Stephanie Stollar Consulting

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Stephanie Stollar Consulting I support educators to improve reading outcomes through learning and using the science of reading.

Universal screening is not a special ed referral machine. 🙅‍♀️When 30%, 40%, or 50% of a grade is below benchmark, the f...
10/20/2026

Universal screening is not a special ed referral machine. 🙅‍♀️

When 30%, 40%, or 50% of a grade is below benchmark, the first question should be:

👉 “What needs to change in Tier 1?”

In most systems, the response to below-benchmark screening results is to send the low-scoring students to Tier 2.

That’s a recipe for overwhelming the very system meant to help them.

✨Intervention works best when Tier 1 reduces how many students need it in the first place.

Ask yourself and your team:

1️⃣ Is Tier 1 instruction aligned to the research?
2️⃣ Is Tier 1 instruction matched to the needs of the students in front of you?
3️⃣ Is Tier 1 effectively increasing the percentage of on-track students over time?

If your answer is “no” to any of these questions, screening tells you what’s next.

🙋 Screening should trigger better questions, not just more groups.

Drop your questions in the comments, save this post for your next data meeting, and share it with your team.

10/15/2026

“Children learn by doing” sounds right. But what happens when we ask students to apply a skill before the prerequisite skills are firmly in place?

In this installment of my Direct Instruction Myths series, I encourage educators to pay close attention to the instructional hierarchy:

1. Students need to perform skills accurately.
2. Then they need to perform the skill with increasing automaticity.
3. Then, and only then, can they use those skills successfully in more complex tasks.

In this Direct Instruction myth-busting video, I’m unpacking the importance of accuracy and automaticity, what can happen when we move to application too soon, and how looking beneath a difficult task can help us identify the prerequisite skill a student still needs.

📖 Explore the instructional hierarchy and 60+ evidence-based literacy routines in Routines for Reading Results: https://amzn.to/4zffllg

What could be different a month from now?You could still be looking at screening data and wondering:🤔 Who needs what?🤔 H...
10/14/2026

What could be different a month from now?

You could still be looking at screening data and wondering:

🤔 Who needs what?
🤔 How should I group students?
🤔 What should instruction look like next?

Or you could have a clear process for turning that data into skill-based Tier 1 groups and matching students with the instruction they need.

We’re turning data into action that gets results during Meet the Need: A Skill-Based Tier 1 Series, starting tomorrow inside Reading Science Academy.

If you’ve been waiting for the right time to join, this is it.

Join Reading Science Academy now so you’re inside when Meet the Need begins tomorrow:

https://www.stephaniestollarconsulting.com/register?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Post&utm_campaign=26_10_14_RSA_Promo

Percentiles and benchmarks are two different data points.1️⃣ A percentile tells you how a student performed compared to ...
10/13/2026

Percentiles and benchmarks are two different data points.

1️⃣ A percentile tells you how a student performed compared to a norm group.

If they’re at the 75th percentile, they performed better than 75% of the students in that group.

2️⃣ A benchmark asks if a student’s current performance is high enough to predict adequate future outcomes.

Think of it like a “you must be this tall to ride” sign.

A 4-year-old can be very tall compared to other 4-year-olds and still not meet the minimum height requirement.

The same thing can happen with reading data.

A student might outperform many of their peers while still scoring below the benchmark associated with being on track for future success.

That’s why, for intervention teams, % at benchmark is often one of the most useful metrics to watch.

It tells you how many students are currently on track, and how many aren’t there yet.

When you’re making instructional decisions, make sure you know which question your data answers: percentile or % at benchmark.

For more support, access my free PreK-12 Resource Library, full of tools to help you make data-based instructional decisions: https://www.stephaniestollar.com/prek-12/free-resources?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Post&utm_campaign=26_10_13_Assessment

Are your groups just a glorified seating arrangement?Make your groups work harder by leaning on them to make informed in...
10/08/2026

Are your groups just a glorified seating arrangement?

Make your groups work harder by leaning on them to make informed instructional decisions with the adults, time, and resources you already have.

We’re working through it all in Meet the Need, starting October 15 inside Reading Science Academy.

