Here we go again. It’s i-Ready test time. Every trimester, the i-Ready diagnostic test is taken by students across the country and throughout the Etiwanda School District. 

This year, the test lasts one week: two days for math and two days for ELA. Day Creek teachers use the results to create seating charts, place kids in leveled PACK (UA) classes and see student progress in each subject. 

So, what do our Coyotes think?

“I don’t like the questions,” said Benson L. “There are not enough questions in a category to be accurate.”

Student’s test progress is recorded and can be compared to prior scores. There’s a possibility that a student could drop below a goal, but the hope is that scores increase and meet what’s called ‘Typical Growth.’ The ideal outcome is ‘Stretch Growth,’ which the test uses to identify students that rocked their scores, but ‘Typical Growth’ is still an achievement.

“I’m scared, but I’m more confident than I was from the beginning of the year,” said Nicole F. “At the start of the year, I always get a bad score. And at the end of the year, I always see a difference [in improvement].”

The i-Ready test is important to administrators, because the amount of the growth in student’s learning is revealed on the test. 

“i-Ready is important to me as an administrator because it helps me understand what you guys are understanding, what you may not know fully yet and how I can support you. [The i-Ready] also helps me see kiddos who are far above, like how can I continue to push you in the right direction [in order] to be successful in high school,” said Mrs. Vander Laan.

Obviously, the i-Ready is very important to administrators, but what do teachers think?“I’m excited to see the outcome of students for the past three months we’ve been in school and to see their growth [in i-Ready],” said Mrs. Saed.

The Howl learned that teachers are interested in knowing if their students are paying attention in class. If a student’s scores drop, the i-Ready will diagnose what skill a student struggles with most.

“I think i-Ready is a good assessment tool that the district uses in order to help teachers to find out where the students are in the areas of where they need support,” said Ms. Bailey. “I do like i-Ready, I think [it’s] a very accurate picture. Sometimes it shows that you are having a bad day and you didn’t do so well. Other times it can show what you really know. I like the fact that it challenges you to see how far or how much knowledge you have.”