Grant Help PacketCommunity and School Board Report

The team at Curriculum Associates is staying abreast of K–12 education and educational funding in California. In addition to ongoing conversations with district and school administrators and educators throughout the State, we have reviewed AB 85, AB 97, and other bills pertinent to the transition to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). We have also carefully reviewed the CDE’s CCSS Systems Implementation Plan and the requirements for school districts and charter schools around the recent enactment of the $1.25B Common Core Block Grant. The attached Community and School Board Report template is intended to help administrators craft a plan that includes i-Ready Diagnostic & Instruction as an integral component of this pivotal transition to the new standards. We created this help packet to:

Assist you in understanding how i-Ready Diagnostic & Instruction fits with the CCSS Systems Implementation Plan’s seven guiding strategies and supporting points

Provide product narrative aligned with these overarching objectives, in a framework that facilitates and strengthens your presentation

How to Use the Narrative

Review the introduction and attachments and adapt them to fit your plan:

1. The packet is structured as if you wrote it, so you want to be sure the voice aligns with the rest of your presentation.

2. We anticipate that i-Ready Diagnostic & Instruction will be one element of your larger transition strategy. As such, this narrative can be woven into your overall program description.

3. We offer some background information that you may want to include to strengthen your rationale, but you’ll need to provide the details as they pertain to your district or charter school.

If you have any questions about this help packet or need more information, please contact Tod Diamond, Regional Vice President, by phone at 831-737-3538 or email at tdiamond@cainc.com . We wish you all the best in crafting, presenting, and executing your plan, and hope to be a part of your success on this vital initiative.

Rob Waldron, CEOCurriculum Associates, LLC

i-Ready® Diagnostic & Instruction for reading and mathematics is an online solution designed by Curriculum Associates to help students achieve grade level success and to support teachers as they transition to the Common Core. The program includes an adaptive diagnostic assessment for grades K–12. Once the diagnostic is completed, i-Ready automatically generates detailed reports that provide data to measure student progress. Results also directly inform online and teacher-led instruction for students in grades K–8, as well as for students in grades 9–12 who have below-level skill gaps. By automatically placing students into individualized online lessons based on the results of the diagnostic, i-Ready provides differentiated instruction and ongoing progress monitoring.

Of the CCSS-aligned materials available, i-Ready Diagnostic & Instruction is different in several ways that make it an ideal choice for our implementation approach. At the highest level, differentiators include:

Provides an integrated assessment, supplemental instruction, and progress monitoring solution on a single platform for ease of implementation.

Offers flexible online and print resources to differentiate instruction for a wide range of students in a variety of settings (in-class, before/after school, at home, summer school, etc.).

The computer-adaptive assessment diagnoses Common Core needs, provides a single growth measure for grades K-12, and supports teachers in successful implementation of the standards with at-a-glance reporting—at the student, class, grade, school, and district levels—and point-of-use instructional recommendations.

i-Ready for mathematics presents and reports out on all of the math domains emphasized in the Common Core: Number & Operations, Algebra & Algebraic Thinking, Geometry, and Measurement & Data. Items develop conceptual understanding, and many require word problems/problem solving. Throughout, i-Ready focuses on applying the Common Core Standards for Mathematical Practice.

For reading, i-Ready passages at every level cover literary and informational text. Items place an emphasis on close, evidence-based reading of passages. Interdisciplinary passages feature academic vocabulary, complex text, and authentic literature—all features that are called for by the Common Core.

i-Ready is being used by half a million students across the country—the program has already proven successful in preparing students and teachers for the Common Core in early adopter states, such as New York.

i-Ready Diagnostic & Instruction will serve as a central component of a year-long Common Core curriculum—supporting students in the classroom and serving as an integral element of professional learning and community engagement initiatives. Purchase of the program is highly cost effective, and implementation requires no local hosting, maintenance, or specialized technical resources.

Attachments: 1. Implementation Plan Matrix

2. i-Ready Diagnostic & Instruction Program Description

3. About Curriculum Associates

Attachment 1: Implementation Plan Matrix

In its Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Systems Implementation Plan1, the Department of Education identifies seven guiding strategies for the transition to the Common Core. These tactics provide the framework for our comprehensive approach to implementing the new standards, and they will also serve as part of the rubric to evaluate ongoing program efficacy. The matrix below provides an overview of how implementation of i-Ready Diagnostic & Instruction fits under each strategy.

