Brain Development & Education Lab

The Brain Development & Education Lab at the Stanford Graduate School of Education is developing the Rapid Online Assessment of Reading (ROAR), an open-access tool to help educators and clinicians rapidly screen children for reading difficulties. Stanford students are invited to contribute to our research partnerships with local elementary schools and support reading specialists by administering standardized reading assessments to children. In addition to collecting assessment data throughout the school year to support instructional planning, teaching, and broader research goals, volunteers can support reading specialists and their students with other classroom needs during the school day.

Our partner schools are located along the Caltrain corridor or within a 20-minute bike ride from campus. Volunteers will be part of the research team and will receive human subjects research training. Volunteers may be required to provide fingerprints and proof of vaccination to work in schools.

Recommended schedule: 4–5 hours/week (2–2.5 hours per day on two weekdays, within typical school hours of 8:30am-3pm). During heavier assessment weeks (typically October and March–May), you can volunteer more hours per week as needed at your school site and as your regular class schedule permits, then scale back on other weeks.

To get started, email Jasmine Tran (ROAR Research Coordinator) at jasetran@stanford.edu. We look forward to meeting you!