
Course Overview
Orton-Gillingham: Diagnostic Assessment Workshop Series
Orton-Gillingham: Diagnostic Assessment Workshop Series
Assessment is a critical component of designing effective instruction. Effective literacy instruction demands that educators have a deep understanding of the developmental progression of reading skills and know how to link assessment to instruction. This workshop series provides participants with a detailed Orton-Gillingham (OG) scope and sequence for grades K–2.
Participants will learn how to administer a comprehensive diagnostic assessment that can be used as a universal assessment for students in grades K–2. This assessment battery can also be used with struggling readers to determine a starting place for OG instruction and ongoing progress monitoring.
Who is this course for?
This course is designed for K–2 Teachers, K–12 Special Educators, Reading Specialists, Literacy Coaches, and Tutors with prior coursework in Orton-Gillingham or IDA-accredited programs. Please see the prerequisites for details.
Course description
Workshop materials include a digital copy of Orton-Gillingham for the K–2 Classroom: Weekly Guide and Universal Assessment, Second Edition. This 300+ page guide includes the assessments to be given at the beginning, middle, and end of the year for kindergarten through second-grade students and with any struggling reader.
Participants will receive 12 professional development hours. This workshop counts toward Orton-Gillingham Academy CEU requirements. It also counts toward OG Certified training for those with Associate Level membership through the OG Academy.
Areas to be covered:
- How and when to administer this OG-based assessment
- Error analysis
- Progress monitoring for struggling readers
- OG scope and sequence designed for Tier 1 instruction for grades K–2 with embedded word lists
- Yearly reading goals for grades K–2 aligned with Common Core State Standards
- Research on reading development
- A developmentally appropriate progression from decodable to authentic text
Skills Assessed:
- Phonological and Phonemic Awareness
- Alphabet Recognition
- Letter-Sound Recognition
- Handwriting and Alphabetical Order
- Reading: Decoding Skills, including real and pseudowords, sight words, and decodable sentences, passages, and fill-in-the-blank sentences
- Spelling: Isolated words and sentence dictation
Prerequisites: To be eligible for this workshop, you must have either:
- Previous OG coursework (30 hours or more) through the Stern Center, another OGA-accredited training program, OGA Fellow, 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: Classroom Educator (5-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 do not qualify as coursework.)
Dates
2023
Aug 18 | 8:30 AM–3:30 PM ET
Nov 15 | 12:30–3:30 PM ET
2024
Jan 24 | 12:30–3:30 PM ET
Course Number(s)
1405
Location and Format
Cost
$600
When you register for the workshop, apply for grant funding—which can reduce tuition by 20%.
Grade Level
Audience
Amy Ducey, M.Ed., Fellow in Training/OGA
Assistant Director of the Orton-Gillingham Institute
What Teachers Have to Say
Meet the Instructor(s)
Amy Ducey, M.Ed., Fellow in Training/OGA
Assistant Director of the Orton-Gillingham Institute
Amy Ducey, M.Ed., a Fellow in Training of the prestigious Orton-Gillingham Academy, is the Assistant Director of the Orton-Gillingham Institute. She provides training at the Orton-Gillingham Classroom Educator, Associate, and Certified levels, in addition to various literacy workshops and webinars. She teaches graduate-level courses and has created curriculum and assessment materials for universal screening and […]
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

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