Exceptional Outcomes

i-Ready is back in the headlines, and this time it’s out of Michigan and California.

Both states reviewed it and said the same thing:
It does not meet the bar for a universal screener.

Worth noting: Georgia found the same thing. The difference? It was added back by our superintendent because it’s widely used.

Here are the problems:

1. Borderline blind spot
Misses the 30th–40th percentile; the kids were supposed to catch early.

2. Phonemic awareness problem
Clicking ≠ actually hearing and manipulating sounds.
👉 That’s how risk gets missed.

3. Adaptive = risky
It can skip key skills entirely.
👉 If it’s not measured, it’s not identified.

This behaves like a diagnostic, not a screener. I’m grateful to see states like Michigan and California hold the line unlike Georgia!

When it comes to screening, popular shouldn’t be the bar, effectiveness should be!

Read more: https://open.substack.com/pub/decodingmom/p/michigan-rejected-i-ready-as-a-k?r=46qttl&utm_medium=ios