Free Dyslexia Screener for Schools, A Customer Review

Written by Sandie Barrie Blackley, MA/CCC

Published on November 12, 2013

Blog Posts, Dyslexia and Schools, Personal Dyslexia Stories

Picture of Renee Matlock, M.A., CCC/SLP — Renee Matlock, M.A., CCC/SLP

Last March, Lexercise proudly launched a free screening tool to help educators identify kindergarten and 1st grade students at risk for dyslexia. This free, online screener was inspired by legislation in Mississippi requiring dyslexia testing in public schools, but can be used by educators and professionals anywhere!

We were so pleased to hear from Renee Matlock, M.A., CCC/SLP in Frankford, IL, who used the screener with a Kindergartener. Here’s what Renee had to say when we asked about her experience.

Lexercise: In comparison with paper scoring forms what did you think about the Mississippi Screener’s online scoring?

Renee Matlock: I administered the Mississippi Dyslexia Screener to a kindergarten student. I wish all tests were as easy to administer and score. The print out of the screening results was an excellent summary of the student’s skills as assessed by the screener. (I love using the Z-Screener and the SDQA also.)

L: Do you think that most educators would be able to administer and score the Mississippi Screener accurately?

RM: Yes, additional information in the following areas might be helpful: 1) Purpose of a screener 2) Rationale for inclusion of the 5 tasks 3) What to do if a student is unable to complete a particular task (for example, this student was unable to decode nonsense words.) I would encourage the educator to do a practice administration.
— Great suggestions, Renee! We’ll work on them.

L: Did the Screener report seem to accurately reflect the child’s abilities?

RM: Absolutely. The results confirmed my initial impressions of the student.

L: Other observations or comments?

RM: I was able to use the print out to discuss the results with the child’s parent. I could then use these results to explain the need for additional follow-up testing. Also, I loved the ‘timer’ included within the screener!

To learn more about the Missisippi Screener, or to administer it yourself, click here. We’d love to hear your feedback, too!

4 Responses to Free Dyslexia Screener for Schools, A Customer Review

Martha Feldbush commented

November 25, 2013 at 5:15 pm

I am a certified academic language therapist and would like to be able to look at the screening tool you are describing here. Thank you
- Sandie Barrie Blackley, MA/CCC commented
  
  November 26, 2013 at 4:04 pm
  
  The Mississippi Screener is a screening battery for kindergarten and 1st grade children. Unlike the Lexercise Screener on our main website under Services, the Mississippi Screener has a number of different subtests and requires the examiner to print out some stimulus cards. It is designed to be administered by a professional or para-professional. You can find a link to it on our website, under the Clinicians tab: http://www.lexercise.com/forclinicians/mississippi-dyslexia-screener/
  
  Just note about the use of the term “clinician”: We refer to all appropriately trained professionals, like academic language therapists, educational therapists, speech-language pathologists and psychologists, as “clinicians”. We do this to draw attention to the distinction between “tutors”, who often teach one-on-one or in small groups but use general education methods, and “clinicians”, professionals who have been specifically trained in the use of therapeutic approaches.
  
  We’d welcome you to try both these free screeners: Lexercise Screener (for ages 6 and older) and the Mississippi Screener (for young children), and we’d welcome your comments!
Heather Fleming commented

January 11, 2023 at 6:05 pm

Hello! Is there a sample report I might look at? am just wondering if the resulting report offers sufficient detail about the specific areas of weakness to really explain to a parent the specific skill areas that are weak? Thank you!
- Sandie Barrie Blackley, MA/CCC commented
  
  January 11, 2023 at 9:04 pm
  
  A screening test, by definition, is designed to provide a simple pass-fail (pass = low risk of having the problem & fail = significant risk of having the problem). If what you are looking for is an inventory of specific skills you need more than a screening test. That kind of assessment must be administered by a qualified professional.
  
  If you are a parent our therapists can do that at the beginning of a Lexercise Professional Therapy subscription, in order to customize the intervention. In addition, we offer diagnostic evaluations as a separate service, and you can see a sample report on this page under View Sample Reports: Full Evaluation.
  
  Another option might be to schedule a free consult with a Lexercise Therapist to discuss if a full evaluation seems indicated and what options might make the most sense for your child’s specific situation. You can do that using the Let’s Talk button on this page: Lexercise Online Dyslexia Program Comparison.
  
  If you are a teacher, our Lexercise for Schools platform includes assessments and differentiated instruction.
  
  We are happy to help if we can!

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Sandie Barrie Blackley, MA/CCC

Sandie is a Fellow of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, a former university graduate school faculty member, and a co-founder of Lexercise. Sandie has been past president of the North Carolina Speech, Hearing & Language Association and has received two clinical awards, the Public Service Award and the Clinical Services Award. She served two terms on the North Carolina Board of Examiners for Speech-Language Pathologists & Audiologists.

As a faculty member at the University of North Carolina Greensboro, Sandie developed and taught structured literacy courses, supervised practicum for speech-language pathology graduate students, and coordinated a federally funded personnel preparation grant. In 2009, Sandie and her business partner, Chad Myers co-founded Mind InFormation, Inc./ Lexercise to provide accessible and scalable structured literacy services for students across the English-speaking world.