i-Ready Continues to Gain Recognition from Districts, Educators, and Leading Industry Voices

Recent news coverage highlights continued momentum behind Curriculum Associates and i-Ready as districts and educators invest in tools that support student outcomes and educator success. Curriculum Associates received additional recognition from leading voices in education, who highlighted the impact of its proven model and the role of data-driven instruction in helping educators better support their students.

Chief Impact Officer at Curriculum Associates Tyrone Holmes joined The Education Gadfly Show, a podcast by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, to discuss how i-Ready Personalized Instruction leverages data-driven insights to help educators better understand student needs, personalize learning, and provide targeted support that enables all students to succeed.

On WCNC’s Kids, Chaos & Coffee TV segment, Dr. Charlitta Hatch, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools Board member and mom, spoke about how i-Ready has made a significant impact for her son and family. She describes it as a supplemental tool that has drastically improved her son’s skills and test scores. All of this informed her vote to renew Curriculum Associates’ contract in the district.

In West Haven, Connecticut, fifth grade math and science teacher William Ortaleva is one of 26 teachers across the nation who received the 2026 Curriculum Associates Extraordinary Educators™ Award for his commitment to student success, innovative teaching practices, and dedication to making a lasting impact in the classroom. Ortoleva appeared on a local broadcast program to share his perspective as an educator and discuss how he builds meaningful connections with students, encourages them to embrace challenges, and helps them grow in the classroom.

The Spickard School Board in Missouri also recently approved a refreshed curriculum plan for the upcoming 2026–2027 school year, which includes using i-Ready as a diagnostic assessment tool in the beginning of the year to strengthen student–teacher relationships and skills.

See below for recent coverage highlighting district use of i-Ready:

The Education Gadfly Show from the Thomas B. Fordham Institute: What’s behind the backlash against i-Ready?

[Michael J. Petrilli, David Griffith, Ph.D., Brian Fitzpatrick, Ph.D., 7/22/26]

“What i-Ready did really well was say, instead of just having what we call comparative data—like comparing Mike with the Tyrones in the class and all these other folks—let’s see where Mike is in relation to the grade-level standard. Mike might be ahead in some areas and behind in others.

Oh, that’s the gap that’s probably impacting this problem. Let’s tie that to instruction. So when you have that instructional time that you carve out to support kids with what they need, you can focus more deeply on that.”

WCNC (Kids, Chaos & Coffee): How to raise independent children with Dr. Charlitta Hatch

“But I would encourage parents who have, every student has access to i-Ready, I think that you should look to 5 to 10 minutes a day over the summer so that your student is getting that extra personalized learning in addition to reading their books.”

. . .

“So it’s not intended to replace the teacher, it’s intended to actually be supplemental as you start to think about how you give your kids that individualized learning. And I do think that we can continue to do a better job of communicating with our families on not only what’s happening in the classroom, but how we can take what’s happening in the classroom and extend it at home. And that’s why I support it—to give i-Ready one more year under the conditions that we get better communication and better guidelines of how we’re using it at home and at school.”

WTNH: West Haven math teacher receives national award

[Ann Nyberg, 7/22/26]

William Ortoleva is one of 26 teachers across the country to be named a 2026 Extraordinary Educator by Curriculum Associates. The award recognizes the work educators do to help their students succeed.

Ann Nyberg sat down with Ortoleva to talk about how it felt to receive the honor, what inspires him to teach, and what strategies he uses to make math concepts exciting.

KTTN News: Spickard board approved plans, calendar, and meals for the school year

[7/21/26]

Board members also adopted the 2026–2027 Assessment Plan. The plan calls for i-Ready diagnostic testing in September, midyear testing in December, and end-of-year testing in April 2027. MAP and TerraNova assessments are scheduled for May 2027. The board also approved the district’s Comprehensive Literacy Plan and Discipline Plan.