Educational Assessments
Educational testing and assessments in Barrington and Wheaton
A report card tells you there is a problem. A diagnostic tells you which skill caused it. Every plan we build starts with an assessment, because tutoring aimed at the wrong gap is expensive and slow.
The diagnostic
Educational assessments measure four things that matter
Which pieces apply depends on why you called. Each one points toward a specific program rather than a generic package of hours.
- Reading and decoding
- Whether a struggling reader is missing the phonics and decoding system underneath the words, or reading accurately and losing the meaning.
- Structured literacy intervention
- Math foundations
- Which prerequisite skill broke down. A student stuck in Algebra II is often standing on a fraction or exponent gap from years earlier.
- Weekly subject tutoring
- ACT and SAT readiness
- A scored, section-by-section baseline from a full official practice test, separating content gaps from pacing and strategy losses.
- ACT & SAT test prep
- Work habits and organization
- Whether the lost points come from the material or from planning, note-taking, and follow-through around the material.
- Study skills coaching
Two starting points
Assessments that begin our two flagship programs
First practice test free
The official ACT or SAT practice test
Your student sits a full official practice test under real timing conditions at no cost. The scored results come back broken out by section, which is what makes it possible to tell a content gap apart from a pacing problem. Prep is then sequenced around whichever sections have the most room to move.
Now enrolling
The baseline reading assessment
Every student entering Take Flight: A Comprehensive Intervention for Students with Dyslexia starts here, at the Barrington Learning Center where the program runs. The baseline measures decoding, fluency, and comprehension, so you can see the starting picture in plain numbers. Every student then begins at lesson 1, whatever the baseline shows. Programs are quoted after a free consultation.
About dyslexia & reading interventionAfter the diagnostic
What happens once the assessment is scored
You hear the results in plain language, along with an honest read on what it will take. Nothing gets scheduled until you have that conversation.
Ask about an assessment: (847) 305-2952- 1
We read the results with you
Section by section, in language that names the actual skill rather than a score band.
- 2
We put a plan on paper
Which skills come first, how often sessions run, and what you should expect to see change.
- 3
You decide what happens next
No contracts and no pressure. Start weekly sessions, or take the information and think about it.
Assessment questions
What parents ask about educational assessments
What is an educational assessment?
An educational assessment is a diagnostic that measures what a student can already do and where the gaps sit, in enough detail to teach from. It looks past the letter grade on the report card and identifies the specific skills that are missing, which is what makes a tutoring plan targeted instead of general.
Does the assessment cost anything?
Your first official ACT or SAT practice test is free. For reading intervention, the baseline reading assessment is part of a program quoted after a free consultation. Call (847) 305-2952 and we will tell you exactly what applies to your student before anything gets scheduled.
Do we need school testing or a diagnosis first?
No. Families come to us with a full evaluation in hand, with a vague sense that something is wrong, and with everything in between. Our own diagnostic gives us what we need to begin, and when you do have school or clinical reports, bring them and we will build around what they already found.
What do we get out of the assessment?
You get a plain-language explanation of where your student stands, which specific skills are holding the rest back, and what a plan to address them looks like. That conversation happens before you commit to a schedule, so you can decide with real information.
Does this replace a school or clinical evaluation?
Our diagnostics are teaching tools that shape a tutoring plan. A formal school or clinical evaluation serves a different purpose, including eligibility for accommodations, and we work happily alongside one when a family has it. If a full evaluation seems like the right next step, we will say so.
Where does the assessment happen?
At the Barrington Learning Center or the Wheaton Learning Center, in your home, or online, the same as tutoring sessions. Practice tests are usually done at a center, where timing conditions match the real thing. The baseline reading assessment happens at the Barrington Learning Center, because that is where the reading program runs.
Explore our other tutoring programs
Start with an honest baseline.
A diagnostic first, then a plan built on what your student actually needs.