I’m John Hite, a school psychologist and applied researcher. Since 2017 I have studied what parents and teachers can understand and use in a psychological evaluation report. Below is one report about a fictional fourth grader with dyslexia, written twice. The first version reads the way most reports read: organized by test, numbers in the text, technical terms. The second follows READER, six practices drawn from research on what parents and teachers can use. Same child, same findings. The test results are not dropped; they move to an appendix at the end.
Maya, age 9, fourth grade. Fictional. Referred by her teacher and parents for difficulty with reading and writing.
Traditional: grade level 16. READER: grade level 6. In the full READER report, these sections sit under headings a parent would look for: Reading, Writing and spelling, Thinking and understanding, What to do.
Respond to the referral question
Traditional
Maya was referred for a psychoeducational evaluation to assess her cognitive and academic functioning in light of ongoing difficulties with reading and written expression, and to assist the team in determining eligibility for special education services. The evaluation included a cognitive assessment, measures of academic achievement and phonological processing, behavior rating scales completed by her parent and teacher, a classroom observation, and a review of records.
READER
Her teacher and parents asked why reading and writing are so hard for Maya when she understands so much. The answer is that Maya has dyslexia, a reading disability. She has trouble matching letters to sounds, so reading words is slow and takes effort. Writing is hard for the same reason, because spelling depends on the same letter-sound matching. Her thinking and understanding are strong.
What changed: the answer comes first. The list of tests moves to the appendix.
Explain how you know
Traditional
On measures of phonological processing, Maya obtained a Phonological Awareness composite of 82 (12th percentile) and a Rapid Symbolic Naming composite of 78 (7th percentile), both in the Below Average range. Word Reading (SS = 81) and Pseudoword Decoding (SS = 79) were also Below Average, while Reading Comprehension (SS = 95) fell within the Average range. Teacher ratings indicated clinically significant concerns with learning problems.
READER
Everything points the same way. Her teacher sees Maya follow a discussion easily, then take twice as long as classmates on a worksheet. At home, 15 minutes of reading homework takes an hour. In six weeks of extra reading help last spring, she gained four words per minute, less than half the usual growth. Testing showed the same thing: she reads slowly and can’t sound out unfamiliar words.
What changed: the evidence is what Maya does when she reads, at school, at home, and when she was given help. The numbers are in the appendix.
Address strengths and context
Traditional
Maya’s Verbal Comprehension Index of 112 (79th percentile) fell in the High Average range and represents a relative strength. Weaknesses were noted in phonological awareness, rapid naming, decoding, and spelling. Maya has attended three elementary schools since kindergarten, and records indicate inconsistent reading intervention across placements.
READER
Maya is a strong thinker. She has a large vocabulary, reasons well about what she hears, and remembers details from stories read to her. English is the only language at home, so a second language does not explain the difficulty. She has changed schools three times since kindergarten, and each move interrupted reading instruction.
What changed: strengths are described, and language and schooling are addressed because they bear on the answer.
Describe what results mean
Traditional
Maya’s Full Scale IQ of 104 (61st percentile) fell in the Average range. Her Working Memory Index of 88 (21st percentile) and Processing Speed Index of 85 (16th percentile) fell in the Low Average range. The pattern of average cognitive ability with specific weaknesses in phonological processing and word-level reading is consistent with a Specific Learning Disability in basic reading skills.
READER
I tested Maya’s reading directly, because that is what her teacher asked about. Reading will not catch up with more of the same practice. She needs instruction that teaches letter sounds directly, with far more practice reading words than most children need. Spelling should be taught with it. Until her reading catches up, she needs another way to get grade-level content, because her understanding is ahead of her reading.
What changed: each finding is turned into what it means for this child. Cognitive results are left out of the narrative because they don’t change the answer.
Everyday words
Traditional
Maya demonstrates a phonological processing deficit with associated weaknesses in rapid automatized naming and orthographic mapping, resulting in impaired decoding accuracy, reading fluency, and encoding.
READER
Maya has trouble hearing the separate sounds in words and connecting them to letters. That makes it hard for her to sound out new words, read familiar words quickly, and spell. One morning of testing and six weeks of class data agree.
What changed: same finding, same limits, words a parent or teacher already knows.
Recommend specific actions
Traditional
It is recommended that Maya receive systematic, explicit, multisensory reading instruction with an emphasis on phonological awareness and decoding. Accommodations such as extended time, access to audiobooks, and reduced reading load should be considered. Progress should be monitored regularly. Parents are encouraged to support reading at home.
READER
Reading instruction, because she needs far more practice with letter sounds than most children get in class. Teach letter sounds in a set order with lots of practice reading words. Four days a week, 30 to 45 minutes, in a group of three or fewer. The reading specialist can start in November.
Progress check, because the plan only works if someone can see whether it is working. Every two weeks, the teacher times a one-minute reading and records words read correctly. If the number is not rising after eight weeks, the team meets to add time or change the program. Full review in February.
In class, because her understanding is ahead of her reading. Audiobooks for class novels and textbooks, extra time on any test that requires reading, and keep calling on her in discussion.
At home, because her knowledge should keep growing while her reading catches up. Read to Maya at or above her grade level. Leave word-reading practice to school.
What changed: each action is tied to a need, with who does it, how often, and how the team will know it’s working. This is the one section that runs longer, because it says what to do.
Appendix: reading and spelling results
Area
Result
Fourth-grade expectation
Oral reading fluency
48 words correct per minute
about 90
Word reading accuracy
81 (10th percentile)
100
Nonsense-word reading
79 (8th percentile)
100
Spelling
83 (13th percentile)
100
Reading comprehension
95 (37th percentile)
100
Growth during six weeks of spring help
4 words per minute
about 6
Standard scores have a mean of 100. Tests administered are listed in the full report. Cognitive test results are in the confidential record and available to the team if a specific question requires them. Nothing here reproduces a test item.
READER comes from my research on what parents and teachers can understand and use. I train clinicians, school teams, and programs on it.