Optima Academy Online (OAO) announced that its students exceeded i-Ready's national Typical Growth benchmarks in both reading and math for the 2025–26 school year. School-wide median progress reached 120% of Typical Growth in reading and 104% in math, with additional students meeting i-Ready's more ambitious Stretch Growth targets. The results build on OAO's prior-year performance and reflect continued academic growth across kindergarten through eighth grade.
NAPLES, Fla., Sept. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- Optima Academy Online (OAO), a fully virtual, Cognia-accredited school, today announced its assessed students exceeded i-Ready's annual Typical Growth benchmark at the school-wide median in both reading and math for 2025–26. Median progress reached 120% of the growth target in reading and 104% in math, placing OAO above the 100% benchmark in both subjects.
i-Ready's Typical Growth measure provides a national research-based reference for average annual academic growth among students who begin at similar levels of proficiency. Developed by Curriculum Associates using multiyear research on millions of i-Ready users, the growth model accounts for students' starting performance. It gives families a way to understand academic progress in relation to an established benchmark beyond the school itself.
At 120% of Typical Growth, OAO's median reading progress was 20% above the annual target. In math, median progress was 4% above the target. These results show that the school-wide median surpassed the full annual Typical Growth target in both core subjects.
"Seeing our students exceed i-Ready's growth benchmarks in both reading and math is exciting, and we couldn't be prouder of their progress," said Adam Mangana, CEO of Optima. "Our approach brings a classical foundation in knowledge and virtue together with the science of how children learn. Caring, certified teachers bring that foundation to life through immersive experiences, using VR and AI to help students explore ideas and connect with one another. These results are an encouraging milestone in our commitment to making learning engaging, purposeful, and academically strong."
These results also show students reaching i-Ready's more ambitious Stretch Growth targets, which are designed to support progress toward grade-level proficiency. In 2025–26, 38% of assessed students met Stretch Growth in reading and 35% did so in math.
Benchmark results build on improvements from the prior school year, when OAO's median progress reached 100% of Typical Growth in both subjects.
Findings come from OAO's most recent 2026 i-Ready Diagnostic summary for kindergarten through eighth grade, using the latest 2025–26 assessment available in that report.
About Optima Academy Online
Optima Academy Online is a fully virtual, classically aligned, and Cognia-accredited school offering teacher-led and self-guided instruction. Its parent company, Optima, blends a liberal arts foundation with immersive VR and AI-powered technology to help students learn more deeply and educators teach more effectively. Optima partners with independent schools, public school districts, microschools, and home learners nationwide. For more information, visit optimaxr.ai and optimaacademy.online.
Media Contact
Bridgette Jensen, Optima, 1 2394498599, [email protected], optimaxr.ai
SOURCE Optima
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