Dyslexia Screening Test FAQ
Do you have questions about The Reading Guru’s Dyslexia Screening Test? Below you’ll find answers to the questions we hear most often from parents, educators, and even adult learners.
What is The Reading Guru's Dyslexia Screening Test?
The Reading Guru’s Dyslexia Screening Test is a free, short test your child can take at home to check for early signs of dyslexia and other reading difficulties. You read prompts aloud to your child, mark whether their answers are correct, and at the end you get a plain-language report on how they did — along with a sense of whether they might need more help. Our screening test is built on the same Orton-Gillingham principles our tutors use in real lessons every day with students.
Who made The Reading Guru's Dyslexia Screening Test?
The Reading Guru’s Dyslexia Screening Test was built by our team at The Reading Guru, one of the largest and most-respected Orton-Gillingham tutoring companies. Our highly experienced Orton-Gillingham tutors and dyslexia therapists offer private 1:1 online reading tutoring to children everywhere, and in-person tutoring in NYC, LA, Denver, and Austin.
What does this actually test?
The Reading Guru’s Dyslexia Screening Test checks two things. First, how well your child sounds out nonsense words they’ve never seen before — this checks pure decoding skill, not memory, since there’s no way to have memorized words that don’t exist. Second, how well they read real, grade-level words from the San Diego Quick Assessment (SDQA) — this checks whether their reading is keeping pace with where they should be for their age. Used together, these two checks provide a reasonable indicator of dyslexia risk.
How long does this take?
About 5–10 minutes. It moves quickly, but go at your child’s pace and let them take breaks if needed.
Can this screening test provide a dyslexia diagnosis?
No. This is a dyslexia screening tool, and it can’t provide a clinical diagnosis.
Do I need to do anything special to prepare?
Just find a quiet 5–10 minutes with your child, somewhere they can read aloud comfortably. You’ll need to listen and mark whether each answer is correct — no other prep needed. You can use your phone or a computer.
What grade levels does this test cover?
Kindergarten through 12th grade (and up). The test adjusts its expectations based on your child’s current grade.
What happens at the end?
You’ll see a full results page on screen, and we’ll also email you a copy to keep. The report includes an overall dyslexia risk result, a decoding accuracy score showing how your child did on the nonsense words compared to what’s expected for their grade, and an estimated reading level showing the highest grade-level word list they read successfully compared to where they should be. Each section is shown as a simple bar so you can see at a glance how your child’s result compares to the target for their grade. Our learning coordinators also have access to even more detailed results. Please contact us if you want to discuss tutoring options.
Can I take this test more than once, for different children?
Absolutely! Just click “Test another child” at the end of the results page to start fresh.