For many years, STAR has been one of the top programs we use in the school alongside Aspen, Studysync, and Alexs. But this year not only are there multiple changes to the school, but we are also not using Star anymore in ELA and math classes to monitor students' progress. We are instead using an app called “I-Ready.” But why the change you might ask, what benefits does the I-Ready program have, and why is the program better than Star?
BY HAZEL DUROSS
For many years, STAR has been one of the top programs we use in the school alongside Aspen, Studysync, and Alexs. But this year not only are there multiple changes to the school, but we are also not using Star anymore in ELA and math classes to monitor students’ progress. We are instead using an app called “I-Ready.” But why the change you might ask, what benefits does the I-Ready program have, and why is the program better than Star?
After interviewing assistant principal, Mrs. Zabroski, I have been informed that they did pilot the program last year somewhere in late May or early June. Mrs Zaborski also explained several other features of IReady and how it may better benefit CHS students.
Why Change from Star to I-Ready? Mainly the staff decided to change to this program. Star uses a student’s score compared to other students- like if a student got a 64% it would be compared to every other student in the class that didn’t get higher then 64%. While I-Ready, on the other hand, tests specifically for the individual student. If a student is better at knowing vocabulary but not understanding themes, I-Ready will give additional help with that specific topic that the student is struggling with.
What benefits does I-Ready provide to both students and teachers? For students, I-Ready gives help to a student’s weakness, while for teachers is that the test that is given when you start the program gives the teacher what each student’s weaknesses are in their respective classes.
Why is this program better than Star? Assistant principal Mrs. Zambroski says, “As educators, we believe that all students can be successful.” IReady is meant to help teachers help students with their weak spots whether it be vocab, reading, or understanding the theme of the story.
Some students said that Star was too easy, while others thought it was repetitive. The true reason for the departure of STAR was lack of identifying personalized next steps from the program. While this new change will be a little hard to get used to, it’s for the better of the CHS student’s learning rate.
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