Dyslexia Screener Product Icon

DORA Dyslexia Screener

Intervene Early and Change Their Tomorrows

Use DORA DS with all your students so you can intervene early.

“The best solution to the problem of reading failure is to allocate resources for early identification and prevention” (Torgesen, 1998).

Reading ability is key to academic, social, and work success. DORA DS makes it easy for teachers to assess an entire class quickly to identify students who may need reading intervention. Our screener only takes most students 10-15 minutes to complete and it is automatically scored with reports ready in real time. Student dexterity with their device is measured first to ensure the validity of results.

Request More Info
Kids Using Digital Tablets
DORA DS Report Sample

DORA DS analyzes indicators of reading difficulties

DORA DS analyzes the following indicators of reading readiness. 

  • Letter Identification
  • High-Frequency Words
  • Phonemic awareness
  • Phonics (real and nonsense words)
  • Rapid Naming (timed-identification of common objects)

If scores indicate potential risk factors, teachers can use DORA, our online diagnostic assessment, which covers phonemic awareness, phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and reading comprehension strategies. For more information on how DORA DS complies with best practices, see the International Dyslexia Association’s Universal Screening fact page.

Request More Info

Letter Identification Example

The screener identifies students with difficulties identifying letters of the alphabet. For example, during the screening process, a student hears,“Click on the letter E.” Students then select the letter E from the choices.

Letter ID Example

Phonemic Awareness Example

Our screening tool analyzes phonemic awareness skills important in the development of foundational reading skills. For example, the student hears, “Combine the sounds /d/ /o/ /g/. What word did you hear?” The faces on screen wiggle and the student clicks each one to listen to a different word. The student then clicks the face that had the audio that blended the phonemes correctly.

Phonemic Awareness Example

Dexterity Test

As part of our screening process, DORA DS provides a short bubble-popping test. This allows us to identify false low scores for students who may not be developmentally ready to follow online instructions.

Dexterity Test Example

“To support universal reading literacy, we designed DORA DS to give teachers a diagnostic evaluation of gaps in early reading skills that may be indicators of dyslexia. Our screener is appropriate for Kindergarteners, 1st grade students, 2nd grade students, and 3rd grade students.  With over 20 years of experience in reading diagnosis and personalized instruction, we know that overcoming dyslexia requires early identification and intervention.”

Let's Go Learn CEO Richard Capone

—Richard Capone
CEO and Co-founder

Let’s Go Learn’s Commitment to Universal Literacy

Since 2000, Let’s Go Learn is committed to developing online programs that support universal literacy in K-12 reading and mathematics.

DORA DS is the result of 20+ years of research-based computer-adaptive experience. Our goal with DORA DS is to provide teachers with a quick, easy tool for universal screening. We understand that early intervention is key to catching children before they fall.

Request More Info

Why Are Early Screening and Intervention Essential?

What is the definition of dyslexia? What do the experts say?

Dyslexia is the most ubiquitous form of neuro-cognitive disorders. It affects approximately 15-20% of the US student population. 68% of children with an IEP are dyslexic students.

“…Dyslexia is an unexpected difficulty in reading in an individual who has the intelligence to be a much better reader. While people with dyslexia are slow readers, they often, paradoxically, are very fast and creative thinkers with strong reasoning abilities.”

—Dr. Sally Shaywitz, The Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity

Request More Info
Brain Illustration

How big is the problem?

The most recent results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress for US 4th graders indicate that many have severe reading difficulties. NAEP scores are comprised of Below Basic, Basic, Proficient, and Advanced.

  • 65% of 4th grade students are not at grade-level in reading skills.
    • 34% of students are Below Basic.
    • 31% of students are at Basic (partial mastery of prerequisite and proficient grade-level reading skills).
  • Only 36% of students are at Proficient (demonstrated reading competency at grade level).
  • Only 9% of students are at Advanced (superior performance at grade level).
Boy Covers Face

Academic Consequences for Struggling Readers

Elementary school, middle school, and high school students who do not reach grade-level reading proficiency may suffer mild to profound difficulties. If not proficient in reading by the end of 3rd grade, Fewer than 12% finish four years of college. They are also more likely to:

  • Struggle across all content areas, including science and math
  • Experience issues with school discipline and attendance
  • Drop out of high school at 4 times the rate of proficient readers

Socio-Economic Consequences of Dyslexia

A diagnosis of dyslexia that is not addressed has far-reaching personal and socio-economic consequences. It increases the likelihood of:

  • “low self-esteem, behavior problems, anxiety, aggression, and withdrawal from friends, parents, and teachers” (Mayo Clinic)
  • ending up in the criminal justice system and living in poverty (D. Ankey) 

Note: The Boston Consulting Group found that in 2020 alone, dyslexia and its consequences cost California an estimated 12 billion. Early screening and teacher training “would provide an astonishing 800% to 2000% return.”

Early Identification Allows
Early Intervention

With early intervention and support, students can overcome dyslexia and go on to fulfill their academic and lifetime dreams.