Guiding Strategy Key Supporting Points2 i-Ready Diagnostic & Instruction Implementation

1. Facilitate high quality professional learning opportunities for educators to ensure that every student has access to teachers who are prepared to teach to the levels of rigor and depth required by the CCSS.

Successful implementation of the CCSS requires strong instructional leadership in every school and well-prepared teachers in every classroom.

In order for any standards-based system to be successful, educators must possess a thorough understanding of what students are expected to know and be able to do, as well as an array of instructional strategies designed to support every student in meeting those expectations.

Educators will have access to professional learning opportunities that promote best practices for teaching all students, including our youngest students, gifted students, students with disabilities, English learners, and underperforming students.

To supplement the professional learning modules under development by the CDE, we will execute a program-specific training plan aligned with the CCSS. This onsite professional development will be delivered in a format that fosters collaboration between educators across the district. It will be highly customized for our implementation approach, with explicit connections between using i-Ready Diagnostic & Instruction to teach to the new standards, preparing for the SBAC assessments, and the overarching local and state goals for the transition to the Common Core.

i-Ready Diagnostic & Instruction embeds comprehensive teacher support in the highly prescriptive and detailed reports, making explicit connections between Common Core skills and deficits and next steps for helping each student achieve mastery of the standards. This embedded professional learning makes i-Ready a direct classroom application of what teachers have learned in their CCSS trainings.

The program format is consistent, streamlined, and supports simplified implementation. Next steps for instruction—as well as step-by-step lesson plans—are essential elements that will help teachers learn the Common Core, how to teach to the standards, and how to differentiate instruction for the wide range of students in their classrooms.

Our approach will develop teacher expertise and leadership in the Common Core through 1) sustainable student growth that leads to increased confidence that the more rigorous standards can be met, 2) ongoing opportunities for collaboration with colleagues to discuss best practices and lessons learned, and 3) customized, targeted, results-driven professional development that addresses what the new standards are, how to most effectively teach to them, and how to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of diverse learners at all grade levels.

2. Provide CCSS-aligned instructional resources designed to meet the diverse needs of all students.

Review current instructional materials and identify material that aligns to the CCSS.

Ensure that instructional resources, including those that are developed to support student attainment of the CCSS, are designed to meet the many different needs of California’s diverse student population, including gifted students, adult students, English learners, migrant students, and students with disabilities as well as students with disabilities who

The program was specifically built for the CCSS. At multiple points in the development process, i-Ready Diagnostic & Instruction was informed by review and feedback from classroom teachers, school and district administrators, university professors, and subject matter experts.

The CCSS Performance Report shows which CCSS were assessed and the student’s understanding/mastery of each of these skills.

i-Ready assessment items have been field tested for validity and reliability with more than 300,000 students across representative socioeconomic, geographic, and ethnic strata. i-Ready demonstrates an exemplary standard of validity and reliability—at the item level, not just the test as a whole.

i-Ready is used across the country—including in early adopter states such as New York—in diverse student settings. It

1 http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/cc/documents/ccsssysimpplanforcaapr13.pdf and http://www.cde.ca.gov/re/cc/ccssguide.asp 2 Relevant supporting points are excerpted from the CDE’s CCSS Systems Implementation Plan narrative

Guiding Strategy Key Supporting Points i-Ready Diagnostic & Instruction Implementation

are English learners. Revised curriculum frameworks will provide

information regarding strategies for universal access, use of assessments to inform instruction, and tiered interventions for any students not meeting the CCSS.

Students will have the opportunity to access CCSS-aligned curriculum via a variety of formats, including digital technology that will also be capable of supporting assessment administration.

has been proven effective with English language learners and students in Special Education. The program provides numerous embedded supports for these student populations and also enables teachers to run separate reports on subgroups to track their progress and response to instruction.

For reading, i-Ready supports foundational skill building, includes informational and literary text, emphasizes complex text and use of authentic literature, and presents interdisciplinary passages that feature academic vocabulary. Informational and literary text are presented and reported separately, and the items and lessons demand close reading and frequent interactions with text.

For math, i-Ready covers all Common Core math domains, focuses on conceptual math understanding and procedural fluency, embeds the Standards for Mathematical Practices, and provides interactive instruction that involves word problems, problem solving, and key mathematical concepts.

Available for students in grades K–8, downloadable instructional resources (called Tools for Instruction) guide teacher-led, standards-based instruction and intervention 1:1 or with small or large groups.

