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a ready-to-run workshopAssessing Reading
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Assessing Reading: Screeners & Diagnostics (Workshop)

You cannot teach reading well without knowing what each student can and cannot do. Reading assessment, universal screening to catch risk early and diagnostics to pinpoint the need, turns reading instruction from guesswork into targeted teaching.

Key takeaway

Universal screening catches reading risk early and diagnostic assessment pinpoints the specific need, turning reading instruction from guesswork into targeted teaching.

Format
PLC / team meeting
Length
45 minutes
Group size
Any (works 4-40)
Who can run it
A teacher-leader or coach
You will need
Slides (5)Printed handoutYour reading dataA timer
Aligned to
Learning Forward: Transformational ProcessesInTASC 6: AssessmentResearch on reading assessment and screening
Share / assign

Why it works

Effective reading instruction depends on knowing where students are. Universal screening identifies students at risk early, before they fall far behind, and diagnostic assessment pinpoints whether the need is in phonological awareness, decoding, fluency, vocabulary, or comprehension. The research emphasizes screening all students, acting early on the data, and matching instruction to the diagnosed need.

The research: Research on universal screening and diagnostic reading assessment.

The run-of-show

Choose your slot. The agenda, timings, and length update to match.

    The core activity: plan to use reading data

    Teachers leave having matched instruction to one student's diagnosed reading need.

    Screen early, diagnose the need, then teachCatching reading risk early and pinpointing the specific gap lets you target instruction before a small problem becomes a large one.

    Facilitator notes

    Data that does not change teaching is wastedScreening and diagnostics only help if they change what you do. Match instruction to the diagnosed need and monitor it.

    Adapt it

    Participant handout

    One page for every teacher. Print it, or save it as a PDF.

    K12 Academics · Professional Learning

    Assessing Reading: screen, diagnose, target

    <b>From guesswork to targeted teaching:</b> screen early, diagnose the need, match instruction, monitor.

    1. The screening or reading data I have or need:
    2. What the data says about one student need:
    3. Instruction or intervention matched to it:
    4. How I monitor progress:
    5. Who I collaborate with (specialist, team):

    Make it stick

    Screen, diagnose, target:

    Common questions

    What is the difference between screening and diagnostic assessment?
    A screener quickly flags who is at risk; a diagnostic digs into why, pinpointing the specific skill gap so you can target instruction.
    Isn't this just more testing?
    These are brief, purposeful assessments that directly guide instruction. Catching risk early with a screener prevents much bigger problems later.
    What do I do with the results?
    Act early: match instruction and intervention to the diagnosed need, and monitor progress. Data that does not change instruction is wasted.

    Go deeper

    Build it into a bigger day

    Workshop
    Science of Reading Foundations
    Workshop
    Data-Driven Instruction
    Workshop
    MTSS & RTI