This year, the Westfield School District adopted the i-Ready diagnostic test to help improve the curriculum. i-Ready is a series of standardized tests that allow students to see what they need to work on in different subjects. According to the iReady website, the program is an online program for reading and/or mathematics that will help teachers determine student needs, personalize learning, and monitor progress throughout the school year. i-Ready allows teachers to meet students exactly where they are and provides data to increase your student’s learning gains.
Students in all three grade levels completed an iReady assessment in math and Language Arts in September and January. Edison Intermediate School eighth grade math teacher Mr. Zachary Crutcher explained how iReady provides teachers like him with information about learning: “It gives me data on how students struggle; it’s similar to the NJSLA.”
EIS sixth grader Iman Hejrabi tells us why she thinks i-Ready is beneficial. “It helps your teachers see where you are, and it helps you see what you are confused about.”
Some students think that iReady gives them a better understanding of the curriculum. EIS sixth grade student Fiona Gyure stated, “It can help me know how I can improve, and it helps my teachers.”
iReady may help students improve with their class work but also with their studying for tests because students can see what they are getting wrong frequently. The data can also help teachers see what they must touch more thoroughly during class. iReady shows teachers what skills students are lacking in each class period, comparing the data to the New Jersey State Standards for each subject it tests.
Although i-Ready has benefits, some students agreed that they don’t think it is helpful. Eighth grade student Anderson Isolda said, “There are no benefits to taking i-Ready assessments; we have the NJSLA already.”
NJSLA is a state testing platform that helps the district assess teachers’ performance and shows them where they need to improve, which is very similar to what iReady does.
Lastly, eighth grade English Language Arts teacher Mrs. Kimberly Swenson tells us her opinion on iReady: “I don’t think we have seen the results of iReady yet, but I anticipate it will show us the weakness of our curriculum and weaknesses in student learning.”
Students will be taking another round of iReady diagnostic tests in the spring.
