What Is a Good iReady Score in 2024?
Updated November 11, 2023
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What Are the iReady Diagnostic Scores?
iReady Test Scores are used in education to ensure that students are receiving the most relevant help and support that they need to achieve their educational goals – and the way that the scores are disseminated to parents can be confusing, as there are different measures used for different reasons.
In this article, you will look at the various scores given in the iReady reports and what these scores mean for your child.
The iReady tests themselves were created by Curriculum Associates.
The tests are administered in US schools for children from kindergarten through to 12th grade – and the results can demonstrate to teachers where students are in terms of grade-relevant achievement.
They also provide tools and resources to set high expectations that are achievable for each student.
There are two types of iReady Diagnostic Tests – Reading and Mathematics.
Prepare for the iReady Test with TestPrep-Online
These tests can be administered throughout the year, and they are designed to complement what is being taught in school – which means that they are aligned with both state and Common Core standards.
The iReady tests are adaptive, which means that each student will be presented with questions that are relevant to their own ability.
This is based on their performance in the assessment; if they answer a question correctly, the next question will be more challenging, and if they struggle to answer a question, the next one will be easier.
In this way, the Reading and Mathematics iReady tests can provide a complete picture of student performance, including their demonstrated grade level and the way they compare with national norms.
In the iReady Reading Test, the following areas are evaluated:
- Phonics
- Phonological Awareness
- Vocabulary
- High Frequency Words
- Literature Comprehension
- Informational Text Comprehension
In the iReady Mathematics Test, students are tested on the following areas:
- Number and Operations
- Algebra and Algebraic Thinking
- Geometry
- Measurements and Data
When your child completes the iReady Test, their score will be used by the teaching team to decide on the best way to ensure educational growth and set the most appropriate targets.
The scores given after these tests can be confusing, especially as the score report provides so many different areas of data to compare.
The scores that your child will get, and what that means for their development, will change as they progress through the school system, which makes it even more important that you understand what they mean.
So it is likely, for example, that their 3rd grade iReady Diagnostic scores will be different to their 4th grade iReady Diagnostic scores.
The Five Types of iReady Scores
Overall Scale
The Scale score is the score that is between 200 and 800.
The Scale score is the overall score that your child has achieved in the test. This score is calculated not only by the number of correct answers, but also the relevant difficulty of the questions attempted.
The Scale score ranges from 100 to 800.
Scale scores are used to determine their placement on a five (or sometimes three) point scale; the five-point scale is more accurate and gives more distinction to the differences at the lower end of performance.
The placements are as follows:
- Mid or Above Grade Level
- Early On Grade Level
- One Grade Level Below
- Two Grade Levels Below
- Three or More Grade Levels Below
The score requirements for placement in each bracket depends on when the test is taken and the chronological grade that your child is in; a child in 4th grade that has a score aligning with 2nd grade will be Two Grades Below.
Domain-Level Scores
The Domain-Level Score is based on performance in the specific areas of Reading and Mathematics, and is used to make placements in the same way as the Scale score.
Again, this score is based on the number of correct answers, as well as the relevant difficulty of each item that the student has seen in the test, and this can show strength (or weakness) in each of the domains.
Diagnostic Norms
While the main use of the iReady test is to determine how a child is performing in comparison with their previous performance and to set realistic goals for further growth, the iReady test is also used to compare students across the country – and that is where the percentile score will make the most sense.
This comparison is made between students in the same chronological grade.
A student who scores in the 56th percentile will have performed better than 56% of students in the same grade who have taken the test across the country.
Lexile
The Lexile Measure is an equivalent score that has been determined through partnership with MetaMetrics and can be used to determine the reading level of the child.
This score ranges from 0L (a beginning reader in kindergarten) through to above 1600L for advanced readers who can understand degree-level content and material.
Quantile
The Quantile Measure is the same as the Lexile Measure, but for Mathematics.
Teachers can use these iReady math scores to decide on the right materials and resources to use to help a student to improve their math ability.
The iReady math scores here can range from 0Q for a kindergartener, through to above 1600Q which would represent a student ready for precalculus.
How Are the iReady Diagnostic Scores Displayed?
For the iReady tests, a score report for each student is published, which displays the different scores that your child has achieved, as listed above.
These scores will be compared to the required scores for the relevant grade to work out where the student is now in terms of knowledge and ability, and to help predict where they will be later in the academic year, or when they move into the next grade.
The lowest possible score is 100 in this test. The bottom 1% of performance in kindergarten would be the equivalent of a placement of Emerging K and a score of 100.
But for a student in 12th grade, that top score would be 800 and would place them in Above Grade Level.
Understanding what the Scale score means can usually be determined by the information that the institution will provide, but you can use the score comparison tables to show you where your child is in terms of their achievement.
If you want 12-month access to all the practice resources for this test, our partner TestPrep-Online.com offers a Family Membership.
