Separate transcription from composition
Distinguish lower-level handwriting or typing demands from higher-level content and text structure.
P Praxis CPD
Dedicated CPD for dyslexia and SpLD assessors
Practical online course
DASH-2 and diagnostic assessment
Understand what DASH-2 measures, where it fits and how to interpret handwriting speed, legibility and free-writing evidence without reducing writing to a single score.
For dyslexia and SpLD assessors
Presented by Sally-Ann Morrison
Online self-study
£28.00 for non-members · Included at no extra cost inside Praxis Pro
The real assessment question
DASH-2 measures handwriting speed. Diagnostic assessment requires us to understand what that performance means for this learner.
Writing is more than words per minute
Producing written work requires ideas, language, spelling and transcription to operate together. Slow handwriting can restrict composition. Writing quickly can reduce legibility. A demanding topic can make output appear slower even when transcription is not the main difficulty.
This course places DASH-2 within that wider picture. You will consider the demands of its tasks, the interaction between speed and legibility, and the qualitative evidence that helps turn a score into a defensible professional interpretation.
Your practical takeaways
Finish the course clearer about what to assess, notice and report
The aim is not to give you a fixed battery. It is to strengthen the decisions you make around writing for the individual in front of you.
Choose tasks more purposefully
Consider what copying, free writing and Graphic Speed do — and do not — allow you to explore.
Interpret speed with care
Account for topic demands, anxiety, fatigue, pain, spelling and the trade-off between speed and accuracy.
Analyse more than the score
Use observations of letter formation, fluency, attention, physical effort and writing quality alongside quantitative results.
Evaluate free writing
Consider ideas, development, coherence, sentence structure, grammar, vocabulary and spelling in context.
Write a defensible interpretation
Link task choice and findings to the referral question, the learner’s profile and their real-world writing demands.
Inside the course
A practical route through DASH-2
Writing within diagnostic assessment
The relationship between transcription, legibility, composition and the wider assessment profile.
DASH-2 tasks and choices
Copy Best, Copy Fast, Alphabet Writing, Free Writing and Graphic Speed — with attention to their different demands.
Scoring and interpretation
Scaled scores, the composite, confidence intervals, copy-speed difference and why qualitative evidence still matters.
Free writing and relevance
Choosing an appropriate topic, considering learner age and context, and making the rationale explicit in the report.
Legibility and writing quality
What to observe, how task demands may change performance, and useful approaches to qualitative analysis.
Professional judgement
Using DASH-2 as one source of evidence rather than allowing one score to make the diagnostic decision for you.
Your presenter
Sally-Ann Morrison
Founder of Praxis CPD · Specialist dyslexia assessor
Sally-Ann qualified as a dyslexia assessor in 1997 and has 30 years of diagnostic assessment experience. A former Senior Lecturer on a Level 7 dyslexia programme and former Patoss APC Reviewer, she is known for turning detailed assessment guidance into clear, practical decisions assessors can use.
Her focus throughout this course is not simply how to produce DASH-2 scores, but how to think like an assessor: observe, question, connect the evidence and explain what it means.
“A test administrator can produce numbers. An assessor observes, listens, links, questions and applies professional judgement.”
Choose the route that suits you
Take this course on its own, or find it waiting inside Praxis Pro
Purchase direct access to this DASH-2 course.
Buy the courseTake the course at no extra cost as part of your Praxis Pro membership.
Discover Praxis ProUseful to know
Before you enrol
Is this course free for Praxis Pro members?
Yes. The course is included inside Praxis Pro at no additional cost. Current members should access it through their membership rather than purchasing it separately.
Who is this course for?
It is designed for dyslexia and SpLD assessors who use DASH-2, are considering adding it to their test library, or want to feel more confident about interpreting writing evidence.
Does the course give me a fixed writing battery?
No. Task selection should be driven by the individual, referral question, background information and emerging profile. The course supports defensible decision-making rather than a one-size-fits-all battery.
Does this replace the DASH-2 manual?
No. The course supports professional understanding and interpretation. Administration, scoring and test use must always be checked against the current DASH-2 manual and relevant professional guidance.
Ready when you are
Make writing evidence work harder in your diagnostic assessment
Build a clearer understanding of what DASH-2 tells you, what it does not tell you and how to turn the evidence into a useful professional interpretation.
Course access · £28.00
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