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District recommends expanding i‑Ready to Algebra I after pilot; staff report strong midyear growth
Summary
Cheshire staff presented results from an i‑Ready Algebra I pilot, reporting notable student-growth metrics and recommending extending the resource to Algebra I with caveats about teacher ramp-up and missing online supplemental content during the pilot.
Cheshire School District staff recommended extending use of the i‑Ready mathematics platform to Algebra I after a district pilot that administrators said yielded strong midyear growth for participating students.
Presenters told the board the pilot showed roughly 1.5 times the expected student growth compared with the prior year at multiple grade levels and that many students—especially those two to three grade levels behind—were meeting year-long growth targets by midyear. Staff also said special education students averaged roughly 20 percent growth during the pilot period. District presenters cautioned that some high-school teachers experienced a learning curve because it was their first year using i‑Ready at the high school level; middle-grade staff who had used i‑Ready previously reported fewer ramp-up issues.
The pilot had two main operational downsides, staff said: some online supplemental materials were not available in the pilot version and teachers needed to do extra preparation work; and there is a teacher learning curve for those new to the platform. Vendor representatives assured the district that the missing online materials were under development and would be available at full rollout.
Administrators described i‑Ready’s assessments and diagnostic data as offering “next-level” information about prerequisite skills and student needs, enabling teachers to target remediation. Staff also told the board the platform includes practice activities and a range of problem types, from high-level tasks to fluency-building exercises. District staff said they plan to continue using PLC time and professional development to reduce the ramp-up timeline for teachers.
No formal roll-call vote was recorded in the transcript regarding adopting i‑Ready for Algebra I; the item was presented as a recommendation. Staff requested board endorsement to extend access beyond the pilot and emphasized implementation supports (professional development and phased rollout) in their plan.
