Mahomet-Seymour board approves STAR Renaissance as district benchmark assessment

The Mahomet-Seymour CUSD 3 Board of Education voted on May 19 to adopt STAR Renaissance as the district’s benchmark and progress-monitoring assessment, approving a three-year contract that starts with the 2025–26 school year.

District administrators told the board the program offers updated national norms post-COVID and usable data for MTSS and other instructional conversations; some trustees asked practical questions about testing pause features and timing for students. The superintendent recommended the contract after several presentations and follow-up discussions with department chairs and teachers.

During the meeting staff said teams have begun using STAR data for interventions and that the platform’s updated norms addressed shortcomings of previous assessments whose norms had not been refreshed since the pandemic. Board members asked about test administration details, including whether timed tests can be paused for students who need breaks; staff responded that pausing is available and that there are workarounds for timing concerns.

The motion to approve the three-year contract was moved and seconded and passed by roll call. The decision positions STAR Renaissance as the district’s primary benchmark for K–11 progress monitoring and is expected to guide curriculum and intervention work for the coming school years.

The district will begin implementation planning over the summer and start administering STAR assessments in the 2025–26 academic year; staff said additional professional development and follow-up conversations with grade-level teams are already planned.