3. Develop and transition to CCSS-aligned assessment systems to inform instruction, establish priorities for professional learning, and provide tools for accountability.

In a standards-based system, student assessment data is used to inform instructional practice and professional learning activities at the district, school, and classroom level.

The SBAC is developing assessments for mathematics and ELA for students in grades 3 through 8 and grade 11. SBAC assessments will assess all students except those with significant cognitive disabilities.

Operational summative assessment will be administered in spring 2015.

Curriculum Associates specifically designed and developed i-Ready Diagnostic for the Common Core, and released the program after the release of the new standards to ensure it fully addressed their depth and rigor.

Available for grades K-12, the assessment diagnoses Common Core needs by district, school, grade, class, and student, targeting instruction at the sub-skill level. Each student’s instructional action plan is prescribed based on his or her results on the diagnostic; data-driven instructional decision making is essential to helping students make progress with the new standards.

Instruction is available for students in grades K–8, and is also a robust intervention for high school students performing at grade level 8 or below.

Graphical, multi-layered reports help teachers successfully implement the Common Core with at-a-glance reporting and point-of-use instructional recommendations.

The CCSS Performance Report shows which CCSS were assessed and the student’s understanding of these skills.

4. Collaborate with parents, guardians, and the early childhood and expanded learning communities to integrate the CCSS into programs and activities beyond the K–12 school setting.

Educational programs that extend beyond the K–12 school day will infuse the CCSS to support student attainment of the standards.

Parents, guardians, and the after school/expanded learning communities of all students will understand how CCSS will successfully support their students’ education and how they can participate in shaping local implementation.

Provide professional development to district administrators, school principals, and after school program directors on how to collaborate to incorporate, into after school/ expanded day

Teachers may assign online instructional modules to their students as homework, and students can work with their parents, guardians, or care providers to complete the lessons.

i-Ready Diagnostic & Instruction may be implemented as part of a before or after-school program or in summer school. Lessons are scaffolded, and students can use the contents and features to explain to their families what they are

learning about a standard. For instance, after students have completed a lesson, a homework activity could be for them to walk their parents through what they learned. Parents could then comment on what they learned from their child through a journal sheet sent back to school. This provides valuable opportunities to integrate the CCSS into the home setting, and also strengthens the home/school connection overall.

At the end of each instructional lesson, the graded quiz provides data that populates the Response to Instruction Report. This report is a valuable tool to review with students and their families, to show how standards-based instruction is impacting their mastery of the new standards. This report also informs next steps to address specific

Guiding Strategy Key Supporting Points i-Ready Diagnostic & Instruction Implementation

programs, activities that enrich the CCSS-related learning initiated during the regular day.

challenge areas. Curriculum Associates offers complimentary recorded and live training webinars that foster increased teacher

understanding of the Common Core State Standards in general, as well as specific goals and objectives of the i-Ready implementation in their schools and district. This knowledge will readily translate into more effective, informative communication between school and home, at parent-teacher meetings, community forums, and other avenues of connection. Anyone may view these web-based trainings.

5. Collaborate with the postsecondary and business communities and additional stakeholders to ensure that all students are prepared for success in career and college.

More students will be better prepared to transition from high school to success in postsecondary education and engagement in a career with full implementation of the CCSS.

Stakeholders will have an agreed upon and clear understanding of the purpose of high school and the definition of career and college readiness.

Fewer students will need remediation upon entering post-secondary programs, and industries will be able to fill positions with a high-quality skilled labor force.

i-Ready covers 90% of the testable CCSS for reading and math. By working through this rigorous, comprehensive program, students learn the skills emphasized within the Common Core as essential to college and career readiness.

Interim and embedded progress monitoring and assessment opportunities allow teachers to track how students are progressing with instruction, and explicit teaching guidance is provided to support students who are struggling with a concept.

By providing research-based instruction, tracking progress, addressing learning challenges, assessing growth at regular intervals, and providing plenty of opportunities to practice, the program enables teachers to catch and remediate skills deficiencies early on.

The consistent structure and user-friendly format of i-Ready Diagnostic & Instruction builds CCSS confidence and fluency of both students and teachers.

6. Seek, create, and disseminate resources to support stakeholders as CCSS systems implementation moves forward.

Proper and adequate funding will support implementation activities.

