FAQ

No. READI is a web-based diagnostic tool. There is no software your school or its students must install. When your institution signs up we will create a custom user interface that has the look and feel of your school’s website. We will give you the sub domain and you can link that in any way you choose.

Does READI have support staff to help with implementing the system and possible technical difficulties?

Yes. Support staff is available 5 days a week during regular business hours.

Is READI hosted on our server or yours?

Everything is hosted on READI’s server.

How long is the data from the student assessments stored?

5 years.

Can READI data be imported in my school's student information system?

Yes. The READI system allows schools to export student’s READI scores into an Excel, comma delimited file or tab delimited file. Schools can then manipulate this data to arrange it in an appropriate format to be uploaded into their student information systems. At most schools students tend to take READI is groups – typically near the beginning of a semester. Most schools which do export data find it adequate to export / upload READI data about once per month. However, if schools want READI data automatically syncronized with their system they can use our free developer APIs. There is no cost for the standard data export feature and schools can conduct as many data exports as they need.

Do you have any research about the effectiveness of READI?

Yes, your sales representative will be able to provide you with that information.

How do schools use READI?

Recently READI administrators were surveyed to determine patterns of usage of READI. View the Annual READI Usage report for details on client usage.

Should READI be used to determine whether or not a student should take a distance learning course?

By design, READI is not intended to be a gatekeeper. That is, READI is not designed to be a “make or break” test which determines if a student can take distance learning courses or not. Rather, READI is intended to be used as a diagnostic tool to help students be aware of their strengths and opportunities for growth as they take distance learning courses. The two main benefits of READI are that it makes the student aware of their attributes and skills and secondly that it fosters a dialogue between the student and their school about the sources for support that the school provides to help the student be successful. It is recommended that schools consider making the fact whether or not a student has completed READI a prerequisite for further distance learning courses, but not use the READI scores as gate keepers.

I would like to talk with a school that is currently using READI, can you give me the contact information?

Your sales representative will be able to provide you with that information.

Since READI requires students to enter their email address, who has access to that information?

Administrators from the home institution have access to the emails. No one else.

What schools are currently using READI?

For a list of schools click here.

Who has access to READI information?

Only persons authorized by the student’s school have access to READI scores and information. Access is controlled by user names and passwords which READI administrators are to keep confidential.

Is the READI information secured?

All READI data is securely stored. READI is housed on a dedicated server in a Tier-1 datacenter which is located within a 20,000 sq. ft. facility in FortWorth, TX. The datacenter itself is monitored and supported by a group of onsite network administrators 7 days-a-week, 24 hours-a-day, 365 days-a-year. Complete information about the technical infrastructure of READI is available here.

What type of information does READI acquire from students?

In addition to a student’s scores on the READI assessment, the only information which is collected includes name, email, age range, gender and the number of online courses which the student has taken. Schools may add additional demographic questions but schools are instructed that Social Security Numbers are never to be collected using READI.

Will student information be released to third parties?

No information including READI scores or a student’s contact information is ever released to a third party for any reason. The only entities which have access to the data are the student’s school and the company which provides READI – DECADE Consulting, LLC. Our Privacy Statement below is available here and informs students about the policies governing access to their READI data.

Are there any tutorials to help me get started?

You may view the READI, Set, Go tutorial series by clicking here.

What is the "Test ID" column that appears when I export into an Excel spreadsheet?

When a person starts taking READI, the system automatically generates a unique test taker ID for them. Think of this as their READI ID number. To keep track of individual scores the system can not use an item such as their name because there may be several John Does taking the test. This number has nothing to do with the student’s ID number at their school, or any other number. It is just a unique identifier that our system generates. It really should have no purpose to the schools.

How many questions are in each section of READI?

Personal Attributes: 24 items
Learning Styles: 35 items
Reading Rate and Recall: 1 item (timed portion) 10 items (recall portion)
Technical Competency: 10 items
Technical Knowledge: 23 items
Typing Speed and Accuracy: 1 item

Total items on the READI assessment: 104 items

Why should our school use READI instead of creating our own readiness assessment?

Research and Development: READI is based on strong research and has been developed by content and psychometric experts over a several year process. Read more about the research and development of READI at http://readi.info/research. Since 2002 READI has continuously evolved through the input of educators at over 300 educational institutions. We have invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in the research and development of READI. Respected organizations such as the National Institute for Literacy have been involved in the development of READI.
Track Record: READI has been used by over 300 educational institutions and by about a half million students. You can view a client list at http://readi.info/clients. On that same page, you can view a real time report of the number of daily, monthly, yearly, and all-time READI users.
Functionality: In addition to a nationally normed assessment, READI provides a wealth of functionality so that schools can customize READI for their students. Schools can customize which sections of READI they use, change the order of sections, export data for analysis, and use dozens of other administrative features.
National comparative data: - Each year we produce the Annual Online Student Readiness Report which presents national averages on all data points collected in READI. Click here to view a copy of the report. Schools can also receive a custom report comparing their data to the national averages.
Remediation Resources: We have identified best-of-breed online remedial resources to which we direct students in their score report.
Curricular Integration: READI has been integrated into several student success textbooks and orientation courses.
READI API: READI customers have the ability to leverage our standards based API free of charge. Using the API allows customers to integrate READI data into all third-party systems.
Student Information System Integration: READI data can be passed back to a school’s student information system such as PeopleSoft or Datatel. (Additional fees may apply.)
Learning Management System Integration: READI can be integrated into popular learning management systems allowing for single sign on and data exchange. (Additional fees may apply)
Custom User Interface: READI is provided in a custom user interface that has the look and feel of the school’s web presence.
Security: READI is hosted on dedicated servers in a state of the art data center with multi-city redundancy and fail safe power backup.
Support: READI comes with student and administrator technical support. Your staff does not have to answer questions for students or help them log in.
Hosting: READI is a fully hosted solution which requires no tasking from your school’s information technology department.
Expansion: READI is continuing to expand with future modules such as writing and math screening components.
Evolution: READI is continually evolving based on the input of hundreds of schools which are using READI. We encourage all schools to make suggestions for improvement to READI. Your license cost remains the same even though the product is being continually enhanced based on the experience of hundreds of other schools.
Training: As a READI client institution, you can receive live training via an online webinar; you can view online archives of prior training webinars; you can view instructional videos on various functionalities in READI; and/or you can find answers in our Frequently Asked Questions document and other training resources. We provide the training to anyone in your institution who will be using READI. You do not have to provide the training.

Upcoming Training Webinar

Tuesday, March 23
2:00 PM CDT
Register Now!

View all upcoming webinars

This training is designed for current READI users

Usage Statistics

The table below shows the number of students that have taken the READI assessment over a given time period.

Period	READI Users
All Time	498,587
This Year	58,331
This Month	6,616
Today	328

updated every 10 minutes

FAQ

What does READI stand for?

Can I customize the look of the READI tool?

READI seems like a good tool to measure student online readiness, is there a way we can try it out without commitment to determine how to best implement it at our institution?

Is READI a software product?