What sets Reading Success Lab apart is that it is not phonics-based. The program puts emphasis on word recognition, and the method is proven to improve both speed and accuracy. Reading Success Lab products serve a broad range of individuals—from early readers just learning to recognize words to high school biology, chemistry, and physics students who must master relevant academic vocabulary. Products you choose can be customized so that students are learning the material their teachers recommend. Built-in, frequent evaluations measure progress, creating confidence as well as success. Whether your child or student has dyslexia, is on the autism spectrum, or is reading below grade level and experiencing difficulty with comprehension, Reading Success Lab’s tools can help.

Our products were developed through Dr. James “Mike” Royer’s extensive research on reading comprehension and reading difficulties. In the late 1970s, Royer developed a technique for measuring listening and reading comprehension and for the next 10 years researched various aspects of the comprehension process.

In the late 1980s, he turned his attention to the reasons why some students had difficulty in comprehending what they read. It soon became apparent that there were several reasons for comprehension failure, and Dr. Royer then began to focus on developing computer-based procedures for identifying those reasons.

His research on reading diagnostics led to an interest in trying to remediate the reading difficulties he was identifying in the students he was working with. This interest led to the founding of the Laboratory for the Assessment and Training of Academic Skills (LATAS) in 1985, which was located in the Department of Psychology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. LATAS worked with a referred population of students who were having difficulty acquiring reading and math skills.

In the early 1990s, Dr. Royer teamed up with Dr. Jeremy Wise, whose technical skills in computer programming and instrument design added the element needed to create Reading Success Lab.