Technology will be readily available for LEAs to employ at any level as a resource for instruction and assessment.

Updated monitoring tools and associated resources will be available.

Curriculum Associates is committed to staying abreast of the evolving standards and will revise i-Ready Diagnostic & Instruction as necessary and practical to maintain alignment with the Common Core.

The program is available via an annual Software-as-a-Service licensing fee of $29.99/student per subject. This fee includes both the diagnostic and instruction. Diagnostic only licenses are $5.99/student per subject. Multi-year, volume, and site license pricing is available. The license includes account management, unlimited support, and all program maintenance/updates/upgrades during the term.

With the recent Common Core Block Grant funding legislation signed into law, we expect to receive approximately $200 per student to continue our transition to the new standards. i-Ready is highly cost effective, sustainable in the near and long term, and will provide us ample funds to use on other elements of our implementation plan, such as technology and additional professional development.

7. Design and establish systems of effective communication among stakeholders to continuously identify areas of need and disseminate information.

The CCSS Systems Implementation Plan will serve as a guide for implementation activities and as the guiding document for LEAs in the development of their own local plans.

Comprehensive, user-friendly systems will be in place to continuously elicit feedback and identify needs and ensure the delivery of timely and useful information to the field.

The CCSS Systems Implementation Plan is the foundation of our local implementation plan. We intend to mirror the statewide communication initiative at the local level, hosting regular forums during which

educators can share best practices and lessons learned. These forums—both live and online—will cover topics related to all aspects of our Common Core implementation, including i-Ready Diagnostic & Instruction.

Curriculum Associates will post California-specific Common Core program materials (e.g., brochures, correlations, emerging case studies) on the company’s California Resource Center website.

Attachment 2: i-Ready Diagnostic & Instruction Program Descriptioni-Ready Diagnostic & Instruction embodies the philosophy that learning is a continuous cycle of assessment linked to instruction. As a fully web-based, vendor-hosted diagnostic and instructional resource (there is nothing to install or maintain on the school or district servers), the program supports ongoing student achievement by:

Pinpointing Specific Student Needs with an Online, Adaptive Diagnostic—i-Ready Diagnostic (for students in grades K–12) automatically and accurately identifies each student’s sub-skill needs by domain in reading and math, and monthly progress monitoring assessments (for students in grades K–8) inform teacher-led refinement of each student’s instructional path between diagnostic administrations.

Providing Immediate, Prescriptive Reports that Inform Data-Driven Instructional Decisions—from offering insight as to if and why students are struggling, to tracking their response to instruction and progress toward mastery of the standards, i-Ready presents all data in actionable, easy-to-read reports available as soon as students complete an activity in the system.

Connecting Valid and Reliable Data to Differentiated Instruction—combining online, teacher-led, and optional print-based instruction:

o Automated and interactive online instruction with i-Ready Instruction reinforces in-class learning for students in grades K–8 and is an appropriate intervention for high schoolers performing below grade 9.

o Teacher-led instruction is guided by explicit next steps for instruction for students in grades K–12 and downloadable, point-of-use Tools for Instruction lesson plans for students performing at or below grade 8.

o i-Ready also recommends lessons in other Curriculum Associates print products, such as Ready® Common Core—a brand new program that helps teachers provide rigorous instruction and practice on every CCSS. Available in reading and mathematics, Ready® Common Core uses a proven-effective, gradual-release instructional model that builds student confidence while ensuring mastery of grade-level standards. Lessons can be used with small groups or a whole class to prepare students for Common Core success.

Curriculum Associates specifically built i-Ready Diagnostic according to the Common Core blueprint—and released the program after the CCSS to ensure close alignment. Assessment item development has been field tested for validity and reliability with more than 300,000 students across representative socioeconomic, geographic, and ethnic strata. i-Ready demonstrates an exemplary standard of validity and reliability—at the item level, not just the test as a whole. Furthermore, the program is proven through independent review to be an effective solution for a wide range of learning abilities—from gifted and talented students, to English language learners, to those who are struggling (including Title I, Response to Intervention Tiers 2 and 3, and students receiving Special Education services).

Since i-Ready’s release in 2011, numerous state departments of education—including New York, Ohio, Virginia, Utah, Colorado, Georgia, and Oklahoma—have approved the program as a valid student growth measure, assessment, and/or instructional resource. Nearly 500,000 students across all 50 states and the District of Columbia are currently using i-Ready—and have completed more than one million diagnostic assessments.

