Privacy Evaluation for i-Ready
84%
Overview
i-Ready is an online assessment and instruction tool that helps teachers provide all students a path to proficiency and growth in reading and mathematics. The terms say that student information is not visible publicly, and is only accessible to authorized teachers, administrators, and parents. The terms also say that the service collects student information directly from the school districts, including sensitive information such as ethnicity and free-lunch status. In addition, the terms say student information will not be sold, nor will identifiable student information be shared with third parties, and no advertising is displayed in i-Ready. The terms say that reasonable security is used, data in transit and at rest is encrypted, and users will be notified in the case of a data breach. The terms say that children under 13 are not allowed to register for an account, and if any information is collected from a child without verifiable parental consent, it will be deleted. Authorized users can access, correct, or delete personal information at any time through the service.
iReady can be accessed through its website. The Privacy Policy and Terms of Use accessed for this evaluation can be found on iReady’s website. Additionally, other policies used for this evaluation include: Your Rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act. This evaluation only considers policies that have been made publicly available prior to an individual using the application or service.
i-Ready is an online assessment and instruction tool that helps teachers provide all students a path to proficiency and growth in reading and mathematics. The terms say that student information is not visible publicly, and is only accessible to authorized teachers, administrators, and parents. The terms also say that the service collects student information directly from the school districts, including sensitive information such as ethnicity and free-lunch status. In addition, the terms say student information will not be sold, nor will identifiable student information be shared with third parties, and no advertising is displayed in i-Ready. The terms say that reasonable security is used, data in transit and at rest is encrypted, and users will be notified in the case of a data breach. The terms say that children under 13 are not allowed to register for an account, and if any information is collected from a child without verifiable parental consent, it will be deleted. Authorized users can access, correct, or delete personal information at any time through the service.
iReady can be accessed through its website. The Privacy Policy and Terms of Use accessed for this evaluation can be found on iReady’s website. Additionally, other policies used for this evaluation include: Your Rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act. This evaluation only considers policies that have been made publicly available prior to an individual using the application or service.
Safety
The terms state that student information is not visible publicly, and is only accessible to authorized teachers, administrators, and parents. The terms state that there are no user interactions between users, and there is no ability for users to upload user content created outside of i-Ready. In addition, other than responses to questions or instructional prompts, students cannot create content within i-Ready and user information does not involve the creation of a profile.
Privacy
The terms state that i-Ready collects student information directly from school districts, including: student name, birth date, gender, ethnicity or race, school enrollment, grade level, teacher, English language learner status, and eligibility for free- or reduced-price lunch. User behavioral and usage data is also collected. The service has taken the Student Privacy Pledge, and the terms disclose student information is not sold, behaviorally targeted advertising is not used, and collected information is used only for authorized purposes, with student data only used for education-related purposes.
The terms also state the service may share personal information with third-party service providers to support their business, and also share de-identified data for research purposes, but they will not share identifiable student data with third parties. In addition, the terms say no student data collected in connection with i-Ready is shared with third parties for any advertising, marketing, or tracking purposes.
Security
The terms state that accounts with passwords are required for use of the website. Reasonable security is taken with personal information, and data—both in transit and at rest—is encrypted. The service puts limits on employee access to personal data, none of which is stored outside the control of the vendor. In the event of a data breach, impacted users will be notified and the data that has been compromised will be specified, if known. In addition, the terms state schools are responsible for notifying teachers and parents of any breach, but the vendor will provide reasonable help if requested, along with reimbursing schools for reasonable expenses for providing these notices. Lastly, the terms say an annual security audit is completed by a third party, and the vendor implements recommended security changes, if practical.
Compliance
The terms are not clear regarding use of the product by children under 13. However, children may not register for an account or provide any information directly to the vendor, but the terms also specifically discuss students using the product. The terms state that the service does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 and will delete it if it is found to have been collected without verifiable parental consent, but parental consent methods are not clear. The terms clearly state that personal information about students is collected directly from school or districts and not from students themselves, and users are not to upload any material that could be considered an education record.
In addition, the terms say authorized individuals are able to access, correct, or delete personal information that they have provided, but no specific time period is given for how long the vendor has to make changes or deletions. The terms state that to delete a user's personal information, their user account will also be deleted. The service has taken the Student Privacy Pledge and the terms state they will not sell student information or engage in any behaviorally targeted advertising.
Rating
- Not intended for children under 13.
- Unclear whether the collection or use of data is limited to product requirements.
- Personal information is not displayed publicly.
- Users cannot interact with trusted users and/or students.
- Notice is provided in the event of a data breach.
- Parental consent is required.
Data Collection
SCORE: 45%
What data does it collect?
- Personally identifiable information (PII) is collected.
- The categories of collected personally identifiable information are indicated.
- Unclear whether the collection or use of data is limited to product requirements.
- Geolocation data are not collected.
- Unclear whether this product collects biometric or health data.
- Behavioral data are collected.
- Sensitive data are collected.
- Non-personally identifiable information is collected.
- Unclear whether opt-in consent is requested from users at the time personal information is collected.
- Personal information of users is collected by a third party.
Data Sharing
SCORE: 90%
What data does it share?
