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Free for parents

See where the thinking breaks down — and where to aim first.

The Thinking Check is a short, printable guide you score yourself at home. About ten minutes. It shows you where things stand, which way to move first, and why that move and not another.

What arrives

  • ✓ The check, written in your grade band’s own language
  • ✓ You score it yourself — nothing gets sent anywhere
  • ✓ A matching version your child/teen fills out on their own
1Start
2How to answer
3PLAN
4PRIORITIZE
5ORGANIZE
6ASK
7MONITOR
8CONNECT
9READING
10PLAN
11PRIORITIZE
12ORGANIZE
13ASK
14MONITOR
15CONNECT
16READING
17Last question
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Brain Circuit Check

A 10-minute check of the six thinking skills behind reading and schoolwork — the ones that can hide, even in “finished” work.

Grade band(Required)

How to answer

Every statement comes as a pair

The sentence on top is the situation going wrong. The sentence underneath is the same situation going well. They are two ends of one thing, and the numbers between them run from one end to the other.

Read both. Then mark the one number in between that fits your house right now.

Example.

When it’s time to do homework, my child can’t find what they need to get started.

When it’s time to work, my child can find what they need to get started without a search.

When it’s time to work, my child/teen can’t find the assignment, the right supplies, or the directions without turning the house upside down.

When it’s time to work, my child/teen can find what they need to get started without a search.

What the numbers mean

0 — Not yet Independent use is not established.

1 — Beginning Rarely does this independently.

2 — Developing Sometimes does this independently.

3 — Mostly independent Usually does this independently; occasional misses or reminders are normal.

n/a — Not enough information The situation hasn’t come up, or I don’t know enough to answer. Use what you already know — you don’t need to stop and test or observe anything first.

What counts as independent. If your child reaches for the tool, starts the routine, or asks for help themselves, that counts. If you start it or run it, that doesn’t. A 3 is not perfection — occasional misses are normal. Rate who is doing the thinking in the statement — asking for help counts as independent help-seeking, but not as independent use of a different skill if someone else does that thinking for them.

What counts as independent. If your child/teen reaches for the tool, starts the routine, or asks for help themselves, that counts. If you start it or run it, that doesn’t. A 3 is not perfection — occasional misses are normal. Rate who is doing the thinking in the statement — asking for help counts as independent help-seeking, but not as independent use of a different skill if someone else does that thinking for them.

If schoolwork looks different in your house (homeschool, mostly online, little homework), answer for the closest version.

A higher number means more of that skill is already in place. It is not a grade, a comparison to others, or a judgment on anyone.

A low score is not a verdict — it just tells us where to aim.

This is not a screener or a diagnostic. It does not test for, suggest, or rule out any learning differences.

Answer for the past four weeks. The usual pattern — not the best day, not the worst.

PLAN

Before starting a task, does my child know what it will take — or does that only become clear partway through?

0 Not yet · 1 Beginning · 2 Developing · 3 Mostly independent · n/a Not enough info

Before starting a big assignment, my child has no idea what it will actually take — we figure it out as we go.(Required)
Before starting an assignment, my child can walk me through what it will actually take from beginning to end.
When something will take more than one day, my child saves it all for the night before.(Required)
When an assignment will take more than one day, my child can spread it across the days available and actually start before the last minute.
When there’s homework to do, my child has no real sense of how long it will take — “quick” work eats the whole evening.(Required)
When there’s work to do, my child has a rough sense of how long familiar tasks will take — what will be quick and what will need more time.

Answer for the past four weeks. The usual pattern — not the best day, not the worst.

PRIORITIZE

When several things need doing, does my child pick what matters most and give it time — or go with whatever feels easiest or most urgent?

0 Not yet · 1 Beginning · 2 Developing · 3 Mostly independent · n/a Not enough info

When there’s more than one thing to do, my child does whatever’s easiest first — not whatever matters most.(Required)
When several things compete, my child can identify what matters most and go there first.
When there are several things to do, my child does them in whatever order they land — not in any order based on what’s due or what matters.(Required)
When there are several assignments, my child can put them in a sensible order based on what’s due and what matters most.
Once my child knows what’s most important, they still drift to something easier instead of staying with it.(Required)
Once my child decides what to work on first, they stay with it instead of drifting to something easier.

Answer for the past four weeks. The usual pattern — not the best day, not the worst.

ORGANIZE

When it’s time to get work done and turned in, do my child’s supplies and systems help — or does finished work disappear between “done” and “submitted”?

0 Not yet · 1 Beginning · 2 Developing · 3 Mostly independent · n/a Not enough info

When it’s time to turn work in, work my child finished at home stays in the backpack — it’s done, it just doesn’t get turned in.(Required)
When work is finished, my child has a reliable system for getting it turned in.
When it’s time to do homework, my child can’t find what they need to get started.(Required)
When it’s time to work, my child can find what they need to get started without a search.
At the end of the school day, my child can’t tell me what’s due tomorrow — there’s no real system for keeping track.(Required)
For keeping track of what’s due, my child has a reliable system — and actually uses it.

Answer for the past four weeks. The usual pattern — not the best day, not the worst.

