Assessment as observation. Data as dignity. Instruction as liberation. In Montessori, assessment is not a test—it is an act of observation in service of the child. Yet in today’s literacy landscape, guides are navigating screening tools, benchmarks, MTSS conversations, and the growing body of research around systematic phonics and the Science of Reading. We don’t abandon Montessori in this moment.We refine our observation. Assessment should illuminate the child’s path towar

A Tiered, Humane Approach to Reading Support For many Montessori guides, dyslexia has felt like the question we weren’t supposed to ask. If a child struggles to read, we reassure ourselves: trust the process . If progress is slow, we wait: development isn’t linear . If concern grows, we worry: Will intervention mean abandoning Montessori? But children with dyslexia don’t disappear just because we don’t name them. And neither does their struggle. The real question isn’t whethe

For many Montessori guides, the word assessment comes with tension. It can feel at odds with observation.Too clinical. Too reductive.Too easily misused. And yet, reading development is complex. Guides are asked to support children across a wide range of readiness, pace, and experience—often with increasing pressure for clarity and accountability. The question isn’t whether reading data belongs in Montessori environments. The question is: how do we use it without losing the s