Getting started with academic success begins with understanding your child’s current skills. That’s why we offer three free assessments in reading, math, and spelling to pinpoint strengths and areas for growth. These assessments provide a clear starting point, ensuring every lesson is tailored to your child’s needs and sets them up for steady progress and confidence. Click one of the three options below to get started.
Free Assessments
Reading
Assessments
Math
Assessments
Spelling
Assessments
Maloney Method - Reading Assessment Test
Have your student read the story aloud while you listen carefully, counting any words that are misread, added, or omitted. If there are fewer than four errors, your student is ready to progress to the next test level. If there are four or more errors, your student is reading below this level, so start at the first test and move up in difficulty as their skills improve.
Test Story: Holiday Fun
In the summer my family loves to go camping. Usually we put up our tent in the woods beside a lake or a river. During the day we swim, play games or go hiking on the trails in the forest. In the evening we cook dinner over a big campfire. After we eat we sing songs, tell stories or just lie on the ground gazing at the stars in the sky. It is so much fun that every year I can hardly wait for our holidays to begin.
More than 4 errors?
Begin with Level 1 Curriculum. Your student is reading at a Grade 2 Level or below.
Test Story: At the Circus
Today the circus was in town. It was a chance to see lions and tigers and clowns in bright costumes. I especially wanted to watch the famous flying pigeons. I visited their giant cage. I did a quick count. There were probably fifty pigeons inside. All of them had beady eyes as black as coal. They ruffled their glistening feathers. I stared at them but they ignored me. The announcer stepped up to the podium. There was a thunder of applause. I raced up the stairs to my seat. The circus was about to begin.
More than 4 errors?
Begin with Level 2 Curriculum. Your student is reading at a Grade 3 Level or below.
Test Story: Quite an Experience
Here I was, standing in astonishment at the top of a gigantic skyscraper!
The full moon was massive and seemed to hover straight overhead. Its brilliance reflected off the surface of the windows of each building surrounding me. I gasped slightly at the chill of the night and began to lament that I had not worn warmer garments. The mayor of our city, who was a notoriously dapper politician, and two jubilant astronauts were standing nearby, along with other equally captivated officials of the community. They all were watching with awe a group of amateur but nimble and very athletic entertainers who were performing a complex sequence of spectacular somersaults. I had never had an aversion to heights but I knew that I would never be courageous enough to join them so far from the ground. What an amazingly dramatic and splendid experience!
More than 4 errors?
Begin with Level 3 Curriculum. Your student is reading at a Grade 5 Level or below.
Test Story: The Lewis and Clark Expedition
After the Louisiana Purchase, touted to be “the greatest real estate deal in history,” the American Midwest and West lay open as an enticing and expansive terrain ripe for exploration and adventure. Meriwether Lewis, an ambitious and no-nonsense young man, together with his close friend, Captain William Clark, and a contingent of Army engineers, were officially commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson to discover a water passage from the Mississippi to the Pacific. It was a formidable task, one fraught with danger, deprivation and loneliness. The small band had to be forever vigilant of both hostile natives and a grueling environment. Despite a seemingly hopeless plight, they carried on, stoically and courageously. Close to three years after their departure, having conquered famine and fatigue, seclusion in the wilderness, and the trek over perilous mountain ranges, they stood exhilarated by the sight of the Pacific Ocean. At that moment they were oblivious to their past hardships. They had succeeded; they were triumphant.
More than 4 errors?
Begin with Level 4 Curriculum. Your student is reading at a Grade 7 Level or below.
Maloney Method - Math Assessment Test
Present each of the tasks below in the order they appear, timing each task for 30 seconds. Have your student complete the problems while you observe carefully, recording the number of correct answers and any mistakes or skipped questions. If the student is unable to attempt a task, end the screening and place them at the beginning of the program for that operation, either addition or subtraction. If the student makes fewer than two errors, they are performing well at this level. If they make two or more errors, they may need additional practice before moving on.
Test: Addition & Subtraction
More than 2 errors?
Begin with Lesson #1 of Teach Your Children Math Well – Addition and Subtraction Fluency
Test: Multiplication & Division
More than 2 errors?
Begin with Lesson #1 of Teach Your Children Math Well – Multiplication and Division Fluency
Test: Fractions Fluency
More than 2 errors?
Begin with Lesson #1 of Teach Your Children Math Well – Fractions Fluency
Maloney Method - Spelling Assessment Test
Dictate the ten words below to the student at a rate of one every fifteen seconds (four per minute), instructing them to print each word as you say it. Check each word for accuracy as the student writes. If the student makes three or more mistakes, stop the test and begin Lesson 1 of Level 1. If they make fewer than three mistakes, they are ready to move on to the next level.
Test Words - Level 1 Primary
1. plan
2. hope
3. very
4. garden
5. above
6. stripe
7. grass
8. below
9. someone
10. smell
More than 3 errors?
Begin with Level 1 Spelling. Your student is spelling at a Grade 4 level or below.
Test Words - Level 2: Junior 1 down
1. down
2. truck
3. mask
4. close
5. stitch
6. zone
7. bunch
8. join
9. begin
10. fudge
11. rink
12. rock
13. catch
14. huge
15. blast
More than 3 errors?
Begin with Level 2 Spelling Lesson 1.