Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Assessments topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District 97 committee recommends switching to Renaissance STAR assessment suite, citing shorter tests and unified platform
Summary
A district committee recommended replacing multiple assessment tools with the Renaissance STAR suite, citing shorter administration time, integrated progress monitoring and instructional resources, and an estimated annual savings of about $45,000. The board will consider the recommendation for action at a future meeting.
A district committee recommended that Oak Park Elementary School District 97 adopt the Renaissance STAR assessment suite to replace the district’s current mix of MAP, AIMSweb, MasteryConnect and ESGI, presenters said at the board’s May 13 meeting.
Committee members said STAR would reduce benchmark testing time for reading and math (they described the benchmark as about 30 minutes versus the current 60–90 minutes), offer monthly progress-monitoring options, include a writing component and provide an integrated instructional pathway (Freckle/LELO) that ties assessment results to lessons. The committee recommended the board consider the change for school year 2025–26 and scheduled a formal action item for a later meeting.
The recommendation grew from a districtwide review process that included classroom teachers, instructional coaches and central staff. “We defined a rubric, met with vendors and weighted our criteria based on what was most important to us,” said Patrick Robinson, assistant superintendent for elementary schools. Mallory Mallory, an eighth-grade language arts teacher and ELA department chair who served on the committee, said the team prioritized standards alignment, progress monitoring, student-level diagnostic tools and teacher-facing reports that are “easy to read” and actionable.
Presenters showed the rubric outcomes: the committee’s current mix met 11 of 16 rubric criteria; i-Ready met 9 of 16; Renaissance met all 16. The panel said Renaissance’s STAR benchmarks, DNA standards-based assessments and built-in progress probes would consolidate multiple products into a single platform. They also noted Renaissance offers an optional SEL screening module that the district plans to evaluate further before districtwide rollout.
On cost, the committee said the district currently spends about $276,000 a year on its assessment suite and related classroom programs. The proposed Renaissance package would cost about $231,000 annually — a projected savings of roughly $45,000 — while centralizing student and teacher access. Presenters cautioned they are still vetting implementation details, including professional development, technology capacity for simultaneous test windows, preservation of historical data and how to phase out current tools while keeping early‑childhood probes (ESGI) where needed.
Board members asked about parent and student communications, whether the platform supports dyslexia screening and how the district will monitor teacher uptake. Presenters said STAR includes early‑literacy probes and additional CBM (curriculum‑based measure) options and that Renaissance partners’ Freckle/LELO would provide phonics and practice resources comparable to current offerings. The team said usage reports in the new platform would allow district and school leaders to track teacher and student engagement and to evaluate effectiveness over the next one to two years.
The board did not take final action May 13. Staff said they will return with a formal contract recommendation and rollout plan at a subsequent board meeting, including details on professional development, pilot sites and any phased implementation for SEL screening.
