (CBM) offer only moderate levels of accuracy, necessitating the use of multiple administrations or slopes to inform screening and placement decisions. This study examined the validity and diagnostic accuracy of a computer adaptive test, Star Reading, as a screener to identify state achievement test performance for 1,696 third through fifth graders. It concluded that single time point administrations of Star Reading were strongly related to the state outcome measure within year; using data from multiple administrations (slopes) did not offer a significant improvement over single data points. The authors conclude that Star Reading can work as an appropriate screening measure particularly in the upper elementary grades, when traditional CBMs tend to demonstrate decreased accuracy. Citation: Ochs, S., Keller-Margulis, M. A., Santi, K. L., & Jones, J. H. (2020). Long-term validity and diagnostic accuracy of a reading computer-adaptive test. Assessment for Effective Intervention, 45(3), 210-225. The full report is available online: <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330989228_Long-term_validity_and_diagnostic_accuracy_of_a_reading_computer-adaptive_test>.

From the abstract: "Evidence of longitudinal relations between language and early literacy skills in early childhood and later reading (and other) achievement is growing, along with an expanding array of early education programs designed to improve later academic outcomes and prevent, reduce, or close later academic achievement gaps across groups. Assessment systems to support this intervention have been developed, but to date we have little evidence of these systems' outcomes when used at a broad scale in community-based preschool programs. For this broad purpose, two research questions were addressed: (a) How much progress do children make on language and early literacy skills over the course of one school year? And (b) What is the relationship between child characteristics, baseline performance, and growth on language and early literacy skills? Results indicated growth over time for all measures and relations between child age, gender, and free-or-reduced-price status and students' performance at the beginning of the school year, but (with one exception) no relation between these covariates and growth over time. Discussion centers on current status of language and early literacy assessment in early childhood education as well as needs and issues to be addressed in future research and program development."Citation: Kincaid, A., McConnell, S. R., & Wackerle-Hollman, A. K. (2020). Assessing early literacy growth in preschoolers using Individual Growth and Development Indicators. Assessment for Effective Intervention, 45(3), 173-183. The research study is available online: <https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327754529_Assessing_Early_Literacy_Growth_in_Preschoolers_Using_Individual_Growth_and_Development_Indicators>.

This manual is a compendium of all relevant information about content and item development, reliability and validity, norming, and score definitions for myIGDIs Early Numeracy by Renaissance.Email research@renaissance.com to request a copy of the technical manual from the Renaissance Research Department.

To develop Pathway to Proficiency reports for Indiana Star Reading and Star Math schools, we linked our scaled scores with the scaled scores from Indiana's achievement test. This technical report details the statistical method behind the process of linking Indiana's state test (ILEARN) and Star Reading and Math scaled scores. The full report is available online: <https://docs.renaissance.com/R446201>.

From the abstract: "Within multitiered systems of support, assessment practices that limit the amount of time students miss instruction should be prioritized. At the same time, decisions about student response to intervention need to be based upon technically adequate data. We evaluated the impact of data collection frequency and trend estimation method on the magnitude of average rates of growth as well as the stability of individual estimates of growth from a computer-adaptive test. Students in Grades 2 through 5 (n>2,000) were progress monitored once a month across the 2015-2016 school year with Star Reading or Star Math assessments. Results suggest that using ordinary least squares regression to estimate growth from triannual screening periods is generally sufficient to make program evaluation decisions about response to instruction across a school year. To make decisions about individual student progress, data should be collected at a minimum bimonthly but preferably once a month."Citation: Van Norman, E. R., & Ysseldyke, J. E. (2020). The impact of data collection frequency and trend estimation method on the consistency of growth estimates from two computer-adaptive tests. School Psychology Review, 49(1), 20-30. The full article is available online: <https://www.proquest.com/docview/2503471456>.