In April 2024, the British Columbia government announced a significant literacy initiative aimed at improving literacy skills among students, particularly those in kindergarten to Grade 3. One aspect of the initiative is the implementation of evidence-based early literacy screening; however, elementary teachers from kindergarten to Grade 7 can effectively use screening tools to decide how best to support the literacy development of their readers.
Learn more about British Columbia’s Literacy Supports for Kindergarten through Grade 12 HERE.
What are literacy universal screening tools?
Universal literacy screening tools are assessments used to identify students who may be at risk for future reading difficulties. These tools are typically administered to all students at the beginning of the school year and periodically throughout the year to monitor progress.
"Screeners" contribute towards a reader’s broader literacy profile by suggesting the current “reading health”. They are also important in the early identification of reading challenges. These tools enable timely and strategic instructional planning, and possibly interventions, to support student literacy development.
| UNIVERSAL SCREENING TOOLS ARE... | UNIVERSAL SCREENING TOOLS ARE NOT... |
|---|---|
| Efficient. The measures are timed to offer brief snapshots of specific literacy skills to monitor if students are making progress. They are designed to be administered without consuming excessive amounts of instructional time. | Equal to the BC Proficiency Scale. These measures are not indicators of whether a child is emerging, developing, proficient, or extending in literacy learning. They add to a teacher’s broader understanding of the learner’s current reading proficiency. |
Standardized. Teachers follow detailed directions to administer the assessments the same way for each child. This ensures reliable results, regardless of who administered the measure, and ensures children receive the same prompts and directions. | Diagnostic. Screening tools suggest which learners need strategic or intensive support to boost their literacy development towards grade-stage abilities. They do not clarify what to teach to support each learner’s word recognition skills. |
| Predictive. Screening tools predict the learner's probability of reaching future reading milestones and abilities without additional strategic support. | Comprehensive. Screening tools measure critical word recognition skills that underpin reading comprehension, including phonemic awareness, decoding, word recognition, automatic word reading, and fluency. Although accessed during some measures, vocabulary, background knowledge and language comprehension are not skills targeted in screening tools that are equally impactful to reading. |
Why are screening tools standardized and why do they include timed measures?
Universal screeners are standardized to ensure consistency, reliability, and fairness in assessing students' literacy skills. Standardized screeners allow for benchmarking against established norms or standards from tens of thousands of results from children. This helps teachers gauge how students are performing relative to children in their grade both within your school and more broadly.
The measures are timed not only for standardization, but also in response to research determining that one to three minutes per measure gathers enough of a snapshot to demonstrate whether a learner is making progress or needs strategic support.
Do screening tools uncover what to teach to impact a child's reading?
Screening tools suggest which learners need more targeted support yet do not clarify what to teach to support each learner’s word recognition skills. After screening, teachers strategically select “diagnostic” assessment tools to more clearly define what to teach and instruction or practices that will most effectively support student learning. Examples of diagnostic assessment tools include the SD36 Phonics Survey, ELPATS (Early Literacy Phonemic Awareness Tool Surrey), SD36 Listening to Readers, or spelling inventories. Learn more by viewing Session 3 of a webinar series entitled “Empowering Literacy in British Columbia” (May 2024).
Diagnostic assessments contribute additional information about readers. Teachers also document observations, conversations and student products to create a comprehensive picture of the learner to determine the most effective instruction and practices to respond.
Reference: Smart & Glaser, Outcomes-Driven Model (2023). Graphic adapted from Dyslexia Canada Series: Empowering Literacy in British Columbia (Session 3 of 4)
