Diagnostic Literacy Assessment for School Teams

How it works

A clear path from screening to instruction

Each step answers a practical question your literacy team faces.

1 · Pre-assess

Who needs a closer look?

Grades 2–12: Run a brief, 3-part screening to flag students who need deeper evaluation.

Grades K–1: Bypass the screener and head directly to Step 2 to map core foundational skills.

Pulse Pre-Assessment

Pre-Assessment A

3 parts

1

One-syllable words

Sound–spelling patterns in simple words

2

Multisyllable words

Decoding patterns across syllables

3

Affixes

Prefixes, suffixes, and meaningful word parts

2 · Diagnose

Where should instruction start?

Use targeted diagnostics instead of administering every measure to every student. Root Compass tracks 497 individual skills, organizing the results by the exact skills and concepts that need support.

Student skill report

Mastery by literacy area

5 areas

Mastered Needs instruction Unassessed

Fundamentals 82%

Irregular High-Frequency Words 74%

Basic Words 61%

Advanced Words 48%

Affixes 36%

Each area includes detailed concepts and skills.

3 · Plan instruction

How should instruction be organized?

Organize students into groups, then build Individual or Group Literacy Plans with assigned educators, schedules, progress monitoring, and measurable objectives.

Instructional planning workspace

Draft Group Literacy Plan

Draft

Tier 2

Group 1

4 students

Avery · Jordan · Kai · Mia

Assigned teacher

Ms. Rivera

Where and when

Mon–Thu · 9:15–9:45

Progress monitoring

Weekly

Objective 1

Increase accurate decoding of multisyllabic words with short vowels.

Save draft Finalize plan

4 · Monitor

Is instruction working?

Reassess with equivalent forms and see mastery change over time. The student's history remains visible to classroom teachers, specialists, and leaders.

Student skill profile

Mastery over time

+28%

Start

Check 1

Check 2

Current

For the whole literacy team

See how a school team reclaimed more than 40 hours a year

Teachers share how Root Compass replaced paper analysis and spreadsheet-based grouping with a clearer workflow.

One student story, useful at every level

Everyone works from the same assessment history while seeing the information most useful to their role.

Classroom teachers

See who needs reteaching, intervention, or a progress check—and which skills to address next.

Interventionists

Use targeted diagnostic detail to plan support and adjust instruction across intervention cycles.

School leaders

See whether follow-up assessments and instructional responses are happening consistently.

District teams

Create a shared literacy workflow across schools while preserving each student's history.

Built by educators, for educators

Created from a real schoolwide literacy challenge

While implementing the Science of Reading, Brandee Lapisky and Heather Ballantine saw teachers lose hours to paper diagnostics, manual analysis, and disconnected spreadsheets. They built Root Compass to turn that work into one usable instructional roadmap.

Read the Root Compass story

Heather Ballantine

Founding Partner & Chief Academic Officer

Brandee Lapisky

Founding Partner & Chief Operating Officer

Simple student-based pricing

Every team gets the complete workflow

Individual educators, organizations, schools, and districts use the same annual per-student price.

For every student you support

Billed annually.

$10

per student / year

✓Pulse Pre-Assessment
✓All 33 diagnostics
✓Automated instructional groups
✓Progress monitoring and reports
✓Print-and-go assessment materials
✓Shared student assessment history

Schedule a demo View plan details

Uncover hidden decoding gaps. Know what to teach next.