Understanding Literacy Screening

An Academic Screener is:

• A short, informal test that is given to all students to determine whether further testing isneeded
• Not a formal evaluation for learning difficulties

• Early and intense intervention to address reading difficulties is the best way to prevent early problems form becoming more severe over time.
• With early identification and early intervention, students at risk for reading difficulties,including dyslexia, can succeed in school and graduate ready for college, career, and civic life.

• Students should be screened by their classroom teachers. Children do their best work when they are comfortable and feel safe with familiar adults
• The information that teachers learn through screening will help them plan instruction and determine when additional help is needed.

Dyslexia looks different for each child and across ages and stages. It is common for people with dyslexia to struggle pronouncing words with two or more syllables, as well as:

• Phonemic Awareness: the ability to hear, identify, delete, and change the sounds of spoken words
• Phonological Awareness: knowledge of speech sounds, such as rhyme, alliteration (words that start with the same sound), the number of words in a sentence, and syllables with in words.
• Letter Sound Knowledge: knowledge of the sounds represented by the letters in the alphabet. This also includes combinations of letters that represent speech sounds.
• Rapid Automatized Naming (RAN): the ability to quickly name aloud a series of familiar items. This includes letters, numbers, colors, and objects found in a classroom.

A family/school partnership is essential for student success. The first step when you are concerned about your child’s progress is to make an appointment to talk to the teacher to discuss:

• Schools should screen students’ Phonemic Awareness, Phonological Awareness, and Letter Sounds Knowledge at least once a year o Kindergarten: January o First and Second Grade: Fall
• Students who enroll mid-year should be screened with their peers at the next screening date.
• Schools should screen students’ Rapid Automatic Naming Skills in kindergarten and 1st grade.
• Students who demonstrate deficit areas on the initial screener will receive additional interventions and their progress will be monitored. 
• Teachers administering the screener will be trained to use the screening tools according to the publishers’ recommendations. 
• Families will be engaged in decision making and updated on student performance.

• A difference that makes processing speech sounds difficult, specifically the ability tohear, substitute, and change individual sounds in words
• Characterized by challenges with reading and spelling, particularly with the connections between letters and sounds.
• Likely to lead to problems learning and remembering vocabulary, understanding what isread, getting thoughts on paper.
• Not related to overall intelligence.
• Not a visual problem or caused by lack of motivation, interest, or exposure to rich literature.
  Video: What is Dyslexia/Dyslexia Explained by Margie Gillis with Understood.org.