THE MIRROR | DAIMLER KOCH
The i-Ready was administered to all students the week of September 18. The new test was designed to adapt to students' performance live; if a student did well, they would be given harder questions to answer, and vice versa.
Aside from standardized tests, AP Exams and other activities, students will now be required to participate in the i-Ready diagnostic test.
Testing Coordinator Ms. Michelle Park said that it wasn’t the school’s choice to have students take this diagnostic test.
“The district enforced the i-Ready diagnostic test,” Ms. Park said. “It’s supposed to provide a better breakdown of students’ skills and knowledge.”
As a new policy, LAUSD has made participation in i-Ready testing mandatory for all its schools. Both math and English teachers have been told to have their students take the diagnostic test.
Teachers generally think that the i-Ready tests will be more beneficial to students in comparison to existing testing platforms. Not only will it tell them how students are performing, but also give them lessons tailored to areas in which they need to improve.
However, it did take away a lot of valuable instructional time, as English teacher Mr. Christopher May commented.
“The website itself is clear and user friendly, so in a sense, the i-Ready platform is better than the one we previously used,” May said. “The test takes too long to administer and cuts too much into the curriculum, so if we quicken the pace without jeopardizing the student’s score, then I think we will be in a good position.”
Math teacher Ms. Kyrie Martin had a similar outlook on the test. She says that in a way, it is better than the Renaissance test, but still takes too long.
“I do not like how much instruction time it’s taking; it’s taking way too much time, but the questions on i-Ready are better,” Martin said. “I think it’s a good idea having students doing these so they aren’t as behind on some of the things they need to know.”
On the other hand, although teachers believe that the test will be more beneficial than the one from previous years, most students don’t feel the same way.
Freshman Cynthia Sosa remarked that the test was taking away too much instructional time and believes that the Renaissance was better because it still provided information to teachers without taking too long.
“The teachers gave us too much time,” Sosa said. “We have been doing it for four days and we haven’t been doing anything but i-Ready for the past week.”
Overall, the diagnostic is supposed to help students in the long run, but whether it will actually benefit students will be determined over the coming years as its effects are studied.