Pinpointing Specific Student Needs with an Adaptive Diagnostic

In May 2013, i-Ready was honored with the independent Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) CODiE™ Award for Best Student Assessment Solution. With i-Ready’s adaptive technology, as soon as students complete the assessment, teachers have access to in-depth reports showing students’ specific strengths and challenges.

As depicted in the figure at right, i Ready Diagnostic’s ‐computer-adaptive algorithm automatically selects from thousands of items to get to the core of each student's strengths and challenges. Questions get more or less challenging based on a student's answer to a previous question; thus the program is able to precisely determine that student's actual skill level.

For example, a student may be on grade level with Comprehension of Literary Text, but below grade level for Comprehension of Informational Text. Or in mathematics, a student may be struggling in Algebra, but meeting grade-level expectations in Numbers & Operations. The untimed adaptive testing process occurs entirely online, takes about 45 minutes per subject, and can be broken into multiple sessions. Students take the diagnostic assessment three to four times per year—with 12-18 weeks of instruction between each administration—so i-Ready effectively serves as a pre- and post-assessment.

ReadingGrades K-8 Grades 9-12 Highlights

Foundational Skills• Phonological

Awareness• Phonics• High-Frequency Words

Vocabulary Comprehension:

Informational Text Comprehension: Literature

Vocabulary Comprehension: Informational Text Comprehension: Literature For students performing at a low

level:• Phonics

Supports foundational skill building Emphasis on complex text and use of

authentic literature Interdisciplinary passages feature

academic vocabulary All new items aligned to Level 1, 2, or

3 from Webb’s Depth of Knowledge, helping ensure a range of cognitive complexity and requiring higher-order thinking skills

MathematicsGrades K-8 Grades 9-12 Highlights

Number and Operations/The Number System

Algebra and Algebraic Thinking

Geometry Measurement and Data

Algebra & Algebraic Thinking• Number and Quantity• Functions

Geometry• Statistics and Probability

For students performing at a low level:• Number and Operations• Measurement and Data

Focuses on conceptual math understanding and procedural fluency

Supports the Common Core’s Standards of Mathematical Practice

Animated, interactive instruction involves word problems, problem solving, and key mathematical topics

Figure 1. Because i-Ready is designed and developed specifically for the Common Core State Standards, it matches the expected rigor in each of the covered Common Core domains.

i-Ready’s robust item bank contains thousands of multiple-choice and technology-enhanced items, as recommended by SBAC. The depth of the bank enables the assessment to truly pinpoint a student’s ability, and ensures the accuracy of results—students will never be scored on a domain based on just a handful of questions. It also makes it unlikely that students will see items repeated across administrations, as they continue to make progress over the year.

The math diagnostic for grades K–8 consists of 72 questions, including items across the four assessed domains. For grades 9–12, the diagnostic consists of 66–72 items.

Figure 2. Sample Math Questions

The length of the reading diagnostic depends on student grade level and performance. Based on their performance on the initial domains tested, students in grades 2–8 may test out of Phonological Awareness, Phonics, and/or High Frequency Words. For example, high-performing students in grades 5–8 will likely test out of Phonics and High Frequency Words, resulting in a 54-item diagnostic. Students in grades 2 and 3 may test out of Phonological Awareness and would then see 60 items total. Students in grades K–1 will see items across all domains, so their diagnostic will contain 72 items. For grades 9–12, the diagnostic consists of between 54–68 items. Assessments for both subjects at all grade levels include a minimum of six embedded field-test items.

Figure 3. Sample Reading Questions

With the August 2013 release, i-Ready also offers interim progress monitoring assessments for students in chronological grades K–8. These adaptive “mini-diagnostics” take approximately 15 minutes and are designed for monthly administration, though they may be scheduled as frequently as every two weeks. Progress monitoring test items come from the same bank as the diagnostic, ensuring their validity and reliability. Results inform i-Ready’s ability to define a student’s current growth trajectory, and guide teachers in remediation for those students who are not on track to meet end of year expectations.

Figure 4. i-Ready offers monthly progress monitoring assessments for students in grades K-8.

Prescriptive Reports that Inform Instructional Decisions

As students make progress with i-Ready, teachers monitor their activity in reports that deliver at-a-glance interpretation of the data from the diagnostic and progress monitoring. These prescriptive, intuitive reports—available as soon as students complete an activity in the program—make it easy for educators to know where their students are academically, how to best support them in making progress, and how successful instruction or intervention is year-over-year throughout each student’s academic career.

