The Missouri Department of Elementary & Secondary Education (DESE) has named Curriculum Associates’ i-Ready Assessment for Reading an approved assessment for the state’s Missouri Read, Lead, Exceed literacy initiative. Starting in the 2023–2024 school year, the initiative requires all school districts and charter schools in the state to assess students in Grades K–3 at the beginning and the end of each school year to determine their level of reading or reading readiness. The approval means Missouri districts can now use i-Ready to meet those requirements.
Today, i-Ready serves more than 11 million students and approximately one-third of all students in Grades K–8 in the United States. In Missouri it is already used by 196 school districts – 20 percent of the districts in the state. i-Ready assessments are also aligned to the Missouri Learning Standards and include items similar to those students experience on the Missouri Assessment Program (MAP).
“Having the right data enables teachers to provide personalized, targeted support for their students in reading,” said Rob Waldron, CEO of Curriculum Associates. “Data from our i-Ready Assessment will help teachers and administrators in Missouri understand where K-3 students are in their readiness or ability to read so they can develop evidence-based literacy plans and provide effective instruction for their students.”
The Missouri Read, Lead, Exceed literacy initiative is the state’s comprehensive plan to dedicate $25 million in state funding and just over $35 million in federal relief funding to support student literacy. It was signed into law in June 2022 and includes several literacy requirements for districts, including the beginning- and end-of-year assessments.
The American Consortium for Equity in Education, publisher of the "Equity & Access" journal, celebrates and connects the educators, associations, community partners and industry leaders who are working to solve problems and create a more equitable environment for historically underserved pre K-12 students throughout the United States.
