The authors of this study designed and measured the efficacy of a kindergarten screening tool aimed at identifying children at risk for reading disabilities.

The study is a longitudinal one that followed 499 Saskatchewan children from kindergarten through Grade 3. The kindergarten screening process consisted of assessments of phonological awareness and letter-sound understanding.

The results indicate that kindergarten letter-sound understanding is the strongest predictor of Grade 3 reading achievement. Based on the kindergarten screening scores, the research team was able to predict Grade 3 reading achievement with 80 percent accuracy.

The results allowed the team to reliably identify a small group of children in kindergarten whose achievement profiles place them in the lower ranks of readers in their class, and who are likely to remain poor readers in Grade 3. Identifying these children in kindergarten allows elementary classroom teachers to begin providing these children with necessary supports and interventions.

The screening tool was implemented at the classroom level, by classroom teachers, the authors note. This is consistent with recommendations that screening procedures should be quick, inexpensive, and easily accessed by the classroom teacher.