
Course Overview
Linking Assessment to Instruction with a Structured Literacy Approach
Linking Assessment to Instruction with a Structured Literacy Approach
This interactive course, designed for educators with backgrounds in structured literacy or Orton-Gillingham, focuses on the link between assessment and instruction to help you better meet students’ unique needs as learners.
In this course, you will learn how to use data obtained through informal and formal testing to enhance instruction using a structured literacy or Orton-Gillingham (OG) Approach. You’ll explore different profiles of dyslexia together with comorbid conditions, such as specific language impairments and ADHD. You’ll discuss and dissect test scores and data, looking beyond the scores to examine what tests actually measure, and use this knowledge as a foundation for lesson planning and instruction.
Linking Assessment to Instruction with a Structured Literacy Approach will help you develop a deeper understanding of the history and origins of the English language and a broad historical view of literacy education in America. You will also explore the role that the OG Approach has played in the origins of structured literacy.
Educators working toward their Orton-Gillingham Certified Level will obtain 37 hours of coursework.
Who is this course for?
This course is designed for K–12 teachers, special Educators, reading specialists, literacy coaches, and tutors with prior coursework in Orton-Gillingham or IDA accredited course in structured literacy. Please see the prerequisites for details.
Course description
Course Goals:
Examples of topics covered in the course:
- The history of the English language and literacy education in America, and why this history has important instructional implications in our schools
- What should be included in a comprehensive reading evaluation, and why
- The oral/written language connection
- Tools for assessment, screening, and monitoring progress
- Dyslexia: past and current research and comorbidity of related disorders, including ADHD and specific language impairment
- Phonological awareness and orthographic processing
- Executive function and reading comprehension
- The history of the Orton-Gillingham Approach and structured literacy
Course Expectations:
All participants (regardless of taking the class for graduate credit) will:
- Download and print the required course binder and assigned articles
- Purchase the required books for this course (see below)
- Attend all class meetings live online for their full duration
- Complete asynchronous and homework assignments between classes
Practicum:
The Stern Center’s Orton-Gillingham Institute cannot accept new Certified Level practicum educators for the 2023–24 school year. You can email Peggy Price at pprice@sterncenter.org with any additional questions.
Required Materials:
The following books are required if you are taking the course for graduate credit and/or pursuing OG Certified Level Practicum:
- Farrall, Melissa L., Reading Assessment: Linking Language, Literacy, and Cognition. (2012). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley and Sons. (Approximately $60.95)
- Farrall, Melissa L., et al. Wrightslaw: All About Tests and Assessments: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions. Harbor House Law Press, 2018. (Approximately $14.95)
Prerequisites:
To be eligible for this course, you must have either: Previous OG coursework (30 hours or more) through the Stern Center, another accredited OGA training program, or IDA accredited program. If you took your training with another OGA or IDA-accredited program, please have a certificate of attendance ready to upload when you register.
Examples of qualifying Stern Center OG coursework include:
- Introduction to the OG Approach or OG Classroom Educator (five-day course)
- OG Associate Level
OR
- Other credentials accredited by the International Dyslexia Association. Click here to view a full list.
- Have documentation of your credentials ready to upload when you register.
- Please note: only the credentials listed on IDA’s website qualify (e.g., for the Wilson Reading System, you must have obtained WRS Level 1 Certification by completing the yearlong training.
- Please note that one-day workshops/webinars do not qualify as coursework.
Participants seeking Orton-Gillingham Certified Level training should already be certified at the Associate Level by the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators. Please contact the instructor with questions about OG Certified Level training.
Dates
2023:
July 31 | 9:15 AM–3:30 PM ET
Aug 1 | 9:15 AM–3:30 PM ET
Aug 2 | 9:15 AM–3:30 PM ET
Aug 3 | 9:15 AM–3:30 PM ET
Sept 28 | 1:00–3:30 PM ET
Oct 12 | 1:00–3:30 PM ET
Oct 26 | 1:00–3:30 PM ET
Nov 9 | 1:00–3:30 PM ET
Nov 30 |1:00–3:30 PM ET
Course Number(s)
1403
Location and Format
Cost
$1,320
