Dyslexia Screening Tools Schools Use vs. What Actually Predicts Reading Success: A Parent’s Comparison
Explore the gap between dyslexia screening tools used in schools and the predictors of reading success. Discover what parents can do to ensure early and effective intervention.
Introduction: The Dyslexia Dilemma
Imagine getting a report from your child’s teacher at the end of the year saying that your child is having difficulty reading. Why didn’t the teacher or the school identify this earlier in the year? Why wait until it is too late to get your child on track for successful reading in school? The school has probably been using a dyslexia screening tool, such as DIBELS or PALS, to assess your child’s reading. There are many assessments of reading that can be used in schools to check for dyslexia, but most just check for early reading skills. Research indicates that up to 15-20% of the population has dyslexia. Yet, many children go undiagnosed and struggle in school until it affects their ability to complete their school work. What is it that really predicts reading success for children, that parents can use to sort through the early years of education.
Understanding Dyslexia Screening Tools
What Are DIBELS and PALS?
Assessments that School’s Use for Identifying Dyslexia Early. As early interventions are critical to maximizing a child’s potential for reading well, many school’s use of a combination of the following early grade level reading and/or literacy screening or assessments for determining whether a child needs further dyslexia assessment, or for tracking a child’s reading progress. Staying Flexible – Screen, but don’t make the single assessment your whole evaluation. Dyslexia can manifest in many different ways, and most tools (even those good) don’t test all of the components that affect reading well. DIBELS: DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills) measurements include: · Measures of phonemic awareness (e.g. Synthesis, Analysis Probes). · Measures of a child’s knowledge of and use of the alphabetic principle (e.g. Naming Triads, Nonsense Word) · Measures of reading fluency (e.g. Oral Reading Fluency, Retell). · PALS (Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening): · Uses a set of phonological awareness items (e.g. rhyme, words that begin with the same sound) for K-3 students, · Uses a set of early literacy items (e.g. letter names, sight words) for grades 4-6.
Limitations of Standard Tools
Just as important as detecting the early signs of learning difficulties are the indicators that can reveal potential reading ability. They provide early indicators that can predict future reading success. A study in the Journal of Educational Psychology investigated several tests of learning abilities in kindergarten and the results of reading tests in first grade, and found that tests of rapid automatized naming (RAN) and phonological processing were the best predictors of reading ability in first grade.
What Truly Predicts Reading Success?
The Role of Full Assessments
Research has established that a more in-depth assessment, namely the Complete Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP) for example, can better predict a student’s ability to read. This type of test, and others like it, measure a range of abilities, and by gaining an understanding of a student’s strengths and weaknesses in these areas, educators can best support him or her through additional interventions.
Indicators of Future Reading Success
A study in the Journal of Educational Psychology identified early indicators of reading success including children’s performance in rapid automatized naming (RAN) and phonological processing. These skills enable children to succeed with reading. Unlike the school screening tools that identify children fail which provide only a late warning of a child’s reading difficulties, RAN and phonological processing tests can provide an early warning of reading difficulties enabling timely interventions to be implemented to aid a child’s reading success.
Can You Diagnose Dyslexia Early on in a Child’s Life?
Early Signs of Dyslexia
How Early Can Dyslexia Be Detected?
Importance of Early Intervention
That reading skills can be changed for kindergarten and first grade students with learning difficulties and who are developing slowly with the right interventions is reported by The Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity. Helping these children as early as possible is essential in order to prevent them from falling further and further behind their peers. Early intervention can help to give their self-esteem a boost as well as help them to cope with school work.
Comparing School Tools vs. Predictive Indicators
Accuracy and Timeliness
DIBELS and PALS are tools that are commonly used in school settings as a preliminary means of screening students for reading difficulties. Follow-up assessments are often needed to determine if a student is at risk for reading difficulties. On the other hand, the predictive indicators mentioned in this post can help to identify at-risk students earlier and allow for earlier interventions. The difference that earlier interventions can make for a student who is struggling with his or her reading is enormous.
Cost and Accessibility
Standard tools are commonly part of a school’s typical assessments as they are generally a cost effective method of screening for reading difficulties. In contrast full assessments are typically more expensive but will go into more detail about a child’s specific reading difficulties. For this reason they can save a lot of money in the long run by avoiding in-depth remediation required by some children.
Why Schools Stick With Standard Tools
Logistical Constraints
A further difficulty is the use of time and resources in schools. While full assessments are thorough and in-depth, there are a number of at-risk children in every classroom. Using time and resources to conduct a full assessment on every child would not be cost effective in the long run. It is therefore standard for schools to use a combination of screening tools in order to identify at-risk children. It is then possible to use conduct a more in-depth assessment on those children who require it. Standard screening tools such as DIBELS are very easy to use and to administer to children. They can be used as part of the normal school schedule and do not require any additional time or resources.
Policy and Curriculum Limitations
Unfortunately, schools and classrooms are often hamstrung by policies, by lack of resources, by the parameters of a school’s or district’s curriculum. As is detailed in The Ultimate Guide to Education: Exploring the Bedrock of Learning, many of the best methods for screening for dyslexia have yet to be systematically integrated into the vast majority of classrooms across our country.
What Can Parents Do?
Advocating for Complete Assessments
This type of tool can be very helpful in identifying students who need reading help; however, there are more indicators and assessors that can give a more in-depth look to reading problems and indicate potential problems earlier. With this information parents can help their child by advocating for complete reading assessments for their child. The assessment may reveal that the school is relying on a screening tool to assess students for reading problems. Parents should explore the results of the assessment with the teacher and suggest a more in-depth reading assessment for their child. Researching current reading assessment and intervention methods can also give parents ideas on which assessment to recommend to the teacher.
Supplementing School Assessments
However, often additional private assessments by an educational psychologist or a reading and learning centre are needed. Many parent groups e.g. the International Dyslexia Association have detailed listings of specialist assessors.
Conclusion: A Balanced Approach to Dyslexia Detection
So there you have it parents, DIBELS and PALS Screening Tools serve an important purpose at school but should not be solely relied upon for a Dyslexia Diagnosis. Those same educators who administer these screening tools on a periodic basis also use them for purposes of development and of measuring a student’s reading ability for school. With the aid of predictive indicators such as those found in the RAN and phonological processing measures, there are detailed assessments that will provide the crucial information you and your child needs earlier than later. And if you need to know the reading assessments, and other education strategies and information needed to help your child overcome their challenges in school, then take a look at The Ultimate Guide to Education: Unlocking the Pathway to Success. I found the detailed information about all of the reading assessments to be invaluable as was the information about the costs of those various assessments in relation to the long-term cost of remediation when not utilized.
References
[1] International Dyslexia Association – Gives guidelines on dyslexia assessment and intervention.
[2] Journal of Educational Psychology – Offers insights on early indicators of reading success.
[3] National Institute of Child Health and Human Development – full reading assessment strategies.
[4] Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity – Early dyslexia detection and intervention.
[5] The Ultimate Guide to Education: Exploring the Bedrock of Learning.
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