ASK

When my child is confused, do they say so and go after the answer — or keep it to themselves?

0 Not yet · 1 Beginning · 2 Developing · 3 Mostly independent · n/a Not enough info

While reading, when my child still doesn’t understand something, they keep the confusion to themselves instead of asking for help.(Required)
While reading, when my child still doesn’t understand something, they ask for help without waiting for someone to notice.
When my child is stuck on schoolwork, all I get is “I don’t get it” — never which part.(Required)
When my child is confused by schoolwork, they can point to the specific part — the word, the step, the direction — that isn’t making sense.
When my child is still confused after class, the confusion just stays — they don’t have a way to go get the answer.(Required)
When my child is still confused after class, they find a way to get the answer — asking someone, looking it up, or getting help.

Answer for the past four weeks. The usual pattern — not the best day, not the worst.

MONITOR

When something isn’t making sense, does my child notice while there’s still time to adjust, or only find out after it’s been graded?

0 Not yet · 1 Beginning · 2 Developing · 3 Mostly independent · n/a Not enough info

While reading, my child keeps going even when it’s clear they’ve lost the thread — no stopping, no going back.(Required)
While reading, my child notices when something stopped making sense and does something about it — slows down, rereads, or looks something up.
Before turning in work, my child doesn’t check it — the first time they see the mistakes is when it’s graded.(Required)
Before turning in work, my child looks it over, checks the directions were followed, and corrects anything they notice.
Before a quiz or test, my child relies on feeling like they know the material instead of checking what they can actually remember or explain.(Required)
Before a quiz or test, my child has a reliable way to check whether they actually know the material — not just feel like they do.

Answer for the past four weeks. The usual pattern — not the best day, not the worst.

CONNECT

When learning something new, does my child link it to what they already know — or does each new thing stand alone and fade?

0 Not yet · 1 Beginning · 2 Developing · 3 Mostly independent · n/a Not enough info

While reading, my child doesn’t connect what they’re reading to anything they already know — the words go by, but nothing connects.(Required)
While reading, my child can connect an important idea to something they already know — rather than reading it as a string of unconnected facts.
When a new unit starts, my child doesn’t connect it to what they learned last month — each subject is its own island.(Required)
When learning something new, my child can connect it to something they already know — new material builds on what came before.
Once the worksheet’s done, my child couldn’t tell you what it was for or how the ideas fit together.(Required)
After a lesson or reading, my child can explain not just what happened but how the pieces fit together and why they matter.

Answer for the past four weeks. The usual pattern — not the best day, not the worst.

READING

When my child reads, how is the reading itself going — the words, the sentences, the meaning?

0 Not yet · 1 Beginning · 2 Developing · 3 Mostly independent · n/a Not enough info

Reading out loud, my child works through the words slowly — sounding out, getting stuck, or saying a word that looks close but isn’t the one on the page.(Required)
My child reads most words accurately, and their reading out loud sounds smooth.
When my child reads a word wrong, they keep right on going — it doesn’t seem to register that the sentence didn’t sound right.(Required)
When something doesn’t sound right, my child stops and goes back on their own.
My child finishes a chapter and can’t tell me one thing that happened in it.(Required)
After reading, my child can tell me what happened in their own words, without needing me to supply the ideas.

Answer for the past four weeks. The usual pattern — not the best day, not the worst.

PLAN

Before starting a task, does my child/teen know what it will take — or does that only become clear partway through?

0 Not yet · 1 Beginning · 2 Developing · 3 Mostly independent · n/a Not enough info

Before starting a big assignment, my child/teen has no idea what it will actually take — we figure it out as we go.(Required)
Before starting an assignment, my child/teen can walk me through what it will actually take from beginning to end.
When something will take more than one day, my child/teen saves it all for the night before.(Required)
When an assignment will take more than one day, my child/teen can spread it across the days available and actually start before the last minute.
When there’s homework to do, my child/teen has no real sense of how long it will take — “quick” work eats the whole evening.(Required)
When there’s work to do, my child/teen has a realistic sense of how long it will take and what it will require — the estimate is usually close.

Answer for the past four weeks. The usual pattern — not the best day, not the worst.

PRIORITIZE

When several things need doing, does my child/teen pick what matters most and give it time — or go with whatever feels easiest or most urgent?

0 Not yet · 1 Beginning · 2 Developing · 3 Mostly independent · n/a Not enough info

When there’s more than one thing to do, my child/teen does whatever’s easiest first — not whatever matters most.(Required)
When several things compete, my child/teen can identify what matters most and go there first.
When there are several assignments, my child/teen does them in whatever order they show up — whatever’s in front of them gets done first.(Required)
When there are several assignments, my child/teen can put them in a sensible order based on what’s due and what matters most.
Once my child/teen knows what’s most important, they still drift to something easier instead of staying with it.(Required)
Once my child/teen decides what to work on first, they stay with it instead of drifting to something easier.

Answer for the past four weeks. The usual pattern — not the best day, not the worst.

ORGANIZE

When it’s time to get work done and turned in, do my child/teen’s supplies and systems help — or does finished work disappear between “done” and “submitted”?

