Stephanie Stollar Consulting

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Terrace Park, OH
Stephanie Stollar Consulting

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

10/29/2026

Want to dig into what stronger K-2 instruction can look like in practice?

Join my co-authors and me for a day of bringing Routines for Reading Results to life with our in-person workshop.

You’ll have dedicated time to plan for implementation, so you leave with practical next steps you can bring back to your setting.

Registration includes your copy of the book, a participant guide, breakfast, lunch, snacks, and 6.5 contact hours.

Teams of 5+ can save 15% with code TEAM15RRR.

Register here: https://www.routinesforreadingresults.com/workshop

10/27/2026

What do you do when a student can read grade-level text accurately and fluently, but still isn’t understanding what they read?

That screening pattern gives you important information.

If word recognition appears strong but reading comprehension is weak, it may be time to look more closely at the student’s language comprehension skills.

I’m an assessment nerd, and I’m a big fan of The Acadience Reading Diagnostic: Comprehension, Fluency, & Oral Language (CFOL).

(I even wrote a book about reading assessment: https://a.co/d/0gKEahDm)

CFOL is helpful when:

✅ You’ve completed the Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) screening.

🤔 You have students reading accurately and fluently at their grade level, but struggling with comprehension.

📢 You know you’re not dealing with a word recognition problem but a language comprehension problem.

The CFOL diagnostic steps in perfectly here to help you understand which aspects of language comprehension are tripping up your student.

Watch the video to learn how to move from ORF screening to the CFOL diagnostic.

Tell me in the comments: 👇

Have you seen this screening pattern before?

What diagnostic assessments are you currently using to investigate language comprehension?

10/23/2026

I love sitting down with Melissa and Lori to talk about literacy.

My co-author This Mom Loves by Kate Winn and I joined the podcast to talk about our book Reading Assessment Done Right.

We dig into where assessment can go off track, what educators should be looking for instead, and how to make the data you collect more useful in practice.

At the end of the day, reading assessment is worth our effort if it helps us make better instructional decisions for students.

Listen to the episode wherever you get your podcasts! 🎧

10/23/2026

I'm excited to be presenting about MTSS at the NOBIDA Conference on November 2 in Akron, Ohio. I hope to see you there! https://nobida.memberclicks.net/annual-symposium

10/22/2026

Dyslexia awareness has come a long way, but some outdated ideas still shape how dyslexia is approached in schools.

As awareness grows and definitions evolve, educators can be left wondering what they should do when they’re concerned about a student.

Let’s clear up a few common questions:

1️⃣ True or False: A single screening test can identify dyslexia.

❌ False

No single screening test determines whether a student has dyslexia. Use screening, direct reading measures, and progress monitoring to identify risk and guide support.

2️⃣ True or False: You can change instruction for a student suspected of having dyslexia before a formal diagnosis is confirmed.

✔️ True

Schools have a legal responsibility to find and serve students with learning disabilities, including dyslexia. Parents should be told that they don’t have to pay for a private evaluation. Schools can partner with families to take action at the first sign of concern. Act early.

3️⃣ An IQ score can identify dyslexia.

❌ False

The old discrepancy model relied on a gap between IQ and reading scores, but that approach was debunked. Direct reading data and response to intervention are more useful.

4️⃣ You should tell families if you have concerns about their child’s reading performance or progress.

✔️ True

Early communication makes a difference. If you see signs of dyslexia, be specific about your concerns, explain what the school is doing, and invite families into the support plan.

Want more tools to help you support students? Unlock my free PreK–12 Resource Library.

https://www.stephaniestollar.com/prek-12/free-resources?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Post&utm_campaign=26_10_22_Dyslexia

10/21/2026

Should every student receive the exact same instruction at the same time, just because they’re in the same grade?

Direct Instruction takes a different approach.

Instead of starting with a student’s age or grade level, instruction starts with the next skill they need to learn in the instructional sequence.

Every classroom has variance in readiness for skills.

Teaching everyone the same lesson can leave some students repeating skills they’ve already mastered while others are asked to apply skills before the necessary prerequisites are in place.

In this Direct Instruction myth-busting video, I’m talking specifically about the instructional rationale behind skill-based groups.

You’ll learn:

▪️ Why starting at the lowest unmastered skill can help students learn more efficiently.
▪️ Why relatively homogeneous groups can progress faster.
▪️ Why “covering” grade-level content isn’t the same as students learning it

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

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

10/15/2026

It’s here!

https://www.apmreports.org/episode/2026/10/15/sold-a-story-s2-e1-its-not-just-reading

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

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