With i-Ready testing finally finished, after numerous schedule changes due to the fires, many students were left tired, and also wondering what exactly the i-Ready does for them on campus.
Some students avoided retakes on their i-Ready math and reading diagnostic by studying beforehand, catching up on topics they needed to know, and scoring at a 12th grade level on the fall i-Ready. Those students were taken to the cafeteria to enjoy games and food provided by Communities in Schools.
The students who didn’t test out of the i-Ready took the reading and math diagnostic in their homebase class.
The i-Ready was scheduled for two hours during homebase in order for students to have enough time to finish their tests. Many students reported that they finished the i-Ready and left feeling tired because of the time span for the test. Some students also left with questions about how their scores impact their learning or their teachers’ lesson plans.
Paulina Hernandez, a freshman in CAA, reported feeling off after finishing her testing session.
“I [felt] very stressed and overwhelmed,” she said.
Tyler Tolbert, a BIT freshman, agreed, saying that she didn’t feel great after taking the i-Ready.
He said, “After the i-Ready test, I felt really exhausted.”
While many students reported feeling tired or overwhelmed, they also wondered how the testing affected them.
The i-Ready results that students receive are available for teachers to access and review, to track student progress, and to provide an idea as to what teachers can focus on in their lessons and what skills their students need to review as a whole.
Some teachers use the information for their classes, like Mr. Oh, a geometry teacher in BIT. He said that he uses his score reports to gauge if students are on level, below, or higher, so he can learn what needs to be adjusted in his lesson planning. He said that the reports help him to improve as well, so long as students try their best for the i-Ready.
“As long as students take the test seriously, then I can use the test scores to reflect on my instruction and how I can teach better,” said Mr. Oh.