Family Membership gives you access to all the TestPrep-Online resources for the next 12 months. You will also get two separate accounts, which can be very helpful if you have two children preparing for their tests.
Get a Family Membership with 12-Month Access.
iReady Diagnostic Scores By Grade
The iReady tests are scaled tests based on individual performance, and that means that scores do not necessarily follow an obvious pattern – and growth may only be determined by a few points on the scale between different grades.
This can most easily be seen in the below table, which shows the boundaries of the iReady math diagnostic scores:
| Chronological Grade | Three or More Below | Two Grades Below | One Grade Below | At Grade Level | One Grade Above | Two Grades Above | Three Grades Above |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kindergarten | 100–361 | 362–448 | 449–472 | 473–498 | 499–800 | ||
| 1st Grade | 100–346 | 347–401 | 402–472 | 473–498 | 499–516 | 517–800 | |
| 2nd Grade | 100–386 | 387–412 | 413–448 | 449–516 | 517–526 | 527–800 | |
| 3rd Grade | 100–386 | 387–412 | 413–448 | 449–516 | 517–526 | 527–540 | 541–800 |
| 4th Grade | 387–412 | 413–433 | 433–464 | 465–526 | 527–540 | 541–564 | 565–800 |
| 5th Grade | 413–433 | 433–449 | 450–479 | 480–540 | 541–564 | 565–574 | 575–800 |
| 6th Grade | 443–449 | 450–464 | 465–494 | 495–564 | 565–574 | 575–585 | 586–800 |
| 7th Grade | 450–464 | 465–479 | 480–507 | 508–574 | 575–585 | 586–598 | 599–800 |
| 8th Grade | 465–479 | 480–492 | 493–517 | 518–585 | 586–598 | 599–610 | 611–800 |
| 9th Grade | 480–492 | 493–502 | 503–514 | 515–598 | 599–610 | 611–629 | 630–800 |
| 10th Grade | 493–502 | 503–514 | 515–555 | 556–610 | 611–629 | 630–800 | |
| 11th Grade | 503–514 | 515–540 | 541–563 | 564–629 | 630–800 | ||
| 12th Grade | 541–548 | 549–571 | 549–571 | 572–800 |
As you can see from this table outlining the math iReady Diagnostic scores by grade, a score of 449 for a student in 1st grade would put them At Grade Level, but if a 2nd grade student got a 449, they would be reported as One Grade Above – so the benchmarks move depending on the chronological grade of the student.
A good score in the iReady test is relative – all teachers should be aiming to have their students At Grade Level.
The iReady test results can help provide educators with the right resources and tools to help students achieve no matter what level they are testing at.
Which is why it’s difficult to answer a question like, ‘What is a good score for the iReady math Diagnostic test?’
Frequently Asked Questions
It’s hard to answer the ‘what is a good iReady diagnostic score’ question, as iReady Diagnostic tests are not pass or fail tests; they are used to place students according to their ability so that teachers can create realistic and achievable targets for growth.
In this way, a good score is one that places a student in the same grade level as the chronological grade they are in at school. So there is no such thing as ‘good’ iReady reading scores or ‘good’ iReady math scores.
When your child takes an iReady Diagnostic test, the score report will be disseminated by the school, or you can log in to your iReady account to see them.
iReady scores are made up of different numbers; these all show different norms and differentials, which are used in many ways to help support a student in their academic growth.
The Scale score is the overall score that is used to place a child in the grade level they are currently achieving in. The Domain-level scores show how the student is performing in each curriculum area.
The Lexile and Quantile scores show the reading and mathematics proficiency of the student.
iReady Diagnostic scores are used by schools and educators to plan and support your child in succeeding at school.
The scores allow teachers to evaluate each student’s performance so that realistic targets can be set and provide a benchmark that can be used to monitor progress throughout the grades.
The iReady Diagnostic tests are aligned with Common Core and other state standards, so they are designed to complement the school curriculum – so to improve iReady reading scores and iReady math scores, your child should focus on recalling and retrieving what they have been taught in school and applying it to the test.
If you get a low score on the iReady test, your teachers will be able to find the right tools and resources to help you develop and grow.
This is not a pass or fail test – it just shows educators what you need support with to achieve in school.
The highest possible score for the iReady test is 800. The lowest score is nominally 100.
Final Thoughts
iReady scores are not easy to understand, as there is not one specific benchmark or ‘good score’ that your child can achieve – they need to be read in context with the grade-specific placements for them to make more sense.
The iReady system is designed to be used for placing students based on the grade they are achieving at – relative to the chronological grade they are currently in.
The results are used by teachers and schools to ensure that the right support, teaching, and resources are in place to allow for growth in the student’s learning journey.
Understanding what each score means and how it is used and interpreted will help you understand how your child is performing so that you can see they are developing and growing throughout their school career.
