Despite objections from one board member, the Hernando County School Board on July 30 voted to continue on with the i-Ready learning program.
The topic came up for discussion during the most recent school board meeting, the first of the new school year, with interim Superintendent Ray Pinder sitting with the board for the first time.
In a 3-2 vote, the board approved as much as $1,409,930 to be paid to Curriculum Associates, the company that provides i-Ready. It’s a program that combines diagnostic tests with an online instructional program that helps produce personalized instruction and support for each student in grades K-8.
“i-Ready predicted within two percentage points for ELA (English language arts) and math at the district level how our students would perform on their state assessment,” said Tiffany Howard, director of elementary programs, speaking in front of the board, “which speaks highly to the alignment with our state benchmarks, which I know is a concern which you have expressed before.”
Howard pointed to the positive achievements of the program within county schools, particularly at the middle school level.
“The learning gains of our lowest quartile students, Curriculum Associates does provide the materials and the resources that our students in middle school intensive reading and intensive math utilize. And the students in this class are those that are in our lowest quartile,” Howard said. “All four middle schools achieved learning gains in reading utilizing these materials. Most notably being that all four improved by double digits, with Powell improving 20 percent and West Hernando improving 24 percent.
“Likewise, all four middle schools achieved learning gains in math lowest quartile utilizing these resources, with three schools showing double-digit improvement, including Powell improving by 18 percent and West Hernando improving by 21 percent. And those two schools also received i-Ready coaching support.”
The program has additionally assisted elementary school students in recent weeks.
“Materials provided through the Curriculum Associates toolbox were utilized this summer by teachers during our third-grade summer reading camp, in which our lowest performing third-grade students attend,” Howard said. “After receiving direct instruction from the teachers with these materials, 46 percent of the students in attendance will be promoted to fourth grade, which is an 8 percent increase from last summer.”
Board member Mark Johnson, along with Shannon Rodriguez, voted against the motion and voiced his concerns with i-Ready, citing his daughter who teaches out of state. Johnson said her assessments of her students were 20 percent higher than what i-Ready presented.
“All of a sudden, we need magnetic reading and all of a sudden we need their additional math program and yet i-Ready has phonics in it, doesn’t it?” Johnson said. “So we’re buying an additional phonics program to augment the program that they already sell us.
“There’s a lot about i-Ready I don’t like and I thought we were moving away from that and looking at other options, and so far we haven’t heard any other options. I’m not impressed with them and you’re not going to change my mind about that.”
Board members Linda Prescott, Susan Duval and Gus Guadagnino all voted in favor of the motion to approve the purchase order.
