How i-Ready and Other Educational Programs Can Shape the Future

There was a time, not so long ago—and is still taking place in some parts of the country—when parents had to monitor how their children were doing in school by looking at test scores, talking to teachers at conferences, and waiting for report cards. Kids can get good at hiding things, though, and parents are often caught by surprise with bad grades.

Now there are online programs out there to bridge that gap and have students, parents, and teachers all on the same page at all times. Programs like i-Ready and others can help. You might be wondering who invented i-Ready? It was created by Curriculum Associates as a way for teachers to be able to assess how students are able to learn. Then the teachers will be able to adapt to that and help the students get stronger in weak areas.

You may also be wondering exactly what is i-Ready? This program covers both reading and math, starting in Kindergarten up to Grade 12. This can help students get on the right track throughout their pre-college years. Parents can check in regularly to see how their children are doing in school and it will make their communication with teachers much easier since they will see what is being done each day.

Improving Student Ability In Each Subject

The teachers will be able to see where each student excels and what areas they might be struggling with. They will be able to tightly focus their days on looking at each student’s instructional needs.  This can prevent a struggling student from otherwise falling through the cracks.

The program will ask questions and will get progressively harder as they get the questions right or get easier ones if they miss them. That way, teachers can customize a lesson plan and help a student get past a certain sticking point without fear of being left behind from others.

As the years go by, schools have full online access in their classrooms and the students are able to do the homework on their home computers or tablets. This will streamline things much better for everyone involved.

Not Bringing a Bleaker Future

There are those who might be worried that these programs could wind up replacing teachers altogether. This has been a warning that has been uttered since the days of the first educational computer programs in those ancient days when they were stored on 5.5 floppy disks. 40 years later, humanity has yet to see those predictions come true.

While there are some downsides to technology – like people being glued to their smartphones – the benefits still outweigh those negatives. Programs are not going to take over teachers. The human element is still very much needed and will continue to be for the foreseeable future and beyond.

Giving Useful Feedback To Everyone

Those days of waiting for report cards, tests, or teacher conferences will still be there. They will have the addition of constant feedback from i-Ready to fill in those gaps. A parent will be able to see that their child is struggling in an area and talk with the teacher to correct it.

Education needs to keep moving forward, not back. Using programs like i-Ready can help further that goal. As the years go by and they continue to refine and update it, along with some other programs which do similar things for other subjects. The future will be collaboration and the people will be there for it.