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Updated: Aug 20, 2026

Assessing Dyslexia at Six Year of Age
Published on: May 1, 2020
Predicting improvement after first-grade reading difficulties: the effects of oral language, emergent literacy, and
Elana Greenfield Spira1, Stacey Storch Bracken, Janet E Fischel
1Department of Psychology, State University of New York at Stony Brook, Stony Brook, NY 11794-2500, USA. espira@ic.sunysb.edu
Abstract:
This study investigated the role of early literacy and behavioral skills in predicting the improvement of children who have experienced reading difficulties in 1st grade. The progress of 146 low-income children whose reading scores in 1st grade were below the 30th percentile was examined to determine (a) how the poorest readers in 1st grade progressed in reading achievement through 4th grade and (b) which emergent literacy and behavioral skills measured in kindergarten predicted differential 4th grade outcomes. Results indicated that the divergence between children who improved and those who did not was established by the end of 2nd grade. Further, individual linguistic skills and behavioral attributes measured in kindergarten contributed substantively to this difference. Implications for intervention timing and educational policy are discussed.
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