i-Ready Diagnostic Test Test-Taking Strategies 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: During the i-Ready math section, you encounter a word problem. What should you do first?
- Immediately start calculating with all numbers in the problem
- Identify what the question is asking before solving (Correct answer)
- Guess the answer and move on
- Rewrite the entire problem in your notebook
Correct answer: Identify what the question is asking before solving
Identifying what is being asked prevents you from solving the wrong thing, saving time and avoiding careless errors.
Question 2: If two answer choices on an i-Ready question seem equally correct, what is the best strategy?
- Pick the longer answer
- Re-read the question carefully to find which choice best fits what is asked (Correct answer)
- Always pick the first one listed
- Pick the choice with the biggest number
Correct answer: Re-read the question carefully to find which choice best fits what is asked
Re-reading the question often reveals a key detail or qualifier that distinguishes the correct answer from the distractor.
Question 3: Why does i-Ready ask students to complete the diagnostic without outside help from teachers or parents?
- To make the test harder than it needs to be
- So results accurately reflect the student's own skill level for proper placement (Correct answer)
- Because outside help is always cheating
- To save the teacher time in grading
Correct answer: So results accurately reflect the student's own skill level for proper placement
Accurate placement results depend on independent responses; outside help skews the adaptive algorithm and leads to misaligned instruction.
Question 4: A student reads a reading question and realizes she does not know one of the vocabulary words in an answer choice. What should she do?
- Automatically eliminate that answer choice
- Use context clues from the passage or question to infer the meaning (Correct answer)
- Choose it since unknown words are usually correct
- Stop the test and look the word up online
Correct answer: Use context clues from the passage or question to infer the meaning
Using context clues is a reliable strategy for handling unfamiliar vocabulary during the test when outside resources are not allowed.
Question 5: What does it mean when the i-Ready Diagnostic seems to be giving you harder questions?
- You are failing the test
- You have been answering questions correctly and the test is adjusting upward (Correct answer)
- The test has a technical error
- The teacher made the test harder for you specifically
Correct answer: You have been answering questions correctly and the test is adjusting upward
In an adaptive test, harder questions appear when your previous responses indicate a higher skill level, which is a positive sign.
Question 6: When taking the i-Ready Diagnostic reading section, what is a good strategy for understanding a complex passage?
- Read only the first and last sentence of each paragraph
- Read the questions first, then skim just the answer choices
- Read the passage carefully at least once before answering questions (Correct answer)
- Skip the passage and rely on background knowledge
Correct answer: Read the passage carefully at least once before answering questions
A careful first read builds comprehension and reduces time spent searching the passage repeatedly when answering questions.
Question 7: Which habit BEST helps a student demonstrate their true math ability on i-Ready?
- Solving problems mentally without checking work
- Working quickly and submitting the first answer that comes to mind
- Checking computations for simple arithmetic errors before submitting (Correct answer)
- Leaving all hard questions blank
Correct answer: Checking computations for simple arithmetic errors before submitting
Verifying arithmetic prevents careless mistakes that can cause the adaptive algorithm to underestimate your skill level.
i-Ready Diagnostic Test Test-Taking Strategies 3
During the i-Ready math section, you encounter a word problem.
What should you do first?