Private equity-backed software i-Ready faces parent, teacher and student fury

A growing number of families and educators say they’re fed up with i-Ready’s personalized math and reading lessons, which feature repetitive cartoons and slow voice-overs.

In Anchorage, Alaska, math tutor Katelynn Petersen has watched hundreds of students struggle to use the software. “They all hate it — it’s so boring and so monotonous,” she said.

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In Rhode Island, school speech therapist Denise Champney said she’s seen children get so frustrated with the software’s animations and spoken prompts that one punched the screen of his Chromebook. “It is just incredibly infuriating,” she said.

In Los Angeles, eighth grader Ward Wooden agrees. “I’m losing brain cells every time I do a lesson,” he said.