Actionable data
Root Compass tracks 497 sub-skills and concepts across screening and diagnostic workflows.
For a complete domain map and sample reporting views, request the full framework from our team.
Request full sub-skill frameworkRoot Compass is an evidence-based tool built upon the Science of Reading. While most schools use universal screening to identify which students are at risk for reading difficulties, Root Compass is designed to follow those pre-assessments and pinpoint exactly where support is needed within foundational literacy.
A pre-assessment tells you who is at risk; Root Compass helps clarify why. It illuminates specific foundational literacy gaps in decoding and word recognition that prevent a student from reaching word-level fluency. By targeting the Word Recognition strands of Scarborough's Reading Rope, Root Compass helps teams prioritize instruction with greater precision.
Reading comprehension can be understood through the Simple View of Reading model (Gough & Tunmer, 1986):
RC = D x LC
RC (Reading Comprehension) = D (Decoding/Word Recognition) x LC (Language Comprehension)
Students need both accurate word reading and language understanding for comprehension to occur. English is morphophonemic, meaning the writing system represents both sound (phonemes) and meaning (morphemes).
Root Compass is designed to maximize the decoding variable through a systematic assessment approach.
Root Compass tracks 497 sub-skills and concepts across screening and diagnostic workflows.
For a complete domain map and sample reporting views, request the full framework from our team.
Request full sub-skill frameworkA dedicated portal captures stroke formation and line placement for letters and numbers as trackable data.
Letter naming, sequencing, and accurate letter/number identification across varied fonts.
Letter-sound correspondence, irregular high-frequency words, and basic/advanced phonograms.
Syllable types, spelling concepts, and morphology (common prefixes and suffixes).
To isolate and measure decoding ability, words are presented in isolation using both real and nonsense words in one-syllable and multisyllabic structures. The model is intentionally rapid for teachers and precise for students.
1. The Pulse
A rapid, three-part assessment that typically takes less than five minutes:
2. The Precision
Students flagged by the pre-assessment move to 33 discrete diagnostics that pinpoint the exact sub-skill breakdown.
Each diagnostic includes four equivalent forms (A-D), supporting valid progress monitoring while reducing test familiarity effects.
Traditional screeners are useful first signals, but they often stop before the specific literacy component a teacher needs to address. Root Compass follows those signals with targeted diagnostics across the foundational skills that shape reading growth.
| Literacy Component | Standard Screeners | Root Compass's Comprehensive Diagnostic | Why This Matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| RAN | Present | Information is gathered from a screener | Measures rapid mental retrieval speed; cannot pinpoint precise word recognition gaps. |
| Phonemic Awareness | Present | Information is gathered from a screener | Flags critical oral sound-blending risks; however, phonemic data alone cannot pinpoint which specific letter-sounds, phonograms, or morphemes are stalling decoding. |
| Handwriting | Not present | Present | Letters and numbers formed slowly or incorrectly stall working memory during independent writing and decoding. |
| Print Identification | Administer diagnostics to determine root cause | Present | Screeners don't test every letter or font variation - unfamiliar typography can cause students to misidentify otherwise known words. |
| Alphabet Knowledge | Administer diagnostics to determine root cause | Present | Heavily predicts a child's later success with decoding, spelling, and reading comprehension. |
| Sound-Symbol Mastery | Administer diagnostics to determine root cause | Present | Screeners flag general letter-sound risks but cannot pinpoint exactly which correspondences are unmapped to drive daily targeted instruction. |
| High Frequency Words | Administer diagnostics to determine root cause | Present | Screeners flag a general risk; a complete diagnostic assesses all common irregular words to pinpoint exact mastery. |
| Decoding | Administer diagnostics to determine root cause | Present | Screeners flag overall decoding gaps but lack diagnostic data on the specific phonograms required for basic, advanced, and multisyllable word reading. |
| Vocabulary | Present | Information is gathered from a screener | Measures language and word meaning, but cannot identify students unable to decode the word itself. |
| Comprehension | Present | Information is gathered from a screener | Flags students reading below grade level; doesn't reveal why they are struggling. |