Research and development of Individual Growth and Development Indicators (IGDIs) began at the University of Minnesota in the late 1990s, based on two decades of previous research into effective measurement practices for describing children’s trajectories of achievement. This work continued, leading to innovations in assessment of English and Spanish language and early literacy, early numeracy, and other domains of development.

myIGDIs measures have since been redesigned and evaluated empirically in multiple studies, with a special focus on use in preschool programs, particularly those interested in RTI or MTSS. Shown to be psychometrically sound, myIGDIs is used by more than 13,000 early childhood educators across all 50 states.