0 Not yet · 1 Beginning · 2 Developing · 3 Mostly independent · n/a Not enough info

When it’s time to turn work in, it “disappears” — it’s done, it just doesn’t get turned in.(Required)
When work is finished, my child/teen has a reliable system for getting it turned in.
When it’s time to work, my child/teen can’t find the assignment, the right supplies, or the directions without turning the house upside down.(Required)
When it’s time to work, my child/teen can find what they need to get started without a search.
For keeping track of what’s due, my child/teen has no real system — no planner, no app, nothing that actually works for knowing what’s coming.(Required)
For keeping track of what’s due, my child/teen has a reliable system — and actually uses it.

Answer for the past four weeks. The usual pattern — not the best day, not the worst.

ASK

When my child/teen is confused, do they say so and go after the answer — or keep it to themselves?

0 Not yet · 1 Beginning · 2 Developing · 3 Mostly independent · n/a Not enough info

While reading, when my child/teen still doesn’t understand something, they keep the confusion to themselves instead of asking for help.(Required)
While reading, when my child/teen still doesn’t understand something, they ask for help without waiting for someone to notice.
When my child/teen is stuck on schoolwork, all I get is “I don’t get it” — never which part.(Required)
When my child/teen is confused by schoolwork, they can point to the specific part — the word, the step, the direction — that isn’t making sense.
When my child/teen is still confused after class, the confusion just stays — they don’t have a way to get the answer.(Required)
When my child/teen is still confused after class, they find a way to get the answer — asking someone, looking it up, or getting help.

Answer for the past four weeks. The usual pattern — not the best day, not the worst.

MONITOR

When something isn’t making sense, does my child/teen notice while there’s still time to adjust, or only find out after it’s been graded?

0 Not yet · 1 Beginning · 2 Developing · 3 Mostly independent · n/a Not enough info

While reading a chapter, my child/teen keeps going past the part that lost them — once it’s read, it’s done.(Required)
While reading, my child/teen notices when something stopped making sense and does something about it — slows down, rereads, or looks something up.
Before turning in work, my child/teen doesn’t check it — the first time they see the mistakes is when it’s graded.(Required)
Before turning in work, my child/teen looks it over, checks the directions were followed, and corrects anything they notice.
Before a quiz or test, my child/teen relies on feeling like they know the material instead of checking what they can actually remember or explain.(Required)
Before a quiz or test, my child/teen has a reliable way to check whether they actually know the material — not just feel like they do.

Answer for the past four weeks. The usual pattern — not the best day, not the worst.

CONNECT

When learning something new, does my child/teen link it to what they already know — or does each new thing stand alone and fade?

0 Not yet · 1 Beginning · 2 Developing · 3 Mostly independent · n/a Not enough info

While reading an assignment, my child/teen doesn’t link it to anything they already know — the words go by, but nothing connects.(Required)
While reading, my child/teen can connect an important idea to something they already know — rather than reading it as a string of unconnected facts.
When a new unit starts, my child/teen doesn’t connect it to what they learned last month — each subject is its own island.(Required)
When learning something new, my child/teen can connect it to something they already know — new material builds on what came before.
After a lesson or reading, my child/teen may know the individual pieces but has trouble explaining how they fit together or why they matter.(Required)
After a lesson or reading, my child/teen can explain not just what happened but how the pieces fit together and why they matter.

Answer for the past four weeks. The usual pattern — not the best day, not the worst.

READING

When my child/teen reads, how is the reading itself going — the words, the sentences, the meaning?

0 Not yet · 1 Beginning · 2 Developing · 3 Mostly independent · n/a Not enough info

Reading out loud, my child/teen works through the words slowly — sounding out, getting stuck, or saying a word that looks close but isn’t the one on the page.(Required)
My child/teen reads most words accurately, and their reading out loud sounds smooth.
When my child/teen reads a word wrong, they keep right on going — it doesn’t seem to register that the sentence didn’t sound right.(Required)
When something doesn’t sound right, my child/teen stops and goes back on their own.
After reading an assigned chapter or passage, my child/teen can’t explain what it was mainly about.(Required)
After reading, my child/teen can explain the main idea in their own words, without needing me to supply the ideas.

ONE LAST QUESTION — THIS ONE ISN’T SCORED

Which one sounds more like what brought you here?

School in general. Getting started, getting work finished and turned in, keeping track of what’s due, studying for tests.

Reading. Reading is slow or choppy, or my child doesn’t hold on to what they read. We may have been told my child is reading below grade level.

School in general. Getting started, getting work finished and turned in, keeping track of what’s due, studying for tests.

Reading. Reading is slow or choppy, or my child/teen doesn’t hold on to what they read. We may have been told my child/teen is reading below grade level.

Which one sounds more like what brought you here?(Required)
Pick the one closer to your worry right now. It doesn’t change your scores — it helps us tailor your Results Packet to what brought you here.

Susan Kruger Winter, M.Ed. — certified K–12 learning specialist, founder of SOAR.

Nothing is shared, sold, or passed to anyone. Privacy policy

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