Slingerland Screening Tests

Every classroom includes students with different strengths, experiences, and learning needs. Effective literacy instruction begins with understanding where students are now so teachers can make informed instructional decisions.

Slingerland Screening Tests are designed to show relative strengths or weaknesses that may exist in visual, auditory and/or kinesthetic-motor functioning, or in the integration between the modalities. Screening helps educators identify students' literacy strengths and areas for growth through a structured, efficient screening process that mimics actual classroom activities.

Slingerland screenings can be administered beginning in kindergarten and continue through high school and beyond. The screenings can be administered in full class groupings, as well as in small groups, or one-on-one. Tutors, teachers, and clinicians often use the Slingerland screenings as part of comprehensive assessments.

The results provide meaningful information that supports instruction, helps identify students who may benefit from additional support, and guides conversations among teachers, families, and school leaders.

Screening is not intended to diagnose a learning disability or replace comprehensive assessment.

Why Screen?

Universal literacy screening is an important part of effective reading instruction. When used alongside classroom observation and ongoing assessment, screening helps educators:

Identify students who may be at risk for reading and writing difficulties.
Recognize student strengths as well as areas needing additional support.
Make informed instructional decisions.
Monitor student progress over time.
Allocate intervention resources effectively.
Support data-informed conversations with families and school teams.

The earlier literacy challenges are identified, the sooner teachers can provide targeted instruction that helps students build confidence and succeed.

Real Classroom Performance for Actionable Results

Slingerland Screening focuses on foundational written language skills that support successful reading, writing, and spelling. The screening tasks reflect authentic classroom activities, providing teachers with practical information they can use to guide instruction.

Each subtest isolates skills by modality stimulus input and student performance output.

The sample tasks below indicate the variety of information available through Slingerland Screening.

Copying

Students copy text from a board or worksheet to demonstrate their ability to accurately and efficiently produce written work. These tasks provide insight into handwriting, letter formation, spacing, visual tracking, attention to detail, and overall written output.

Writing From Dictation

Students write words, phrases, or sentences they hear spoken. This task assesses a student's ability to connect speech to print by applying sound-symbol relationships, spelling knowledge, handwriting skills, and short-term memory while producing written language.

Spelling

Students spell words that increase in complexity. This task provides information about a student's understanding of phonics, spelling patterns, and English word structure. Results help identify strengths and areas where additional instruction may support more accurate and automatic written language.

Results Inform Instruction

Together, these screening tasks provide a snapshot of the foundational skills students use every day in the classroom. Results help teachers:

Identify students who may benefit from additional instructional support.
Recognize patterns in handwriting, spelling, and written language.
Better understand the skills contributing to student success or difficulty.
Inform instructional planning and targeted intervention.
Monitor student growth over time.

Rather than serving as a diagnosis, Slingerland Screening provides meaningful instructional information that helps teachers make informed decisions to support every learner.

Reports and

Next Steps

Slingerland screeners use test results to create two reports:

Slingerland Screening Subtest Comparison
- created with the Slingerland Screening Calculator
- provides professional, clear score report by subtest and compares subtests by modality (quantitative data)
Full Report
- narrative report finalized by the screener
- description of student performance by subtest (qualitative data)
- screeners provide detailed next steps to support student learning based on analysis of the test results