# i-Ready

6 Hacker News commenters recommended i-Ready and 10 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 2 of 13 months.

**Verdict:** Recommended by people who say it reinforces lessons and kids enjoy it; critics say it adds little learning and eats too much class time.

## Why people recommend it

- Kids enjoy it and seek it out (2 comments): "math was her favorite part of school this year" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47372973)) "ONe actively loves it. He seeks it out." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47374734))

## What people warn about

- Little or no learning gain (3 comments): "these apps negatively impact the learning of my students and people dont really realize it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46517905)) "None of the parents felt that their kids were learning anything at all from it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47371929)) "None of the efficiency or adaptive promises are coming to fruition." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47373006))
- Kids find it boring and hateful (3 comments): "If one wished to design an experience to instill a hatred of mathematics into children, it would be a pretty solid approach." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47373173)) "My kids and the better teachers at their school also hate iReady for generally the same reasons stated in the post." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47373069)) "if it's boring and the kid runs away, it's a parent failure instead of a teacher problem" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47375822))
- Screen time crowds out curriculum (2 comments): "We started heavily drifting to computers after covid so these students can sometimes spend 3-4 hours everyday on iready etc." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46859020)) "its like all of our curriculum is turning into these silly math or reading games from iready" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48173001))
- Adaptive placement sends kids too low (2 comments): "the "smart adaptive" algorithm throws them back to the preschool school level" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47373053)) "None of the efficiency or adaptive promises are coming to fruition." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47373006))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [GCompris](https://hackerapproved.com/p/gcompris.md): 9 recommend
- [Lathoa math app for kids](https://hackerapproved.com/p/lathoa.md): 9 recommend
- [Early Reader](https://hackerapproved.com/p/open-source-early-reading-reader-with-phonics-help.md): 6 recommend

## Where to get it

- [Visit the official site](https://www.curriculumassociates.com/)

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "i-Ready", https://hackerapproved.com/p/i-ready/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).