New this year: More ways to follow your student’s progress

This year, we’re excited to give Bethel families more opportunities to see how their students are learning and growing throughout the school year. We believe families are important partners in student success, and part of that partnership is making sure you have clear, timely information about how your student is doing and where they are in their learning.

Building on the progress reports we introduced last spring, Bethel is adding Renaissance STAR interim assessments this year. STAR will give teachers regular snapshots of student learning, helping us better understand individual strengths and areas for growth, adjust instruction and respond more quickly when students need additional support.

STAR assessments will take place three times during the school year. Our first assessment window begins next week and will run for two weeks. During that time, students in grades K–11 will complete STAR assessments in math and language arts. These short, computer-adaptive assessments typically take about 20–30 minutes each and adjust questions based on each student’s responses.

Following each testing window, families will receive information about their student’s results so you can track progress alongside us throughout the year. These updates will help provide a more complete picture of student progress, including attendance and the important role that being at school each day plays in learning and growth.

STAR results are one piece of a much bigger picture — alongside classroom work, teacher observations, attendance and other measures of growth — but they give us another valuable way to understand where students are and how we can best support where they’re headed next.

We’re excited about what this will mean for students, staff and families — more timely information, more opportunities to celebrate growth and a clearer understanding of where students may need additional support. Most of all, we’re excited to bring families along as partners, with better information throughout the year to help every student continue learning and growing.