The Cornerstone

It begins with the diagnostic

The first session is the Cornerstone Assessment. We work through reading and mathematics one skill at a time to find where your scholar is secure and where the difficulty begins. There is no separate test day, and there is no passing or failing.

• LengthOne 60-minute session, one to one
• GradesPre-K 4 through 5th
• WhereVirtual for families anywhere, in person for a limited number of families in Hudson County, New Jersey
• ReportYour written Profile within five business days

What your family receives

• A skill-by-skill pictureReading and mathematics, placed on our four-step growth scale.
• Findings in plain languageThe skill, the gap, and what we will do about it.
• Clear prioritiesWhere we enrich, where we practice, where we teach explicitly.
• A written planWhat we teach first, and how.

These arrive together as your scholar’s Profile. It belongs to your family, and we send a copy to your school or your child’s therapist whenever you ask us to.

View a sample Scholar Profile.

Then we teach the plan

The Profile sets your scholar’s starting point inside a full year-long sequence for reading and mathematics. Lessons are built to that Profile rather than to a grade-level average. Each quarter we re-check the same skills on fresh forms, so growth is measured against your own scholar’s baseline.

You may also take the diagnostic on its own. You receive the complete Profile and written plan in that single session, with no obligation to continue.

What it is, and what it is not

The Cornerstone Assessment is a criterion-referenced educational assessment. We compare your scholar to the skills expected at their grade, not to a ranking of other children.

It is not a psychoeducational or medical evaluation. It does not diagnose any condition, and it does not replace an evaluation by your district’s Child Study Team. You may request that evaluation from your school at any time, with nothing required from us.

Who conducts it

We administer and score every assessment ourselves. Our founder is a New Jersey state-certified teacher in elementary education and special education, and a former Assistant Principal of Special Education. She is trained in Orton-Gillingham multisensory instruction through IMSE, and in Handle With Care and the Nurtured Heart Approach.