McGraw Hill adds Stanford-developed ROAR literacy screener under exclusive agreement

The online assessment spans kindergarten through 12th grade in English and Spanish

McGraw Hill is adding the Stanford-developed ROAR reading and dyslexia screener to its K-12 literacy portfolio.

McGraw Hill will exclusively integrate the Stanford-developed Rapid Online Assessment of Reading, known as ROAR, into its K-12 literacy portfolio, giving the education company an online screening suite that assesses foundational reading skills from kindergarten through 12th grade.

The arrangement includes the technology and intellectual property underpinning the assessment model. McGraw Hill does not describe it as an acquisition and has not disclosed financial terms, ownership details or the duration of the exclusivity.

Much of the commercial case rests on ROAR’s age range. McGraw Hill says many literacy screening tools concentrate on the early elementary years, while ROAR is designed to identify foundational reading needs across the full K-12 continuum, including among older students who may require additional support.

The company describes ROAR as the only literacy screener covering those skills throughout K-12. 

ROAR assesses phonological awareness, word recognition, vocabulary and other indicators of reading development. Its results are delivered in real time and are intended to help educators identify strengths, detect potential reading difficulties and select earlier, more targeted interventions.

McGraw Hill cites use by more than 500,000 learners

ROAR was developed through the Reading and Dyslexia Research Program at Stanford University Graduate School of Education and draws on more than a decade of reading and neuroscience research.

McGraw Hill says the ROAR Foundational Reading Skills Suite has been validated for dyslexia screening. However, the announcement does not provide the validation methodology or performance data.

Figures supplied by the company show that ROAR has been used by more than 500,000 learners through research partnerships with Stanford’s Reading and Dyslexia Research Program. The suite is also approved for use in several US states, including California, Kentucky, Minnesota and Ohio.

Dr. Jason Yeatman, Founder of ROAR and Director of Stanford’s Brain Development and Education Lab, positions McGraw Hill’s scale as the practical purpose of the agreement: “McGraw Hill’s reach and deep K–12 relationships provide a clear path to scale ROAR in a way that expands access for schools and districts while staying true to the research foundation behind the assessment.”

McGraw Hill says ROAR will complement its core English language arts curricula Emerge!, Summit!, Soar! and ¡Emerger juntos!, together with its supplemental and intervention products.

The intended model connects screening, curriculum and intervention, allowing educators to identify a reading need and then direct a student toward appropriate support.