Understanding Assessment Differences

A Parent’s Guide 

 Milestones: measures students on mastery towards Georgia Standards of Excellence.

Access Study Guides here:    https://tinyurl.com/EOGCourseGuide

STAR Assessment: computer adaptive test given a minimum of 3 times a year to provide teachers with learning data for individual students based on their skills in ELA and Math. This test is not aligned to content standards, but rather pinpoints student’s strengths and weaknesses for particular skills to assist in personalizing instruction. 

How is STAR data used?

• Differentiating instruction in the classroom based on student need
• Predictor for Milestone achievement
• Course placement (not in isolation!) 

How can I help my child with STAR?

• Please help your child understand the importance of this data to their classroom instruction and course placement to ensure accurate data on the assessment

Atlanta Public Schools' Benchmark Assessments: measures student progress on the Georgia Standards of Excellence in Math, Language & Literature, Science, and Individuals & Societies based on the district scope and sequence. This assessment is designed to take 60 minutes in each content area and is given once per semester. 

How are Benchmarks used?

• Teachers use the data to better develop instructional plans based on student need
• Differentiating instruction in the classroom