S11 E4: Universal screening, explained, with Carrie Thomas Beck, Ph.D.

Universal screening is one of the most powerful tools in a Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS)—yet too often, it's also one of the most underutilized. That's what CORE Learning's Senior Director of Learning and Development Carrie Thomas Beck, Ph.D., explores with host Susan Lambert, Ed.D., on this new episode of Science of Reading: The Podcast. Together, Carrie and Susan discuss what universal screening is and why it's essential to any MTSS; how to use screening data to form groups and drive targeted instruction; how screener data reveals both individual student risk and the health of your system at the grade, building, and district level; and what a structured data-review protocol looks like in practice.

Show notes:

• Find more Science of Reading resources on scienceofreading.amplify.com.
• Register for our upcoming Science of Reading program webinar series: Reading Comprehension in Action.
• Subscribe to Susan's new Science of Reading Substack.
• Explore the NCII Academic Screening Tools Chart.

Quotes:

"The other important question that universal screening data answers is: What is the health of your system?" —Carrie Thomas Beck

"If you're going to review data and not have action steps, there's really no point." —Carrie Thomas Beck

"If we're not serving a particular subgroup of students well, we really need to look at what we need to change with our instruction so that we can do a better job." —Carrie Thomas Beck

"Let's not admire data. Let's act on it." —Carrie Thomas Beck