i-Ready, are you Ready?

Raise your hand if you’ve heard the term i-Ready and did not know what it meant? I can tell you that you are not alone! Read on to learn about what i-Ready is and why we administer this assessment at Oakhill.

The i-Ready assessment is designed to help teachers understand specific areas of strengths and challenges for each student. The assessment is unique as it adapts while your child is taking the test. When students answer questions correctly, the questions get more difficult, and when students answer questions incorrectly, the questions get easier. When the test is complete, teachers are provided with diagnostic results that help them see where each student is excelling, on target, and in need of extra support. At the conclusion of the assessment, i-Ready provides precise resources and activities for teachers and parents to use that focus on the areas where each student needs the most help. Activities and lessons are also provided to help take students above and beyond in areas they demonstrate at or above grade level. We’ve all heard the clichè in education regarding meeting each student where they are at … This assessment tool literally helps us do that!

We use i-Ready to assess phonological awareness, phonics, high frequency words, vocabulary, and comprehension. Beginning this year we added in the math diagnostic. These assessments are completed three times throughout the year, and you will get a chance to view your child’s progress from the first to second assessments at winter conferences. With that being said, be sure to come to parent teacher conferences next week! We administer i-Ready starting in Kindergarten all the way through 8th grade. It’s important to recognize the growth from one assessment to the next. Our hope is that each child is on grade level or above, but growth is the ultimate goal for everyone. Your child’s teacher can provide specifics in regards to reading the results and help answer specific questions or concerns. 

It’s important to know that students are not given a grade for i-Ready nor does it go on their permanent record, such as an PreACT score (see Mrs. Sarver’s article!). This diagnostic is one tool that teachers use to specifically meet the needs of their students. Teachers use the results along with other assessment tools and observations in the classroom to guide their teaching. For more information about diagnosing i-Ready results and the purpose of the assessment you can click here.