i-Ready Mathematics Difficulty Indicator Cut Scores Instructions
- July 13, 2024
- i-Ready
Table of Contents
i-Ready Mathematics Difficulty Indicator Cut Scores
Specifications
- Product Name: i-Ready Mathematics Difficulty Indicator (MDI)
- Manufacturer: Curriculum Associates
- Function: Identifying students in need of support in mathematics based on diagnostic scores
INSTRUCTION
Using i-Ready Mathematics Difficulty Indicator Cut Scores
The i-Ready Diagnostic is an adaptive assessment specifically designed to identify student strengths and instructional priorities. Students who score below the i-Ready Mathematics Difficulty Indicator (MDI) cut score are on track to being more than one grade level below where they should be by the end of the school year to be considered proficient. Data from the i-Ready Diagnostic for Mathematics can be used with MDI cut scores to determine which students in Grades K–8 may be experiencing a mathematics difficulty. When a student scores below the iMDI cut score, further investigation is warranted. The iMDI alone does not determine whether mathematics difficulties have a developmental or neurobiological basis or are due to other factors. These scores have been used since the 2020–2021 school year; for scores from earlier years, please contact your i-Ready Partner Success team.
iMDI Cut Scores
For districts and schools that want to understand which students need support
in mathematics, Curriculum Associates has identified specific i-Ready
Diagnostic for Mathematics scores for each testing window and grade. When a
student has an overall mathematics score less than the corresponding score
shown in the table, that could be an indicator of a possible mathematics
difficulty that could require further investigation (see Table 1).
Table 1: Recommended iMDI Cut Scores
Students below these cuts may have math difficulties that require further
investigation.
Grade| BOY Diagnostic/Fall Cut| MOY Diagnostic/Winter
Cut| **EOY* Diagnostic/Spring Cut
---|---|---|---
K| 318| 334| 350
1| 347| 365| 383
2| 387| 402| 416
3| 413| 427| 440
4| 434| 446| 457
5| 450| 459| 468
6| 465| 472| 479
7| 480| 487| 493
8**| 493| 498| 503
To gauge the distribution of students who would fall above and below these cut
scores for each grade, use the percentile ranking that corresponds to each cut
score, based on i-Ready’s national norms (see Table 2).
Table 2: Percentile Corresponding to Each iMDI Cut Score
Grade| BOY Diagnostic/Fall Cut| MOY Diagnostic/Winter
Cut| **EOY* Diagnostic/Spring Cut
---|---|---|---
K| 19th| 17th| 19th
1| 18th| 17th| 23rd
2| 33rd| 32nd| 34th
3| 36th| 33rd| 37th
4| 34th| 36th| 36th
5| 35th| 34th| 36th
6| 38th| 37th| 37th
7| 42nd| 42nd| 42nd
8**| 48th| 46th| 48th
BOY = Beginning of Year (Diagnostics completed between the beginning of the school year and November 15); MOY = Middle of Year (Diagnostics completed between November 16 and March 1); EOY = End of Year (Diagnostics completed between March 2 and the end of the school year)
How iMDI Cut Scores Were Determined
To determine the iMDI cut scores, Curriculum Associates used the i-Ready
scores associated with the Diagnostic grade-level placements and the Typical
Growth measures that are part of i-Ready’s growth model for Grades K–8. For
Grade K:
- EOY Diagnostic/spring cut scores were determined by calculating two standard errors of measurement (i.e., 12 points) below the scale score for Grade K students to be considered on grade level.
- BOY Diagnostic/fall cut scores were determined by subtracting the Typical Growth target for students who placed One Grade Level Below the EOY Diagnostic/spring iMDI cut score.
For Grades 1–8:
- For the BOY Diagnostic/fall cut scores, we looked to the scale score placement tables to identify specific scores for students placing more than One Grade Level Below on the i-Ready Diagnostic for Mathematics.
- EOY Diagnostic/spring cut scores were then calculated based on the Typical Growth made by students who started the academic year Two Grade Levels Below.
Typical Growth measures are differentiated by students’ initial placement on
the i-Ready Diagnostic. Typical Growth values are shown below for each
placement category and grade (see Table 3).
Table 3: i-Ready Diagnostic Typical Growth Targets by Grade and Beginning
Placement Level
Grade
| On Grade Level
(Mid, Late, or Above)
| On Grade Level
(Early)
| One Grade Level Below| Two Grade Levels Below| Three or
More Grade Levels Below
---|---|---|---|---|---
K| 21| 24| 32| N/A| N/A
1| 21| 26| 29| 36| N/A
2| 18| 22| 26| 29| N/A
3| 21| 25| 26| 27| 30
4| 19| 23| 23| 23| 24
5| 14| 18| 18| 18| 20
6| 13| 13| 14| 14| 15
7| 11| 12| 12| 13| 13
8| 9| 9| 9| 10| 12
As an example, students in Grade 1 whose overall scale score on their initial i-Ready Diagnostic is 347 or lower would be considered needing support with mathematics.
- For these students who meet the Typical Growth goal used to calculate the EOY Diagnostic/spring cut for Grade 1 (i.e., 36 points), their spring scale should be 347 + 36 = 383 points or higher.
- Students below this cut score would still be considered as experiencing a mathematics difficulty. MOY Diagnostic/winter cut scores reflect the midpoint between the fall and spring scores. For the Grade 1 example, the winter cut score is established as follows: (383 – 347) / 2 = 18 points; winter cut = 347 + 18 = 365.
Screening for Specific, Underlying Causes
As noted, the iMDI cut scores indicate that further investigation is warranted
to determine why a student is experiencing mathematics difficulties. Once in
cut scores have been used to determine which students may be experiencing
challenges, educators may use a variety of approaches and tools to understand
the underpinning of each student’s mathematics difficulties.
This document offers guidance for the 2024–2025 school year. If you need
guidance for the 2023–2024 school
year, it is still available.
© 2024 Curriculum Associates, LLC. All rights reserved | 05/24 0K
Using i-Ready Mathematics Difficulty Indicator Cut Scores.
(Curriculum Associates Research Report No. RR 2021-16). North Billerica, MA:
Author.
FAQs
- Q: How are the iMDI cut scores determined?
- A: The MDI cut scores are determined based on typical growth measures and students’ initial placement on the i-Ready Diagnostic.
- Q: What do the BOY, MOY, and EOY abbreviations stand for?
- A: BOY stands for Beginning of Year, MOY stands for Middle of Year, and EOY stands for End of Year, referring to different testing periods.
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