- Collected information is shared with third parties.
- The categories of information shared with third parties are indicated.
- The purpose for sharing a user's personal information with third parties is indicated.
- The categories of third parties that receive personal information are indicated.
- Data are shared for analytics.
- Data are shared for research and/or product improvement.
- Data are shared with third-party service providers.
- The roles of third-party service providers are indicated.
- Social or federated login is supported.
- Contractual limits are placed on third-party data use.
Data Security
SCORE: 90%
How does it secure data?
- A user's identity is not verified with additional personal information.
- Account creation is required.
- Parental controls or managed accounts are available.
- Unclear whether two-factor account protection is available.
- Third-party contractual security protections are required.
- Industry best practices are used to protect data.
- Employee or physical access to user information is limited.
- All data in transit are encrypted.
- All data at rest are encrypted.
- Notice is provided in the event of a data breach.
Data Rights
SCORE: 75%
What rights do I have to the data?
- Users can create or upload content.
- Users retain ownership of their data.
- Processes to access and review user data are available.
- Processes to modify inaccurate data are available.
- A data-retention policy is available.
- Processes for the school, parents, or students to delete data are available.
- A user's data are deleted upon account cancellation or termination.
- Data are deleted when no longer necessary.
- Unclear whether permissions, roles, or access controls are available to restrict who has access to data.
- Unclear whether this product provides users the ability to download their data.
Data Sold
SCORE: 60%
Is the data sold?
- Data are not sold or rented to third parties.
- Users can opt out from the disclosure or sale of their data to a third party.
- User information can be transferred to a third party.
- Unclear whether users are notified if their information is transferred to a third party.
- Unclear whether user information can be deleted prior to its transfer to a third party.
- Unclear whether third-party transfers are contractually required to use the same privacy practices.
- User information is shared in an anonymous or deidentified format.
- The vendor describes their deidentification process of user information.
- Data are shared for research and/or product improvement.
- Contractual limits prohibit third parties from reidentifying deidentified information.
Data Safety
SCORE: 60%
How safe is this product?
- Users cannot interact with trusted users and/or students.
- Users cannot interact with untrusted users, including strangers and/or adults.
- Profile information is not shared for social interactions.
- Personal information is not displayed publicly.
- Users can control how their data are displayed.
- Unclear whether user-created content is reviewed, screened, or monitored by the vendor.
- Unclear whether user-created content is filtered for personal information before being made publicly visible.
- Unclear whether social interactions between users are moderated.
- Unclear whether social interactions of users are logged.
- Users can report abuse or cyberbullying.
Ads & Tracking
SCORE: 65%
Are there advertisements or tracking?
- Data are not shared for third-party advertising and/or marketing.
- Traditional or contextual advertisements are not displayed.
- Behavioral or targeted advertising is not displayed.
- Data are not collected by third-party advertising or tracking services.
- Data are not used to track and target advertisements on other third-party websites or services.
- Data profiles are not created and used for data enhancement, and/or targeted advertisements.
- The vendor can send marketing messages.
- Unclear whether this vendor provides promotional sweepstakes, contests, or surveys.
- Unclear whether this product provides users the ability to opt-out of traditional, contextual, or behavioral advertising.
- Unclear whether this product provides users the ability to opt out or unsubscribe from marketing communications.
Parental Consent
SCORE: 60%
Can I provide parental consent?
- Not intended for children under 13.
- Personal information from children under 13 years of age is not collected online.
- Unclear whether intended for parents or guardians.
- Vendor does have actual knowledge that personal information from users under 13 years of age is collected.
- Children's privacy is applicable.
- Parental consent is required.
- Unclear whether this product limits parental consent with respect to third parties.
- Unclear whether this product allows parents to withdraw consent for the further collection of their child's information.
- Children's personal information is deleted if collected without parental consent.
- Unclear whether this product provides parental consent notice and method for submission.
School Purpose
SCORE: 65%
Is the product intended for school?
- Intended for students.
- Personal information or education records are collected from preK-12 students.
- Intended for teachers.
- Product is primarily used by, designed for, and marketed toward students in grades preK–12.
- Product does create education records.
- Unclear whether this product provides notification of a contract or additional rights.
- Vendor is designated as a school official.
- Unclear whether this product transfers parental consent obligations to the school or district.
- Unclear whether the vendor indicates FERPA parental consent exceptions.
- Directory information is not disclosed.
Common Sense Standard Privacy Report (SPR)
The standard privacy report (SPR) displays all the privacy practices from a product's policies in a single, easy-to-read outline. The report shows a green check mark for better privacy practices and an orange alert for risky or unclear practices. This alert indicates that more time should be focused on these particular details prior to use.
About Privacy Evaluations
The privacy evaluations have been designed with the help and support of a consortium of schools and districts across the United States. These evaluations are designed to help educators make informed decisions about the potential privacy implications of educational technology used to support teaching and learning.
Our core evaluation criteria will always be freely available. People are encouraged to read the questions we use and our information security primer. Vendors are encouraged to use our questions and the information security primer to self-evaluate. You can also learn more about our evaluation process. Please be in touch with any questions or feedback.