I’m challenging educators to think about skill-based groups in the context of the adults available.

❓ Who teaches which skill?
❓ Which students need the smallest group?
❓ Where can you combine across classrooms?

In Meet the Need, you’ll get a Grouping & Instruction Decision Guide built for real schools.

I created it with all scenarios in mind, whether you’re one teacher trying this alone, two teachers teaming up, or have a whole grade level on board.

Start with your resources, then build the best model you can.

Meet the Need starts October 15 with a Masterclass, Cheat Sheet, and Q&A Session focused exclusively on getting results from your assessment-driven skill-based groups.

Join now to work through these decisions with us live, then keep going with your full access to the Reading Science Academy membership.

https://www.stephaniestollarconsulting.com/register?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Post&utm_campaign=26_10_08_Research_Real_Talk

10/07/2026

A student gets the answer right. Is it time to move on? 🤔

Accuracy is an important milestone in learning, but students also need enough successful practice for new skills and strategies to become quick, stable, and easy to apply.

That matters especially for students who need more repetitions to learn. When we move into more difficult material while foundational skills are still effortful, students have to manage the new challenge while still thinking hard about the old one.

In this Direct Instruction myth-busting video, I’m talking about what practice to mastery looks like, why Direct Instruction begins with easier patterns, and how mastery prepares students to apply what they’ve learned as reading becomes more complex.

📚 Want 60+ practical, evidence-based literacy routines you can use with your students as early as tomorrow? Get your copy of Routines for Reading Results here: https://amzn.to/4zffllg

👍 Like this video, subscribe to Reading Science Academy, and keep an eye out for the rest of the Direct Instruction Myth series.

Do you want your data to look different this year?You’re in a critical window right now. It’s only October.You have begi...
10/06/2026

Do you want your data to look different this year?

You’re in a critical window right now. It’s only October.

You have beginning-of-year data, most of the school year ahead of you, and the opportunity to change the trajectory of students’ reading progress before gaps get wider.

The biggest question I want you to answer in Meet the Need is:

💡 What is this data telling you to change about Tier 1?

Meet the Need is built around the work already sitting in front of you:

📈 Your screening results
👥 Your groups
✏️ Your instructional decisions
🧑‍🏫 Your staffing realities
🧒 Your students

Instead of adding more theory, Meet the Need helps you make better decisions now.

Here’s how it will work:

1️⃣ October 15: “Find the Need in Tier 1”

In the live Masterclass, I’ll help you move from screening results to instructional decisions.

- Which students need which next skill?
- What patterns are showing up?
- Does your current Tier 1 make sense for the skills in front of you?

2️⃣ October 22: “Meet the Need in Tier 1”

The Grouping & Instruction Decision Guide is a cheat sheet that you can fill in with your data to determine exactly who needs the same next skill, how large the groups should be, which instructional approach fits, and how to make it happen with the adults you have available.

3️⃣ November 5: “Make It Work in Tier 1”

The Make It Work Q&A Session is where you’ll bring the messy parts of implementation and problem-solve them with me, along with your fellow Reading Science Academy members.

Our collective goal is to give all students the instruction they need, often enough to make meaningful progress.

🎯 Meet the Need is your starting point.

When you join, you’re a Reading Science Academy member. You’ll have access to the full scope of the membership:

Masterclasses, Cheat Sheets, Office Hours, Substitute Teacher sessions, and a trusted community of educators in ongoing, searchable conversations.

📍 Meet the Need is your way in.

There’s still plenty of Tier 1 left to teach. Join Reading Science Academy now and work through it with us live.

We start October 15.

Join here: https://www.stephaniestollarconsulting.com/register?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Post&utm_campaign=26_10_06_RSA_Promo

If you think Emily Hanford’s new podcast is going to reveal something new, watch this. The results of Direct Instruction...
10/04/2026

If you think Emily Hanford’s new podcast is going to reveal something new, watch this. The results of Direct Instruction have been known for decades.

“Even more politically incorrect, kids are grouped by skill.”

https://youtu.be/UMCJ_AGZiho?is=hKILsjXk3QZwuzdx

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