We measure before we begin. We measure when it matters. We show you the numbers at the end.
Two frameworks. One Lexile baseline. Seven writing traits. Measured at entry, week 8, and exit. Every time.
Three reasons DODO measures — when most programs guess.
Measurement replaces guesswork
Without a Lexile baseline, a Navigator is guessing. We don't guess — we start with the number.
Numbers make growth legible
A parent who sees Lexile 590 → 790 understands something no report card can show them. The number is the story.
Assessment is ongoing, not occasional
We don't wait 16 weeks to find out if it's working. We know at week 8 — and we correct if we need to.
Before we begin, we find out exactly where your child is.
Not where their school says they are. Where they actually are.
Lexile Reading Assessment
Student reads calibrated texts at increasing complexity — not a race, a calibration.
Navigator-administered · one session
A precise Lexile baseline — one number that tells us exactly where the reading work begins.
6+1 Trait Writing Snapshot
Student writes a short response — unscored in the moment, unpressured by design.
Navigator scores against all 7 traits
A writing profile — which traits are strong, which need the most movement across 16 weeks.
Navigator Intake Conversation
Navigator speaks with the student and parent — 15 minutes. Direct, specific, forward-facing.
The matched Navigator
A gap map — the distance between where the student is and where the 16 weeks will take them.
We look at the numbers before the numbers are final.
At week 8, the Navigator reviews the student's Lexile progress and their current 6+1 Trait scores against the entry baseline. Not a formal assessment — a check. The question is simple: is the Loop working at the right level?
If a course correction is needed, the Navigator adjusts — the Lexile level of the texts, the specific traits being targeted in Write, the emphasis in Speak. The student rarely notices. The difference in the exit assessment does.
The parent receives a midpoint progress note — not a full report, but a specific paragraph from the Navigator naming where the student is at week 8 and what the second half of the program is targeting.
Nothing in a DODO program drifts for 16 weeks without us noticing. The midpoint check exists because we don’t trust time to do the work — we do.
DODO Learning
Week 16. The numbers that show what the Loop produced.
The Assessment
The format is deliberate. A student who enters the exit assessment in familiar conditions performs at their true ceiling, not their anxiety floor.
At the end of 16 weeks, we show you the numbers. Then you decide what comes next.
What is a Lexile level — and what does my child’s score actually mean?
What Lexile is
A reading measure — not a grade, not a score. A number that describes both text complexity and reader ability on the same scale. A student at Lexile 720 can be expected to read a text at Lexile 720 with 75% comprehension.
How the scale works
The scale runs from BR (Beginning Reader) through 1300+. Grade-level benchmarks: Lexile 420–620 = Grade 3. Lexile 620–820 = Grades 4–6. Lexile 820–1010 = Grades 7–8. Lexile 1010–1185 = Grades 9–10.
What a grade level of growth means
Approximately 100–150 Lexile points represents one grade level of reading growth. Lexile 590 to Lexile 790 is not just a number moving — it is a student crossing from Grade 4 territory into Grade 6 territory. That is the claim DODO makes, and the assessment is how we prove it.
Why DODO uses it
Lexile is the same measure North American schools use. It makes DODO's results directly comparable to what a parent sees on their child's school report — and directly comparable to grade-level reading expectations in the Canadian and US curricula.
What is the 6+1 Trait writing framework — and how does it score my child’s writing?
What it is
A writing assessment framework used by North American schools and educators. Seven traits. Each scored 1–6. Developed by the Education Northwest — the same rubrics your child’s teacher likely uses.
The 7 traits
What movement looks like
A student who moves from 2 to 4 on Voice has not just improved their writing — they have found something worth saying and learned how to say it. A 6+1 Trait score tells the Navigator exactly which lever to move next.
What parents ask most about assessment — answered directly.
Assessment is not outside the program. It is what makes the program measurable.
The entrance assessment tells us where to begin in The Loop — which Lexile level to start the Read phase, which 6+1 Traits to prioritise in Write.
The week 8 check tells us if The Loop is working at the right level — if the Lexile texts need to move up, if the writing traits are tracking the expected trajectory.
The exit assessment tells us what The Loop produced — the specific Lexile movement, the specific trait progression, the specific evidence that the 16 weeks did what they were designed to do.
The first number is free.
The entrance assessment is included in every enrollment. Book a diagnostic call — and we will tell you what your child’s first number is likely to look like before you commit to anything.