Evaluating i-Ready Personalized Instruction in K–8 Schools

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Challenge

Linking student gains to how schools implement i-Ready requires following classroom practice and achievement over several years.

i-Ready Personalized Instruction (PI) delivers online reading and math lessons to students in grades K–8, adjusting each student’s lessons based on results from the i-Ready Diagnostic assessment. Because districts across the country make their own choices about lesson time, educator training, and teacher use of reports, implementation can differ from one school to the next.

Earlier studies found that students who used PI scored higher on state reading and math tests than similar students who did not, with stronger results for those who met recommended usage levels. Curriculum Associates, which develops i-Ready, sought an evaluation that builds on this evidence, examining the conditions under which the program is used well and how educators and students experience it.

Solution

NORC is conducting a rigorous, mixed-methods evaluation combining impact analysis, implementation fidelity, and student experience data.

Understanding whether educational technology improves student outcomes requires more than simply measuring usage or examining test scores in isolation. The challenge was to develop a rigorous, independent evaluation of PI that could capture whether the specific tool used, i-Ready, was associated with improved reading and math outcomes, and how teachers and students used it in practice and the factors influencing its implementation across diverse school settings in the United States.

NORC responded by designing a comprehensive study that combines implementation and outcomes research. The study will examine how PI is used by teachers and students, document their experiences with the tool, and analyze student academic outcomes, including state assessment results. As an independent research organization, NORC will implement robust data privacy and security protocols and maintain an objective evaluation framework that allows districts, schools, teachers, and families to trust that findings are accurate, unbiased, and grounded in rigorous evidence.

Result

Findings will help schools get more from i-Ready and inform how personalized learning tools are designed and used.

NORC will share findings through deliverables, including annual reports, a final impact report, and briefs for district leaders and educators. District leaders can use the results to decide how much time students should spend on lessons, how teachers use the program’s data, and what training educators need. Curriculum Associates will use the findings to guide product development.

The study will also add to the broader evidence on how schools can use personalized learning tools to support students at every achievement level.