MindPrint Learning: A One-Hour Assessment That Helps Keep Education Focused on Learning (Not Labels or Politics)

When a student is struggling—or even when they’re doing “fine” but working twice as hard as they should—adults often end up guessing. Is it attention? Reading? Motivation? Anxiety? A mismatch in teaching style? Too much screen time? Not enough challenge?

The problem with guessing is that it can lead to the wrong supports, wasted time, and unnecessary frustration for students, families, and teachers.

MindPrint Learning offers a more practical starting point: an educational tool and K–12 solution that uses a one-hour, online cognitive assessment to identify a student’s unique learning strengths and needs. Developed at the University of Pennsylvania, MindPrint measures 10 core cognitive skills and provides personalized, evidence-based learning strategies for students ages 8 to 21.

This isn’t about labeling kids. It’s about understanding how they learn—so we can support them better.

What MindPrint Is (and What It Isn’t)

https://youtu.be/NoABVjBF5oI?si=XZmMWYZ_oi1v4Ajk

MindPrint is a cognitive screener, not a diagnostic evaluation. That means it won’t officially diagnose ADHD, dyslexia, or other learning disabilities. But it can provide something many families and educators urgently need: clear data about the cognitive bottlenecks that often sit underneath those challenges.

In other words, it helps answer:“What’s getting in the way of learning—and what can we do about it?”

How the Assessment Works

MindPrint is designed to feel more like problem-solving than a traditional test:

• Students complete nine or ten puzzle-like, game-based tasks online

• The test takes about one hour on a computer or Chromebook

• It measures performance without giving a traditional letter grade or score

Instead of ranking students, it identifies patterns—strengths to build on and areas where targeted strategies can make school feel more manageable.

The 10 Skills, Organized Into 4 Domains

The assessment evaluates ten distinct cognitive skills grouped into four primary domains:

• Complex reasoning

• Memory

• Executive functions

• Processing speed

That matters because two students can struggle in the same classroom for completely different reasons. One may understand concepts deeply but work slowly. Another may work quickly but lose track of multi-step directions. The right support depends on the why.

Support for ADHD, Dyslexia, and Learning Differences

MindPrint is validated by Johns Hopkins University as an ESSA-certified universal screener for gifted and special education needs. While it’s not a diagnostic tool, it can provide actionable insight into learning differences.

ADHD: Getting Specific About Executive Function

For ADHD-related challenges, MindPrint evaluates executive functioning skills like:

• attention

• working memory

• flexible thinking

This can help identify whether a student struggles to hold multi-step instructions in mind, manage focus, or shift strategies—so families and educators can build specific time-management and self-regulation supports instead of relying on generic advice.

Dyslexia: Separating Reasoning Strengths From Language-Based Skills

For dyslexia-related concerns, MindPrint helps separate:

• abstract and visual reasoning strengths

  from

• language-based skill limitations

It can highlight whether reading difficulties are tied to processing speed, verbal memory limitations, or tracking. That can guide practical accommodations—like reducing dense text blocks and integrating more visual materials, images, or audio content to match how a student processes information.

Independent Use vs. School Use

MindPrint can be used by families privately or implemented by schools as part of a broader support system.

Independent / Parent Use

• At-home testing: Parents can purchase and administer the assessment at home.

• Self-guided tools: Families receive a personalized learning profile and access to hundreds of evidence-based strategies for homework and studying.

• Advocacy material: Reports and objective data can be shared with tutors, pediatricians, or private learning specialists.

School Use

• Group screenings: Schools can use it as a universal screener for tier-based supports like MTSS or RTI, and to identify candidates for gifted or special education services.

• Differentiated classrooms: Teachers can group students with similar learning profiles to deliver more targeted interventions.

• IEP & accommodations support: Educators can use the system to build personalized plans within school tracking platforms.

Approximate Costs

Costs vary depending on how it’s accessed:

• Independent parent purchase: typically $199 for a lifetime profile and strategy access

• Homeschool/tutoring partners: generally $199–$250

• Through schools/districts: often free for parents when covered by district licensing (including through integrated platforms like Otus)

MindPrint is frequently promoted as a cost-effective alternative to a comprehensive psycho-educational evaluation, which can cost thousands of dollars.

What the Research Says

Johns Hopkins University Validation Study (2026)

The largest independent evaluation of MindPrint was conducted by Johns Hopkins University’s Center for Research and Reform in Education:

• Scope: 15,581 students in grades 4–12 across districts in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Arkansas

• Predicting achievement: MindPrint scores explained 37%–55% of variation in standardized assessment outcomes (including NWEA MAP, PSSA, and ATLAS)

• Special education differentiation: statistically significant differences between special education and non-special education students, with 76% of comparisons differentiating needs

• Result: ESSA Certification as a universal screener for special education and gifted needs

University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine (Penn CNB Foundation)

MindPrint’s core engine is based on the Penn Computerized Neurocognitive Battery (Penn CNB):

• featured in hundreds of peer-reviewed scientific studies led by neuroscientists including Dr. Ruben Gur and Dr. Raquel Gur

• validated through psychometric evaluations linked with functional MRI (fMRI), showing performance correlates with neural activity in brain systems tied to executive functioning and complex reasoning

CAST + National Science Foundation (NSF) Outcomes

MindPrint partnered with CAST (a leader in Universal Design for Learning) through NSF SBIR-funded work:

• third-party analysis found that using cognitive profiles alongside SEL metrics produced measurable growth in math and reading outcomes over a single academic term

Why This Matters for Parents, Educators, and Voters

If we want schools to be student-centered, we have to move beyond assumptions and slogans and focus on what actually helps kids learn.

Tools like MindPrint can:

• reduce guesswork and delays

• help teachers differentiate more effectively

• give families clearer language for advocacy

• support earlier, more targeted interventions

• identify both learning needs and gifted strengths

Most importantly, it reinforces a principle that should unite parents, educators, and the community: Every student deserves support that fits how they learn—not a one-size-fits-all approach.

Call to Action

Parents: If your child is working hard but still struggling—or if you suspect attention, reading, or memory challenges—consider learning more about cognitive screening tools like MindPrint and bringing the results to your child’s teacher or support team.

Educators: If you’re looking for practical ways to differentiate instruction and target interventions, explore how cognitive profiles can complement what you already see in the classroom.

Voters: If you believe our schools should stay focused on student outcomes, transparency, and evidence-based decisions, I’d love to hear from you. Let’s keep the conversation centered on what works for kids.

If you’d like, share this post with a parent or teacher who might find it helpful—and reach out to me with your questions or experiences supporting students with learning differences.