State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell recently launched a new website to give parents and teachers a better understanding of the state’s California Standards Tests (STAR testing) that measure how well the California public education system and its students are performing.

“This new online resource is the product of parent, teacher and community member requests for an easy-to-access tool to help parents better understand their children’s test scores,” O’Connell said.

“We hope that the information on this website will lead to increased collaboration between parents and educators and ultimately increased student learning.” 

The California Department of Education and the State Board of Education produced the new website, www .starsamplequestions.org, which features dozens of actual test questions that students have faced at every grade level.

The site is easily searchable and includes information about what levels of performance the state expects of students as well as which students take the tests. The site also offers printable grade-level parents’ guides.