Going far beyond merely compiling scores and time-on-task, i-Ready reports provide developmental analyses, determine student instructional needs, group students who struggle with the same concepts, make instructional

recommendations to target skill deficiencies, and monitor progress as students follow their individualized instructional paths.

Always up-to-date, i-Ready reports are readily accessible at the student, class, grade, school, and district levels. i-Ready also provides a report specifically for teachers to share with parents, so families can stay informed of their children’s progress. To meet state, federal, and District guidelines, administrators may create unique reporting groups (gender, ethnicity, English language learner, Special Education, economically disadvantaged, and migrant) for student sub-populations. Once a report group is created, users with adequate permissions may run reports to identify how students in that subgroup are performing.

i-Ready Diagnostic & Instruction Standard Reports

Report Grades DescriptionStudent Profile Kn12 This report provides a grade-level equivalent score for each strand and detailed analyses of the

sub-skills causing students to struggle, as well as explicit instructional recommendations based on each student's needs. Teachers can drill down to see the performance detail for each strand. Downloadable instructional recommendations and materials provide additional support to teachers in the remediation of students performing at or below grade 8. Teachers and administrators benefit from this report’s overall and domain-specific analyses.

Lexile® Performance

K–8 This tab within the Student Profile Report for reading shows a student’s Lexile® score and the “Find-a-book” feature helps locate appropriately Lexile®-leveled reading materials for each individual student. Available for students who are chronologically in grades K–8.

Quantile® Performance

K–8 This tab within the Student Profile Report for math shows a student’s Quantile® score. Available for students who are chronologically in grades K–8.

Class Norms 2–8 This report shows each student’s position (percentile rank) relative to a group of students who are in the same grade who took the test at the same time of year. Available for students who are chronologically in grades 2-8.

Parent Report K–12 This report helps teachers communicate student performance to parents in a comprehensible way. A Parent Letter that explains this report is provided in English and Spanish.

Intervention Screener

K–12 This report enables teachers and administrators to make informed decisions about which students to place into intervention. It groups students into three tiers that align graphically to the Class Profile Report. In the Detail by Student section, teachers and administrators can sort and view details such as overall scale score, grade-level placement, tier, and teacher.

Standards Performance

K–12 The Standards Performance Report evaluates how students are performing against the Common Core State Standards and includes point-of-use links to the aligned standard(s) for ready reference.

Class Profile Report

K–12 Helping teachers quickly and effectively group students by specific needs, this report uses diagnostic results to inform class instructional decisions. Its graphical presentation enables educators to quickly analyze students’ varying average scale scores as well as their grade-level placement by domain.

i-Ready Diagnostic & Instruction Standard Reports

Report Grades DescriptionInstructional Grouping

K–8 This report shows teachers exactly how to group students so those struggling with the same skills can get the most out of small-group instruction. It affords educators flexibility in categorizing students and targeting efficient and effective remediation. Teachers and administrators can drill down to see instructional priorities specifically designed for each profile. Additionally, this report provides Tools for Instruction lesson plans based on the skills in which each grouping profile is deficient. These tools guide teachers in “what to know” about each topic, as well as ways to teach it and its connections to standards. Available for students who are chronologically in grades K-8.

Performance by Grade and Class

K–12 The Performance by Grade and Class Report measures gains at a single school by grade and class.

District Performance

K–12 This report measures gains across the school or district to monitor progress. The District Performance Report shows the percentage of students who are on or above grade level performance in each grade within the entire district and at each school. Additionally, educators may easily identify how many students are performing either one grade or two or more grades below level. The report also includes information such as average scale scores for each grade level and the number of students assessed.

Response to Instruction

K–8 The Response to Instruction Report—available at the student and class levels—shows student performance on i-Ready Instruction’s instructional modules. Teachers and administrators can see how much time students are spending on lessons as well as the progress they are making. This helps teachers ensure that students are using the program effectively. Domain-level analyses of instructional performance helps teachers plan further remediation. Available for students who are performing at grade level 8 or below (serves as an effective intervention resource for students in grades 9–12).

Progress Monitoring

K–8 This report allows educators to check whether students are on track for end-of-year expectations without waiting for the next full diagnostic assessment. It informs teacher-led refinement of instruction. Progress monitoring provides information about how much growth a student should be making and whether or not that student is on track to attain that level. Available for students who are chronologically in grades K–8.

