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Reliable, Research-Based Assessment Solutions to Support Reading and Math

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Powerful and Insightful Assessment Solutions

Acadience® offers universal benchmark screening assessments and progress-monitoring solutions for reading preK–8 and math K–6. Acadience provides educators with assessment tools to support data-driven instructional decisions, monitor the effectiveness of instruction, and improve student outcomes.

Acadience teacher with books
Acadience teacher and student

A Comprehensive Suite of Assessments

Every student learns differently. With the right tools to help identify which students need extra support, every student can succeed.

These solutions feature quick, reliable, and valid measures for all students that indicate if they are on track for reading and math success and help pinpoint where they are struggling.

Efficiently Supports the Outcomes-Driven Model

With an Outcomes-Driven Model:

  • Data are used to make instructional decisions based on student need
  • Educators are empowered to make data-based decisions consistent with the Response to Intervention (RtI) and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) framework
  • Data is used to target instruction and improve student outcomes
Acadience - Benchmark Asessment

Powerful Assessment Authored by Renowned Researchers

For more than 25 years, Dr. Roland Good III, and Dr. Ruth Kaminski* have committed their careers to creating assessments and tools that help educators improve outcomes for students and schools. The Acadience suite is a culmination of ongoing research and development with consistent and renowned researchers.

*Drs. Good and Kaminski are not associated with any new measures under the DIBELS name, such as DIBELS 8th Edition.

Dr. Roland Good
Dr. Roland Good III
Dr. Roland Good
Dr. Roland Good III

Roland H. Good III, Ph.D., is co-author of Acadience® Reading (also published under the name DIBELS Next®), as well as earlier versions of the DIBELS® assessment. He earned his doctorate from Pennsylvania State University in School Psychology and served two years as a school psychologist. For the past 25 years, Dr. Good has led the program of Research and Development culminating in the Acadience Reading measures. Dr. Good has provided professional development about the use of these measures to educators and administrators throughout the United States. He has served on editorial boards for School Psychology Review, School Psychology Quarterly, and the Journal of Special Education, and has presented more than 100 papers at national conferences. In 2005, Penn State awarded Dr. Good its Excellence in Education award, in recognition of his contributions to the field of education.

Learn more about Dr. Roland Good III
Dr. Ruth Kaminski
Dr. Ruth Kaminski
Dr. Ruth Kaminski
Dr. Ruth Kaminski

Dr. Ruth Kaminski, is co-author of Acadience® Reading (previously published as DIBELS Next®) and the co-founder of Acadience Learning. Dr. Kaminski is also the lead author of the early childhood literacy assessment, Acadience®Reading Pre-K: PELI®. Dr. Kaminski’s academic background includes degrees in speech pathology, early childhood special education, and school psychology. She has conducted research on assessment and preventative interventions for preschool and early elementary age children for the past 30 years. Dr. Kaminski has extensive experience consulting with Head Start agencies and public schools throughout the United States and abroad. In addition, Dr. Kaminski brings more than a decade of experience as a classroom teacher and speech/language clinician with preschool-age children.

Learn more about Dr. Ruth Kaminski
Dr. Kelly A. Powell-Smith
Dr. Kelly A. Powell-Smith
Dr. Kelly A. Powell-Smith
Dr. Kelly A. Powell-Smith

Kelly A. Powell-Smith, Ph.D., NCSP, Professor of Reading Science at Mount St. Joseph University. Dr. Powell-Smith is the former Chief Science Officer at Acadience Learning. Dr. Powell-Smith is the lead author on Acadience RAN, Acadience Reading Survey, Acadience Reading Diagnostic assessments, and Acadience Spelling. She obtained her doctorate in school psychology from the University of Oregon. She has served as an Associate Professor of School Psychology at the University of South Florida, faculty associate of the Florida Center for Reading Research, and consultant with the Eastern Regional Reading First Technical Assistance Center. She currently serves on several editorial boards including School Psychology Review, School Psychology Forum, and Single-Case in the Social Sciences. Her work has been cited in more than 200 professional journals. Dr. Powell-Smith has provided training in assessment and intervention in 23 states and Canada and conducted 285 national, state, and regional workshops and presentations. 

Learn more about Dr. Kelly A. Powell-Smith
Dr. Mary Abbott
Dr. Mary Abbott
Dr. Mary Abbott
Dr. Mary Abbott

Mary Abbott, Ph.D., is co-author of both Acadience® Reading 7–8 with Dr. Roland Good and Preschool Early Literacy Indicators (PELI) with Dr. Ruth Kaminski. Dr. Abbott received her Ph.D. from the University of Kansas (KU) in 2000 and became KU research scientist at Juniper Gardens Children’s Project which is an internationally known research facility. Her research experiences at KU included Co-Principal Investigator and Principal Investigator on six different literacy-instruction-related research projects. Dr. Abbott is well published in peer-referred journals and has conducted more than 120 literacy instruction trainings for educators with teaching responsibilities ranging from preschool through adult literacy. In addition, Dr. Abbott has created numerous curricula and research assessment tools.

Learn more about Dr. Mary Abbott
Dr. Courtney Wheeler
Dr. Courtney Wheeler
Dr. Courtney Wheeler
Dr. Courtney Wheeler
Courtney Wheeler, Ph.D., is a Research Associate at the University of Minnesota and formerly worked as a Senior Research Scientist at Acadience Learning. Since obtaining her doctorate from the University of Oregon in School Psychology, she has been drawn to conducting research that has practical implications for individual children and the larger system they are a part of. She has more than 15 years' experience in measurement development, technical assistance, professional development, program management, research design conceptualization, data collection, and quantitative and qualitative data analysis. Dr. Wheeler is the lead author of the Acadience® Math assessment. She states, “Through using data and evaluation, we can advance educational equity and ensure all children have equal access to high-quality education.”
Learn more about Dr. Courtney Wheeler

Featured Resources

Bringing the Science of Reading to Light Using MTSS - Webinar

Bringing the Science of Reading to Light Using MTSS: One School's Story

Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) offer the framework for implementing the science of reading. Improving reading outcomes for all students requires building leaders who create the right conditions for learning, including designing systems for data-based decision-making, assessment, scheduling, and grouping.

Watch as our experts share how and why reading outcomes improved in a high-needs elementary school through the alignment of instructional systems and student data.

Watch the Webinar
dyslexia-screening

Meaningful Assessment—And Why It Is Critical for Reading Success

In this podcast, Dr. Ruth Kaminski, coauthor of Acadience Reading K–6 and other respected assessments, will discuss the many aspects of assessment that make it a meaningful and essential tool for preventing reading disabilities and promoting reading success.

Dr. Kaminski discusses the reasons educators should rely upon assessment for curriculum alignment, progress monitoring, and classroom planning.

Listen Now
The Power of Prevention - Webinar

The Power of Prevention: The Critical Need for Assessment

In this webinar, Dr. Ruth Kaminski, co-author of Acadience Reading K–6 (formerly known as DIBELS), discusses what we know about the prevention of reading failure. She shares practical advice about methods to prevent reading failure, all of which are grounded in the science of reading, with an emphasis on the role of assessment.

Watch to become familiar with a prevention-oriented model of reading disability, learn practical strategies for preventing reading disabilities, and understand the critical role of assessment in the prevention of reading disabilities.

Watch the Webinar