Staff recommends i‑Ready for district benchmark and personalized learning after committee review; adoption would replace several platforms
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Summary
A district committee and teacher survey recommended i‑Ready as the district’s benchmark diagnostic and personalized learning platform. Staff said i‑Ready scored highest across grade bands, will replace multiple current products, requires a longer diagnostic administration than STAR, and would cost more in year one but less in subsequent years.
A Benchmark Review Committee and district teacher survey recommended i‑Ready as Cary CCSD 26’s primary diagnostic benchmark and personalized learning platform, staff told the board at the May 19 Committee of the Whole.
Liz Rivera said the committee evaluated STAR Renaissance, i‑Ready and MAP/NWEA using a rubric that included reporting quality, instructional impact, family communications and Spanish-language availability. "The very first part was the Benchmark Review Committee. 67 percent were in favor of I Ready. Grades K2, 67% were in favor of I Ready. Grades three-five, 74% I Ready. And then grade 6 8, 50 6 percent I Ready," she reported.
Rivera and other staff described i‑Ready as a two-part system: an adaptive online diagnostic and a personalized learning platform that generates lessons and groupings for teachers based on diagnostic results. Staff said i‑Ready would allow teachers to create small groups, print lessons aligned to student needs, and surface reports that compare students to district grade-level expectations and national norms.
Staff said i‑Ready would replace several existing platforms. Rivera listed platforms slated for discontinuation (some at the end of the current school year and additional platforms after 2025–26), and said current annual spending on math and reading platforms of about $121,032 could be reduced to about $92,330 once i‑Ready is fully implemented; year‑one costs would be higher by about $43,500 but subsequent years would be lower by roughly $28,996.
The committee and staff described several practical points about i‑Ready: the diagnostic is longer than STAR (roughly 40 minutes per subject for grades 3–8; K–2 may be split across sessions), it can be administered in multiple sittings, it offers multilingual family reports, and the personalized pathway should be used in short weekly doses (staff recommended not more than about 30 minutes per week) so students do not "burn out." Rivera emphasized that i‑Ready is an additional data point and does not replace teacher judgment or state assessments.
Board members asked about comparability to historical STAR data and whether cohort tracking would be possible; staff said Branching Minds stores historic STAR data and that direct comparisons are limited because assessments are different and STAR has been renormed. Staff said i‑Ready aligns more closely with the state IAR and will provide more predictive information about likely IAR outcomes.
Rivera outlined a three‑part professional development plan: a kickoff on institute day, school‑based training after the fall testing window, and a winter training to analyze fall/winter data. Staff also said ESSER funds would be used for an initial one‑time professional development fee pending approval.