Assessment Updates

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Dear Families,

We are committed to providing your children with high-quality instruction, anchored in evidenced based practices, that lead to academic progress and success.

One way we monitor progress is through a universal assessment in both literacy and mathematics. The Framingham Public Schools uses the tool "i-Ready" as this Universal Assessment to benchmark student progress in grades 1-8 three times per year, and in Kindergarten two times per year.

Fall Assessments

• Grades 1-8: September 11 - October 9
• Kindergarten: November 1- November 15

Winter Assessments

• Grades 1-8: January 15 - February 14

Spring Assessments

• Kindergarten-Grade 8: May 12 - June 12

Our teachers have many ways to check your child’s reading development and growth, including an early literacy universal screening assessment. These assessments are brief tests that provide information about your child’s early reading skills.

Screening makes it possible to see if a student is at risk of developing reading difficulties, including risk of dyslexia. Screening does not diagnose dyslexia or other disabilities, but it does help us understand which students may need additional support to be successful readers. We are required to assess students in grades K-3 at least twice per year consistent with Massachusetts regulation 603 CMR 28.03(1)(f). The goal of early universal literacy screening in Massachusetts is to determine if a student is significantly below relevant benchmarks for age-typical development in specific literacy skills. The regulation requires action steps by the school when students have a screening result that is significantly below relevant benchmarks for age typical development.

Our district uses a screening assessment called iReady. It is one of several screening assessments approved by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Your child will be assessed two or three times during the school year, depending on grade level. It typically takes 30-60 minutes to complete this assessment, and the tentative schedule for this school year is shown above.

Following the screening assessment, a team at each school will review all students’ results. If your child scores “significantly below benchmarks,” we will contact you within 30 school days of testing, to outline how we can support your child.

Please reach out if you would like additional information.

• For questions about the early literacy universal screening, contact the Office of Teaching and Learning.
• For questions about your child’s testing results, contact your child’s teacher.

Screening is another step that helps students at our school become proficient readers, and we are grateful for the continued support and partnership.

What is i-Ready?

i-Ready is an online program that will help us determine your child’s strengths and areas for growth, personalize their learning, and monitor their progress throughout the school year. i-Ready allows us to meet your child where they are and provides us with data to inform instruction.

The i-Ready Diagnostic is an adaptive assessment that adjusts its questions based on student responses. Each item a student receives is based on their answer to the previous question. For example, a series of correct answers will result in slightly harder questions, while a series of incorrect answers will yield slightly easier ones. The purpose of this is not to give your child a score or grade but to determine how to best support their learning.

When will my child take the i-Ready Diagnostic?

Each grade and school has a planned schedule within the Assessment timeframes listed above. TO best support your student following the tips below, please feel free to talk with your child(ren) or reach out to their teachers to find out their scheduled Assessment dates.

What can I do to help?

To help prepare your child for the i-Ready Diagnostic, encourage them to:

• Get a good night’s sleep and eat a full breakfast the day of the assessment.
• Try their best on each question and try not to rush.
• Try not to worry about questions to which they do not know the answers—remind them to try their best as this is an assessment that tests on the end of year grade level standards.
• Be respectful of other students who take longer to finish.