Hikers at the Top of the Mountain
Dyslexic Boy at Whiteboard

DORA DS Screens for Key Indicators of Early Reading Readiness and Proficiency

As required by most State Education Departments, DORA DS screens a child’s early reading performance in the following areas:

  • Phonemic awareness and phonological awareness
  • Sound-symbol and symbol-sound recognition
  • Alphabetic knowledge
  • Decoding of real and nonsense words
  • Automatic naming of letters, digits, objects, and colors

Limitations of most
dyslexia screeners

Most dyslexia screeners are available only in print. Those that have partial digital implementations such as Shaywitz Dyslexia Screener present administration challenges or interpretation of special scoring options.

  • Print screeners may take 3-4 hours to administer
  • Most require teacher training or a professional administrator
  • Reporting by ed tech company may take weeks to reach the district
Request More Info
Frustrated Teacher

Advantages of Early Screening of Dyslexia with
Online DORA DS

DORA DS was designed with the educator and the student in mind.

  • Takes about 10-15 minutes to administer
  • Uses adaptive logic to maximize validity and minimize test anxiety
  • Ensures social equity with a scores for all students in the key indicators
  • Provides automatic real-time analysis and valid reporting at the sub-test level for district teachers and administrators
  • Includes a mouse dexterity test to control for test-taking bias

Universal Screening for
RTI and MTSS

Both RTI and MTSS programs require universal screeners.

DORA DS provides a state of the art dyslexia screening assessment.

After automatic administration of DORA DS, administrators and teachers can take advantage of LGL’s full-solution supplemental online reading program.

  • DORA K-12 Diagnostic Reading Assessment
  • DORA Phonemic Awareness
  • DORA Spanish/EDELL
  • LGL ELA/Reading Edge Data-Driven Instruction

Join our CEO to get an overview of different types of assessments.

Common Questions

Can I use the full DORA reading assessment instead of DORA DS? What are the differences?

Yes, you can use DORA to screen for dyslexia. So for instance, if your workflow is to diagnostically assess all K-8 students then you can just use DORA to screen. The difference is that DORA may take longer for younger students.because it is not capped, advanced young, good readers may get higher level items. Also DORA includes additional sub-tests such as spelling, oral vocabulary, and reading comprehension. These may add to the duration of the assessment.

How does DORA DS compare to the screeners of other companies?

Most companies that have digital screeners require that teachers do an additional one-on-one assessment for students who do not pass the initiative reading assessment. However, most State Education Departments require early screening to support children who show signs of dyslexia. DORA DS screens a child’s early reading performance in the following areas: 1) Phonemic awareness and phonological awareness; 2) Sound-symbol and symbol-sound recognition; 3) Alphabetic knowledge; 4) Decoding of real and nonsense words; and 5) Automatic naming of letters, digits, objects, and colors.

How does DORA DS compare to most print dyslexia screeners?

Most dyslexia screeners are available only in print. Those that have partial digital implementations such as Shaywitz Dyslexia Screener present administration challenges or interpretation of special scoring options. Additionally, the scoring needs to be sent out to them to be completed. This makes it hard to scale for a lot of students and makes data processing difficult and not real-time.

Can you recommend resources for learning more about dyslexia?

There are a number of educational and medical articles that are helpful in developing a rich understanding of dyslexia.

Is DORA Dyslexia Screener a valid and reliable assessment?

Yes, it is. The standard for dyslexia screening is to look at early reading skills such as letter identification, beginning phonics, rapid naming and phonemic awareness. Our screener is able to statistically and reliably measure a student's abilities in these area of early reading. When rolled up these scores act as a screener.

What is a dyslexia screener?

A dyslexia screener is a short test that helps to identify students who may be at risk for problems with reading.

What are the characteristics of a universal dyslexia screener?

According to the International Dyslexia Association, a universal screening tool should measure age/grade appropriate skills such as: phoneme segmentation, blending, onset and rime; rapid automatic naming including letter naming fluency; letter sound association; and phonological memory, including non-word repetition. It should also be valid and reliable and be given three or four times a year to monitor progress.

Does universal dyslexia screening in English learners mistakenly place too many students in special education?

No. In fact, early detection of dyslexia and other reading difficulties using universal screeners in English learners actually prevents students from being mistakenly placed in special education. Let's Go Learn offers both English and Spanish screeners. Early detection and intervention are important factors in overcoming dyslexia.

Does iReady Have a Screener Similar to DORA DS?

iReady has a reading diagnostic but not a separate universal screener, according to its website. They recommend that teachers administer their diagnostic first and then do a supplemental one-on-one teacher administered test. DORA DS, on the other hand, is designed to be a standalone screener for K-3 so that all students can be assessed rapidly in a scalable manner. Then teachers can choose to assign DORA, our online reading diagnostic assessment, to at-risk readers. Let's Go Learn's solution was designed by researchers and teachers to ensure all students are screened and that at-risk students can participate in early intervention.
Request More Info
Discover LGL Assessments