i-Ready Personalized Instruction and State Assessment Performance Across Race/Ethnicity
Overview
Published: December 2025
How is using i-Ready Personalized Instruction with fidelity associated with state test performance for students across race and ethnic groups?
Curriculum Associates evaluated state assessment scores for more than 964,000 students in Grades 3–8 in more than 400 school districts. These analyses examined the difference in state scores between students who used i-Ready Personalized Instruction with fidelity and students using the program less consistently, accounting for fall performance and school context.
Across all grades in both reading and mathematics, and across all race/ethnicity groups, students using i-Ready Personalized Instruction with fidelity scored higher on state tests compared to peers using less consistently. According to Kraft’s benchmarks for education research, these score differences are considered medium to large. On a common metric, fidelity users score anywhere from four to 14 points higher.
- Program:i-Ready Personalized Instruction for Mathematics, i-Ready Personalized Instruction for Reading
- ESSA Level:3—Promising
- Subject:Mathematics, Literacy
- Demographic:Asian, Black, Latino, Two or More Races, White
- Grades:3–8
- Topic:Academic Achievement
- Study Year:2021–2022, 2022–2023, 2023–2024
- Test Alignment:Alaska System of Academic Readiness (AK STAR), Arizona’s Academic Standards Assessment (AASA), California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP), Colorado Measures of Academic Success (CMAS), Florida Assessment of Student Thinking Progress Monitoring 3 (FAST PM3), Georgia Milestones Assessment System (GMAS), Illinois Assessment of Readiness (IAR), Iowa Statewide Assessment of Student Progress (ISASP), Kentucky Summative Assessment (KSA), Louisiana Educational Assessment Program (LEAP 2025), Maryland Comprehensive Assessment Program (MCAP), Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS), Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress (M-STEP), Missouri Assessment Program (MAP), New York State Testing Program (NYSTP), North Carolina End-of-Grade Tests (NC EOG), Ohio’s State Tests (OST), Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA), Smarter Balanced Assessment (SBA), South Carolina College- and Career-Ready Assessments (SC READY), Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP), State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR), Virginia Standards of Learning (SOL), West Virginia General Summative Assessment WVGSA), Wisconsin Forward Exam
STAAR is a federally registered trademark owned by the Texas Education Agency and is used pursuant to license.
About the Authors
Ethan Young
Ethan is a Research Scientist at CA, where he contributes to the organization’s national research portfolio by leading rigorous, data-driven research initiatives. He specializes in longitudinal growth modeling, scalable data analysis systems, and clear, compelling data visualization that strengthens research processes and decision-making.
Kelsey Young
Kelsey Young is the Associate Director of Research Insights and Analytics at Curriculum Associates, where she leads national thought‑leadership research.