State board approves i‑Ready as alternate 'Read by Grade 3' assessment for 2025–26 and sets 40th‑percentile cut

The Nevada State Board of Education voted July 11 to approve I‑Ready as an alternate assessment for the state’s Read by Grade 3 program for the 2025–26 school year and to set the associated cut score at the 40th percentile. The decision follows an equivalency analysis produced by Washoe County School District and a vendor review indicating the two assessments are highly comparable for kindergarten through third grade.

Washoe County’s analysis compared I‑Ready and MAP Growth (the state’s current Read by Grade 3 instrument) for over 16,000 kindergarten‑through‑third‑grade double‑tested students. Dr. Laura Davidson, Washoe County’s director of research and evaluation, told the board the district found correlations “in all windows [that] exceeded 0.8,” and that “proficiency classifications matched over 80% of the time, and in some cases were as high as 90%.” The department and vendor psychometric teams reviewed those results during the meeting.

Interim Superintendent Steve Canavero said NDE will begin a regulatory process to define the criteria and approval steps for alternate assessments; the board’s action authorizes I‑Ready as an alternate for 2025–26 while the department develops formal regulations. Canavero noted that the vendor analyses and the procurement review from earlier in the year supplied a technical foundation for evaluating an alternate assessment.

The board’s action also included procedural direction: districts and charter schools that plan to use an alternate assessment in 2025–26 must notify the Department of Education, attest to the technical comparability (as appropriate), and are responsible for any costs associated with using a vendor‑provided alternate assessment for that school year. NDE will publish reporting requirements, reimbursement guidance (as applicable), and the formal process for approving alternate assessments as part of the forthcoming regulatory package.

Board members discussed whether the Washoe double‑testing sample is broadly representative for the entire state. NDE staff and Washoe representatives said the Washoe results are considered reliable for the board’s decision: the double‑testing was done in close time windows, matched test administration windows, and included tens of thousands of student records. Curriculum Associates (the vendor for I‑Ready) had earlier recommended a 40th‑percentile cut if SB 460 passed; Washoe’s analysis provided Nevada‑specific confirmatory evidence.

What this means now: districts that choose to adopt I‑Ready for Read by Grade 3 functions in 2025–26 should prepare for vendor contracting, plan for any local costs, and expect reporting requirements from NDE. The department will draft and post proposed regulations this fall to formalize the approval process for alternate assessments and to set reporting and technical criteria for future years.