STARI is designed for students in grades 6 and up who are reading two or more years below grade level.

STARI is designed for students in grades 6 and up who are reading two or more years below grade level, and it is not appropriate for younger elementary students. While the skills taught may be the right fit for fourth and fifth graders, the content may not be age appropriate for these students. If you are considering using STARI with fourth or fifth graders, carefully review the content to ensure it is appropriate for your students.

Yes. All series teach the same decoding and comprehension skills, so you can combine grade levels, if needed. Think carefully about which series is the best fit for the group’s age and developmental level, as well as which series these students might use in future years of STARI.

We do not recommend any particular diagnostic test for placing students in STARI. Instead, we have recommended score windows on most major assessments .

We strongly recommend that students remain in STARI for the full school year. A strong classroom culture is essential for STARI, and a number of culture building activities are included in the first few weeks of the curriculum. Therefore, we recommend that the student group should stay as stable as possible to preserve the culture. STARI is designed to be a one-year program, and our research shows that students who complete the full curriculum grow more than students who complete only some of the curriculum. Finally, STARI engages students with complex questions about cognitively complex texts, and addresses grade-level skills and standards. Students who read on grade level can still be expected to make progress in reading through participation in STARI. However, we understand that some schools may prefer to allow students to “place out” of STARI. We recommend that in order to exit STARI, students should score on or above grade level in whichever reading assessments are used. See STARI Exit Criteria handout for additional guidance.