When you register for the course, apply for grant funding—which can reduce tuition by 20%.
Grade Level
Audience
Graduate Credit
Peggy Price, M.Ed., Fellow/OGA
Director of the Orton-Gillingham Institute at the Stern Center
Melissa Farrall, Ph.D., SAIF
Director of Evaluations
What Teachers Have to Say
Meet the Instructor(s)
Peggy Price, M.Ed., Fellow/OGA
Director of the Orton-Gillingham Institute at the Stern Center
Peggy Price, M.Ed., Fellow/OGA, is the Director of the Orton-Gillingham Institute at the Stern Center. She provides training at the Orton-Gillingham (OG) Classroom Educator, Associate, and Certified levels in addition to a broad array of OG workshops and webinars. Price oversees a talented team of OG Fellows who assist her with district-wide consulting and providing […]
Melissa Farrall, Ph.D., SAIF
Director of Evaluations
Melissa Farrall, Ph.D., Program Manager for Evaluation, is the author of Reading Assessment: Linking Language, Literacy, and Cognition, and the co-author of All About Tests & Assessments published by Wrightslaw. Dr. Farrall is Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Neurological Sciences at University of Vermont College of Medicine. She presents nationally on topics related […]
Frequently Asked Questions
What terms and conditions are there for professional learning registrations?
Please read the terms and conditions for our courses and workshops and contact us if you have any questions.
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I want to apply for tuition funding. When and how do I do this?
The Stern Center’s Cynthia K. Hoehl Institute for Excellence (CKHIE) provides grants to reduce the cost of our programs for educators, helping to make vital professional learning more readily accessible. When you register for a course or workshop, we’ll ask if you want to apply for grant funding. Select “Yes,” and we’ll ask how the grant will help your work as an educator. You will be required to submit a paragraph or two about your professional learning goals.
After you apply for funding, we’ll calculate the amount of your grant and subtract it from the cost of the course or workshop. Most grants provide 20% off of tuition.
You can read more about applying for grant funding here.
Can OG be used in the classroom for general education purposes?
The Orton-Gillingham Classroom Educator is qualified to apply the principles of the Orton-Gillingham Approach to modify and provide literacy instruction in a classroom or small groups. To become an Orton-Gillingham Classroom Educator, you must have a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution, do 30 hours of coursework by a Fellow or a Fellow-in-Training, and 50 hours of supervised practicum over eight consecutive months.
How can I become certified in Orton-Gillingham?
The prerequisites to become certified in OG include earning a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution and satisfactory completion of Associate-level requirements; 100 hours minimum of coursework by a Fellow, or by a Fellow in Training as designated by the Fellow; and 200 hours supervised practicum over two academic years minimum, which includes ten entire 4–60 minute lesson observations of the trainee by a Fellow on-site, unedited video or web-based applications.
Is Orton-Gillingham a program?
A program is a plan, schedule or procedure to be followed to a specified end. A program provides structure but doesn’t teach and educator how to respond to different student errors and tailor each lesson based on student performance and individual learning needs.
An approach is the means adapted to tackling an issue. Orton-Gillingham is an instructional approach. It is most properly understood and practiced as an approach, not a method, program, system, or technique. In the hands of a well-trained and experienced instructor, it is a powerful tool of exceptional breadth, depth, and flexibility.
What is the Orton-Gillingham Approach?
The Orton-Gillingham Approach is the underlying foundation of all multisensory, structured language instruction. Orton-Gillingham (OG) systematically teaches the structure of the English language by incorporating multisensory modalities in a structured yet flexible approach, ensuring student success. The Stern Center’s Orton-Gillingham Institute is the only organization in Vermont that provides OG training accredited by the Orton-Gillingham Academy. We offer coursework and practicum opportunities toward three certifications: OG Classroom Educator, OG Associate Level, and OG Certified Level.
Orton-Gillingham Resources

Orton-Gillingham Approach
Ensure every child becomes a reader with this powerful, multisensory approach to literacy instruction.

Orton-Gilligham Training
View upcoming Orton-Gillingham courses, workshops, and webinars. All of our OG trainings are available online.

OG Certification
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