A particularly useful report to California during this time of transition to the new standards, the CCSS Performance Report (Figure 5) clearly shows students’ progress toward mastery of the Common Core. When a subsequent diagnostic is taken, results appear as a Test 2 column to the right of Test 1.

Figure 5. Excerpt from a Sample CCSS Performance Report

Connecting Valid and Reliable Data to Differentiated Instruction

i-Ready offers a true blended-learning solution. Data from the online diagnostic prescribe an individualized plan for instruction based on each student’s performance. As described below, this action plan includes assignments for automated online instruction in i-Ready Instruction, targeted next steps for instruction, step-by-step lesson plans for teacher-led instruction, and recommendations for specific lessons within optional print programs from Curriculum Associates.

Online Differentiated Instruction with i-Ready Instruction

Based on a student’s results in i-Ready Diagnostic, the program automatically assigns Common Core-aligned online instructional modules within i-Ready Instruction. This differentiated instruction is presented in highly engaging instructional modules accessed through an internet-enabled computer with speakers or headphones (an automated system check is available at www.i-ready.com/support). Delivery is flexible: during school, before/after school, in-class/pull-out, summer school, at home, computer lab, and a host of other settings.

Lessons take full advantage of the digital environment, providing scaffolded instruction that employs animations and virtual manipulatives specifically chosen for that skill and grade level. Models are used in demonstrations as well as in practice, and in quizzes where appropriate. The extensive use of visual models and virtual manipulatives gradually builds conceptual understanding by providing tools to model and support explanations. Diverse, contemporary characters set in visually appealing, modern environments capture students’ attention and immediately engage them in the learning process. Lessons use real-world experiences and authentic

situations to teach essential skills. Explicit instruction makes concepts concrete and addresses the root cause of any specific areas of need.

i-Ready Instruction includes more than 750 research-based lessons that feature cross-curricular content in reading and mathematics. All instructional modules follow a consistent structure, as shown in the figure below.

1. Explicit Instruction: Each lesson begins with automated instruction that directly targets the priorities identified by the diagnostic Skills are taught through engaging characters and real-world scenarios.

2. Guided Practice: Once students have been taught a skill, they practice what they have learned and receive immediate corrective feedback to reinforce their conceptual understanding.

3. Progress Monitoring Activities: At the end of each lesson, a graded activity /quiz is used to assess student performance on the skill or concept just taught. The answers to questions in the graded activity are recorded and students’ pass rate is reported out in the Response to Instruction report.

Figure 6. i-Ready Instruction employs a consistent structure that supports remediation, individualized instruction, and maximum student growth.

These modules are designed so that students can work on them in 20–45 minute increments, with a recommendation between 1–2½ hours of instruction per subject per week. Research from Curriculum Associates shows that the more time students spend in i Ready Instruction‐ , the more growth they experience overall. This is because the instruction addresses students’ needs at their zone of proximal development—the range of skills they cannot achieve alone but can attain with some assistance. i-Ready also embeds numerous instructional supports—such as defining academic language in context at point-of-use—particularly helpful to English language learners and students served by Special Education.

The result of this targeted and dynamic instruction is that students quickly learn the foundational skills to move up to grade level or beyond. Because student motivation is essential to maintaining engagement, i-Ready builds on existing knowledge to teach new concepts, boost confidence, and encourage learners who may be struggling.

Teacher-Led Differentiated Instruction

i-Ready’s comprehensive reports synthesize enormous amounts of data, assisting teachers in differentiating instruction and providing each student what s/he needs to progress to the next level. The detail pages of the Student Profile Report include highly specific next steps for instruction—the next skills in a developmental progression that students need to master. Additionally, teachers use the Instructional Grouping Profile Report to group students who are struggling with similar skills and to understand exactly which skills they need to develop.

Figure 7. The Student Profile Report (excerpted here) shows what the student can do as well as explicit next steps for instruction, aiding in targeted, data-driven remediation and individualized instruction.

Both the Student Profile Report and the Instructional Grouping Report include downloadable Tools for Instruction (available for students performing at or below grade 8).These PDFs (see Figure 8) provide step-by-step lesson plans, complete with background on the targeted skill, ways to teach it, and how to identify and remedy common student misconceptions. Using the Tools for Instruction recommended within i-Ready reports helps teachers feel confident that they are effectively targeting students’ areas of need.

