Identifying Distinct Reading Profiles and Dyslexia Risk in Kindergarten Students

• In Event: Literacy Learning for Students With Characteristics of Dyslexia or Other Reading Disabilities

Abstract

Many students in the U.S. are not proficient readers, often because their reading challenges were not detected and intervened sufficiently early in their education. Can a digital literacy screener, administered at the beginning of school, predict different causes of reading challenge? Can it do so equitably? 164 diverse kindergarten students completed a gamified, adaptive, digital literacy screener. Consistent with previous research, distinct reading profiles—including risk profiles related to challenges with phonological awareness, naming speed, vocabulary, and combinations of these—could be identified in students as young as kindergarten. We offer preliminary evidence of the screeners’ efficacy with students, with emphasis on students identified as limited English proficient. Implications for early, equitable, targeted reading intervention are discussed.

Authors

• Rebecca JM Gotlieb, University of California - Los Angeles

• Laura Rhinehart, University of California - Los Angeles

• Maryanne Wolf, UCLA