i-Ready Diagnostic FAQ

Frequently Asked Teacher Questions about the i-Ready Diagnostic:

Grade Diagnostic Questions

What should I do to prepare my students for the diagnostic?

Check out these slides to share with your students before the diagnostic. It lets them know what to expect when taking the diagnostic. There are also videos to prepare students.

Do I need to assign the Diagnostic?
The first Diagnostic is automatically assigned. If you need to re-assign a Diagnostic because a student rushed or needs to take it again, here is how. These instructions will also show you to cancel a diagnostic.

What level of questions does the diagnostic start students at?
When a student begins the assessment, i-Ready will first check if the student has previously taken an assessment.  If the student has previously taken an assessment, the assessment will begin at the student’s estimated ability from the previous assessment. If a student has not yet completed an i-Ready assessment, the assessment starts from an initial estimated ability level which is the minimum score required to be considered one grade level below the student’s chronological grade.   i-Ready does the same for year to year. It will take into account the student’s previous year level.  

How do I reset or reassign the Diagnostic?
Before they finished: If a student's diagnostic is still in progress (they have NOT finished the test) and you need them to start over, click here for directions on how to Reset a Diagnostic. 

After they finished: If a student has already completed the diagnostic but needs to take it again, click here for directions on how to Reassign a Diagnostic.

*New* How do I create report groups?

You can create unlimited report groups in order to see a specific set of students when viewing results. Some common reasons to use report groups are (but not limited to): departmentalized teachers sharing student data, viewing specific groups of students (i.e. RSP, multilingual learners, track intervention students, tier 2/3 students, etc.).  Click here for a quick how-to video. 

How can I hide the assessment until I am ready to administer?

See teacher hiding instructions: Teacher how to hide video and Administrator how to hide video.  Written directions are here .

What are district testing hours?

The Diagnostic is available to students from 8 am-3:30 pm M-F.

How do I check the status of my students when taking the Diagnostic?
Click here for directions on how to view Diagnostic Assessment Status.

How do I change the math diagnostic language to Spanish? 

Here's how. Here is also the detailed Educator Guide to the Spanish math diagnostic. Please note, the language can not be changed mid-test. If a student has already start in English and you want to change to Spanish, reset the test.

Are math lessons available in Spanish?

Yes! Please note: Spanish lessons are now available in MyPath (i.e., no longer need to be teacher-assigned). The student does not need to take the diagnostic in Spanish in order to receive MyPath lessons in  Spanish.   Here are instructions on how to set up MyPath math lessons in Spanish.

How do I get grade or school wide access to i-Ready?
To request a school admin account, enter your information here.

How long do students have to complete the Diagnostic?
Students have 28 calendar days from the day they start to complete the Diagnostic before it expires. If a student's Diagnostic expires, he or she will need to start again from the beginning.

Should newcomers take the diagnostic?

Grade K-5 N1 newcomers are exempt from fall and midyear reading i-Ready diagnostic administration. They are not exempt from spring administration.

Grade 6-12 N1s should test all admins.

My student is having technical difficulties, such as a frozen screen or can't see the "Next Button"

The 5 most common technical issues are addressed here. i-Ready also has a YouTube channel.

How long does it take to complete the Diagnostic? 

You can see average test times  here.   

Why is the test taking such a long time for my students?
The Diagnostic is adaptive and is designed to ask a wide range of questions to determine the student's achievement level. Students will see questions that seem very simple and others that are more difficult until it finds questions that are “just right”. Students should be reminded before taking the Diagnostic to not spend too much time trying to answer questions they have not learned yet.

Why are some questions so hard?
To enable a precise assessment, the Diagnostic is adaptive and is designed to ask a wide range of questions to determine the student's achievement level. That’s why it will challenge them with a more difficult question after each correct answer. Thus, high-performing students who are accustomed to scoring well on tests may feel particularly challenged.

How do I view historical i-Ready data? i-Ready has a historical report you can use to see last year’s i-Ready results for your current students. Here's how to access this report.

Is there a quick i-Ready guide for teachers?
Yes. You can download it here or find it on i-Readycentral.com.

Why are my students seeing content that they haven't learned yet?
The Diagnostic Assessment adapts based upon what students should know according to the Common Core State Standards for the beginning, middle, and end of their grade level.

What does Tested Out mean on the score report?
Tested out means that the student’s performance indicates that they likely already know the lower-level skills and thus they didn’t need to answer questions from those foundational domains. Thus, they did not see any items in that domain.

What does Max Score mean on the score report?
Max Score means that a student did see items in that domain, they just got to the highest level possible in that domain.

Why are my students seeing similar questions on the second diagnostic?

Questions typically do not repeat but students may be given the same passage twice. Read here for more information.

Special Education & Accommodations

How can I use this test with my special education students? How do I set a lower (developmental) grade level for a student?
You may set the Diagnostic to start at a lower grade level for students who are performing significantly below grade level due to academic or developmental delays. Click here to learn more.

How do I create a report group?
Click here for directions on creating a report group in i-Ready.

What kind of accommodations can students use for i-Ready?
In general, they can use the same non-embedded accommodations that are used for state testing. i-Ready provides audio support for test items at certain grade levels. For a list of all available accommodations,  you can access here. These features are available to any student regardless of assigned grade level when they are at the grade 1 – 5 level of the test for math, and grade 1 – 2 level for reading. Math tools such as online calculators and spreadsheets are embedded for some of the math items. There is no paper/printed version of this assessment.

Personalized Instruction (MyPath)

How can I adjust a student's pathway if it's too easy?

You can view a video of how to do this here.  
 

Family & Guardian Communication

*New Feature*  Can families view the student's diagnostic results online?

The for families report can now be shared in a scalable, more timely way, with access for caregivers through the student dashboard! 

• Please watch this video for a quick overview.  

• See i-Ready Central for guidance about the new report, including a family communication template.

To access their child’s report, families need a code. The code for the 25-26SY school year is: 8B7HFC 

How do I print results for families?
Go to  Reports and select "For Families Report" to  print reports in English or Spanish for one or more students. Here's a video with instructions.

How do I share i-Ready results out with families whose home language is other than English or Spanish? 

Report guides and videos are available in multiple languages

How can I learn more about i-Ready?

i-Ready has embedded on demand videos for educators. e teacher-training videos. Click “Help” button on the top right corner of the i-Ready home page and select “Online Educator Learning”. The “Administering the Diagnostic Video” (55 mins) is best for teachers brand-new to i-Ready.

Logging Into Chromebooks 

• Students can log into Chromebooks by entering their email address and password on the initial login screen. Passwords are two zeroes and the student's 6-digit Student ID, for example  s_first.last@ousd.org, 00123456

• You can access your classroom report of Student Emails and Passwords on Illuminate - click the "Student Emails & Passwords" Tile. 

• If your school’s Chromebooks are configured for Clever Badge login, here are instructions for printing Clever Badges to help login to Chromebooks. (If you don’t see a camera for scanning the badge when you login, your chromebooks in not configured for badges.)