A touch screen controller identifies an island in a matrix of acquired touch data values. A first sharpness of the island is calculated and a second sharpness of the island is calculated if the calculated first sharpness is greater than a sharpness threshold. A dynamic strength threshold is then determined as a function of the second sharpness if a variance of the island is greater than a dynamic variance threshold. A determination is then made that the identified island is a valid stylus island if a peak strength of the island is greater than the dynamic strength threshold.