Early Reader Screenings

This is the time of year when many schools are administering Early Reader Screenings. These screenings consist of a few key measurements intended to identify students who may be at risk for reading difficulties. The results of these screenings help to identify which students should be closely monitored and/or would benefit from further, more in-depth, assessment.

Research shows that learning to read is a process that begins long before children enter kindergarten. During the pre-k years, children develop early literacy skills that help them to learn to read in the early years of school. Early literacy screenings and early intervention are the keys to avoiding reading difficulties and the problems that are associated with them.

Three of the most important pre-reading skills your child needs to become a successful reader are:

1) Print awareness (understanding the concepts of words and letters and directionality of text)

2) alphabet knowledge (being able to identify letter shapes and their corresponding names)

3) phonemic awareness (ability to distinguish the individual sounds within a word and to blend and segment those sounds)

A word of caution: screenings are but a small picture of your child's overall learning profile. They may not identify all children who will have difficulty learning to read. However, they have proven to be a good predictor of whether a child is at risk of having reading difficulties and allow parents and teachers to be proactive in addressing these areas.

If you'd like more information on reading and reading assessments, click here.