apm, at what points did your daughter take STAR reading over the past year? If a student has not taken the test in over six months, the system automatically resets the start point to 1-2 grades below the grade placement. If a student has taken the test more recently (that is, within the same school year), the start point is based on the last assessment. It is possible that her start point for this year was re-set low enough that she was not able to make it back up to 12th grade in 25 items (34 if the Enterprise version).
That sounds like a valid explanation especially if the do only beginning of the year testing or beginning and middle. After all since someone would have noticed brain trauma they got one of the assessments wrong.
