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Assessment Hub

 This is your one-stop shop for understanding the new district assessments being introduced in the 2025-2026 school year!

Assessment Spotlight Video Series

#1: Introducing Our New Assessments 
The reason behind the change and what you can expect for the 2025-2026 school year

#2: The STAR Assessments
How STAR Reading and STAR Early Literacy give educators a clearer picture of each student's reading journey

#3: The i-Ready Math Assessment
How the i-Ready Diagnostic provides information to educators about each student's strengths and needs in math

#4: Understanding Assessment Reports
What a report on student performance looks like in both STAR and i-Ready

#5: Getting Ready for Assessments
Why we use assessments, what they mean for your child, and how you can help at home

Family Guides

District-wide Assessments

Statewide Assessments

Understanding Benchmarks in District 65

In District 65, our goal is for every student to be working at or above grade level by the end of the school year. To help us see how students are growing toward that goal, we give districtwide assessments three times a year, in the fall, winter, and spring. These tests help teachers understand each child’s current learning level and plan the right support, whether that’s extra help, targeted instruction, or enrichment.

A benchmark is a check-in point we use to see if students are on track. The “At Benchmark” level means a student is meeting the expectations needed to stay on track for grade-level proficiency by the end of the year.

STAR Reading, Early Literacy, Lectura, and Alfabetización Temprana Benchmarks

For the STAR assessments, the district uses benchmarks based on national percentiles. This means we compare a student’s performance to other students across the country in the same grade. District 65 selected high benchmark levels that line up closely with what it means to be “proficient” by the end of the year. These higher expectations help ensure all students are moving toward strong grade-level performance.

To keep things consistent, the same benchmark categories and percentile cut-offs are used for all versions of the STAR test including STAR Reading, STAR Lectura, STAR Early Literacy, and STAR Alfabetización Temprana. This helps us clearly report progress and set goals that are fair and meaningful for all students.

District 65 Benchmark Category for STAR Description Cut-Score
  Urgent Intervention Students will likely need significant support with key skills below their chronological grade to be ready for grade-level instruction. 10th percentile or below
  Intervention Students will likely need some additional support with key skills below their chronological grade level to be ready for grade-level instruction. Between 11th and 25th percentile
  Approaching Benchmark Students at this level are approaching grade-level expectations and will benefit from grade-level instruction with targeted support. Between 26th and 66th percentile
  At Benchmark Students have likely met the minimum requirements for the expectations of their grade level. Between 67th and 97th percentile
  Above Benchmark Students at this level have likely met or exceeded the minimum requirements for their grade level. At/Above 98th percentile

 

I-Ready Math Diagnostic Benchmarks

The i-Ready assessment works a little differently. The i-Ready assessment already includes built-in benchmarks based on grade-level standards, called criterion-referenced scores. Because of this, the district didn’t need to create any additional benchmarks for i-Ready. The I-Ready assessment also provides “relative placements” to show a student's performance relative to their actual grade-level. For example, a third-grade student who scores at a level consistent with a first-grade student would receive a relative placement of “Two Grade Levels Below”.

I-Ready Relative Placement Category Description
  Three or More Grade Levels Below Students will likely need significant support with key skills below their chronological grade to be ready for grade-level instruction.
  Two Grade Levels Below Students will likely need some additional support with key skills below their chronological grade level to be ready for grade-level instruction.
  One Grade Level Below Students at this level are approaching grade-level expectations and will benefit from grade-level instruction with targeted support.
  Early On Grade Level Students at this level have partially met grade-level expectations. They will benefit from continued on-grade level instruction.
  Mid, Late, or Above Grade Level Students at this level have likely met or surpassed the minimum requirements for the expectations of standards in their grade level. Students will benefit from instruction in late on-grade level topics or above-grade level instruction.

 

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