Palestine High School started doing Star testing once again last week and I asked the principal, Mr. Will, a few questions about them.

The first question on most seniors’ minds this year is obvious:  why are the seniors this year taking Star tests when they never have taken them before?  Mr. Will said that the seniors’ data is as important as the date from the rest of the students.  The staff want to see growth  throughout the school year and the Star test enables them to see if student scores raise or lower as the year goes on.

So what do all the numbers from each individual student’s test mean? The first test students take each year provides a benchmark score for both math and english for each student, and the other tests throughout the year enable the staff to monitor the potential growth in all of the students of PHS.

Typically, the Star test results are not shared with students, but Mr. Will said that he would consider showing each student their scores if that is their own choice to see their progress through the years.