Helping All Learners Including Your Child

In a classroom of 30 odd students, is it probable that each child, although learning the same lesson from the same teacher, is acquiring the same level of knowledge as his/her neighbor?

Now let’s look at a household with two children. Are both children performing the same because they are attending the same school and experiencing the same involvement from the parents and teachers?

In both scenarios, the answer is negative!

We all know that each child is different when it comes to his/her physical attributes, behavior and choices. We should therefore also expect that children will also differ from each other when it comes to academic achievement and therefore should not insist on the ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to learning.

The end goal for every parent is to have their children excel in school. Truth be told, the end is not contentious; it is agreeing the means where the debate lies.

In order to meet the goal of a child excelling in school, it is important that children are able to connect new learning/knowledge with existing knowledge they acquired earlier. In other words, existing knowledge becomes a foundation for new knowledge. If this existing/foundational knowledge is weak, a child will struggle with new lessons/concepts. Therefore, it is important to ensure existing knowledge is strong and provide foundational support to new learning.

With i-Ready, we are able to get to each child’s foundational knowledge regardless of his/her grade level. It is this foundation or boundary from where i-Ready starts to re-build a student’s learning. Hence, learning with i-Ready is personalized and delivered in a seamless, engaging, and robust manner.   

 I-Ready works for ALL Learners:

Struggling Learners:

We take the case of a child who is struggling in Math. One of the key challenges will be to design a program that rebuilds the child’s weaker foundations.

In reality, it is very difficult to determine how far back you need to go. For example, if a child struggles with 3-column addition, it would be logical to test if the child understands 2-column addition and, failing that, one would like to test for single-column addition. Failing even that, one will need to go further back in Math and check if this student understands place value. This may sound a lot easier than it actually is given that Math is learnt across four key domains (Algebra, Numbers & Operations, Geometry, Measurement) and a student who struggles in Math will need to best tested in this manner (i.e. adaptively) to determine his/her starting point for rebuilding across each of the four domains in Math for a comprehensive and programmatic approach.

With assessment like i-Ready, technology makes it possible to test a student adaptively and comprehensively across all domains in a reasonable amount of time (i.e without subjecting a child through hours and hours of testing). i-Ready’s diagnostic is designed for this purpose and usually, within an hour, it is able to complete this task.

There can be no doubt that numeracy (Math) and literacy (Reading) are the two most critical skills for success in higher grades in school, college, and work life. In the 21st century, no parent should let his/her child give up on Math and/or Reading.

Gaps in learning only grow wider over time and the challenge becomes bigger with higher grade levels and the point of no return is reached when a child develops complete apathy towards the subject. Statements like “I hate Math”, “I never get Math”, “I hate Reading” etc. are sign that your child is reaching these levels.

 On-Grade Level Learners

This type of learners are generally the ones that do not raise the red flag to teachers or parents however it is important to identify their strength and weaknesses in order to nudge them forward to excel academically.

 i-Ready’s First Diagnostic will determine your child’s current proficiency level across each sub-domain of Math (e.g. algebra) or Reading (e.g. comprehension). This will be the starting point.

From here onwards, i-Ready will automatically select and sequence multimedia lessons and quizzes to grow your child’s learning and proficiency.

Follow-up Diagnostics, usually taken after every 40 hours of learning, demonstrate learning growht and success.

These children need more challenge to advance further and i-Ready will do that.

Academically Advance Learners

Having an academically advance or gifted child means he/she is probably ahead of his/her grade level. But how far above grade level is this child and, more fundamentally, where should you start a programmatic approach for such a child is the key task. 

i-Ready’s First Diagnostic will accomplish the task of determining your child’s current level and set the starting point for accelerated learning to ensure your child will continue to develop comprehensively across all domains of Math and/or Reading. 

You can then rest assured that your child’s continued growth is structured, comprehensive, and monitored.