Figure 8. Sample Tools for Instruction for math

Research-Based and Classroom-Proven

In designing and developing i-Ready, Curriculum Associates followed guidelines outlined by the American Educational Research Association (AERA), the American Psychological Association (APA), and the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME). Development was led by expert advisors, including national authorities in psychometrics, reading, math, Special Education, English language learner education, and teacher preparation. i-Ready is so effective and user-friendly (for administrators, teachers, and students) that numerous customers have done video testimonials for the program, viewable at www.curriculumassociates.com/i - Ready .

Ongoing development of new items continues, using an embedded field-test model. This method enables Curriculum Associates to widely field test many new items with the appropriate demographic samples of students and to collect data to effectively evaluate each item’s ability to predict specific performance indicators.

Concurrent validity studies comparing student performance on i-Ready and 3rd-party assessments have been conducted, including deriving the correlation between student scores on two sets of assessments. In spring 2012, MetaMetrics and Curriculum Associates partnered to conduct a Lexile® Linking Study with i-Ready Diagnostic for reading. Lexile® scores are based on a vertical scale and form a framework that simultaneously allows for measurement of text complexity and student reading ability.

These analyses returned strong correlations between the two measures, providing compelling evidence of external validity via the Lexile® measure. They also enabled i-Ready to: report Lexile® scores based on students’ reading assessment scores; provide administrators, teachers, and parents information on appropriate reading materials for students based on their reading level; and allow reporting of norm information for reading.

In spring 2013, the company completed a Quantile® linking study with MetaMetrics. As a result, i-Ready is now

also able to report Quantile® and norm scores for mathematics. Thus, for both reading and math, the program

offers a criterion-referenced scale score to show how students in grades K–12 are performing relative to grade level expectations, and also a normed score that shows how students in grades 2–8 are performing relative to other students at their grade level.

One of i-Ready’s most powerful aspects is its ability to help a broad range of students—not just a subset. Case studies validated by the independent Educational Research Institute of America prove that i-Ready works:

Attachment 3: About Curriculum Associates Program efficacy and impact on student growth proven through independent research studies

Tracks the latest research and standards work daily to inform the most current products available on the market

Incorporates feedback from top teachers to Common Core experts

Builds products that teachers can easily and effectively implement in a real classroom environment

Across all product lines, is in more than 80% of school districts in California

Guarantees results with their products3

Founded in 1969, Curriculum Associates, LLC is a privately owned educational publishing company headquartered in Massachusetts, with satellite offices in Iowa, Florida, and Arizona and local sales representation across the nation. They publish reading, language arts, and mathematics assessments; Common Core and state standards preparation programs; early childhood and Special Education assessments; and supplemental instruction and intervention for students in grades preK–12. They also provide targeted, classroom-proven professional development.

In addition to i-Ready® Diagnostic & Instruction, Curriculum Associates is a sole source provider of other programs widely used in California (a full list is available on their website at www.curriculumassociates.com):

California Content Standards Practice & Mastery

Ready® Common Core Practice & Instruction for reading and math

The BRIGANCE® family of products for Early Childhood, Head Start, and Special Education

Comprehensive Assessment of Reading Strategies (CARS®) and Comprehensive Assessment of Mathematics Strategies (CAMS®)

Strategies to Achieve Reading Success (STARS®) and Strategies to Achieve Mathematics Success (STAMS®)

Nationally, more than 65 percent of districts in the U.S. have purchased a product from the company in the last five years. In the last three years, 970 California school districts—more than 80 percent statewide—have purchased a product from Curriculum Associates. Norwalk-La Mirada Unified School District is one of those customers. Lila Wills Bronson Ed.D., Assistant Superintendent of Educational Support Services at Norwalk-La Mirada, had this to say about how i-Ready Diagnostic & Instruction and Ready Common Core work together in her district:

"Ready Common Core materials are amazing! They are well-organized, comprehensive and easy for our teachers to use. The best part is that Ready Common Core materials work beautifully with the i-Ready online diagnostic and instruction program, allowing our teachers to differentiate Common Core instruction for all of their students.”

3 If a customer is dissatisfied with i-Ready Diagnostic & Instruction—at any time, for any reason during the license term—Curriculum Associates will issue a credit, exchange, or pro-rated refund.