University of Utah Reading Clinic experts share strategies for turning reading data into action

Kelly Patrick and McKenzie Hillman examine how schools can use assessment data to enhance reading instruction and student support.

Two University of Utah Reading Clinic experts are sharing practical guidance with educators nationwide on how schools can use reading assessment data to make better instructional decisions.

Kelly Patrick, director of the University of Utah Reading Clinic, and McKenzie Hillman, a Reading Specialist at the clinic, co-authored “Bridging the Gap: Utilizing Diagnostic Data for Systems-Level Decision Making.” The article appears in the Winter 2026 issue of Perspectives on Language and Literacy, a publication of the International Dyslexia Association.

The article focuses on a challenge schools often face: collecting large amounts of student assessment data without always having a clear process for turning those results into instructional decisions.

Patrick and Hillman explain how diagnostic assessments can help educators identify specific reading strengths and needs. When results are examined across students, classrooms, and grade levels, those data points can also reveal broader patterns that inform decisions about curriculum, intervention, and professional learning.

The authors emphasize that educators shouldn’t rely on a single score or a single assessment. Instead, they describe ways to combine different sources of information, and examine how student performance relates to instruction, curriculum, and the learning environment. The article also highlights professional learning communities as a setting where educators can review data together, identifying patterns, and planning next steps.

The goal, Patrick and Hillman assert, is to make diagnostic data useful at more than the individual-student level. Aggregated information can help school leaders identify common skill gaps, determine where additional support may be needed and make more informed decisions about instruction across a school or a district.

Patrick has also been invited to participate in a panel discussion with other authors connected to the publication at the International Dyslexia Association’s 2026 Annual Reading, Literacy & Learning Conference. The conference will take place November 12th through 14th in Las Vegas and brings together educators, researchers, clinicians, families, and advocates focused on dyslexia and literacy.

The publication reflects the University of Utah Reading Clinic’s broader work supporting evidence-based reading instruction, assessment, and intervention for educators and students.

Read the article

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