Identifying Children in Middle Childhood Who Are at Risk for Reading Problems

Area of Science:

• Educational Psychology
• Reading Science
• Intervention Research

Background:

• Early identification of reading difficulties is crucial for academic success.
• Response to Intervention (RTI) models require efficient universal screening tools.
• Existing screening methods may not be optimal for older elementary students.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and evaluate a universal screening battery for reading.
• To determine appropriateness for older elementary students in an RTI model.
• To establish an accurate and efficient screening method for reading problems.

Main Methods:

• Administered multiple reading measures and correlates to 230 fourth-grade students.
• Classified students as at-risk or not-at-risk based on a three-factor reading model.
• Utilized group-administered tests and teacher ratings as predictors of reading status.

Main Results:

• A three-factor model (comprehension, word recognition/decoding, fluency) effectively predicted reading risk.
• Group tests and teacher ratings were significant predictors; individual tests and growth estimates did not add substantial variance.
• Receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis yielded an area under the curve of 0.90, indicating high accuracy.

Conclusions:

• The developed screening model accurately and efficiently identifies older elementary students with reading problems.
• This universal screening battery is suitable for implementation in Response to Intervention frameworks.
• The findings support the use of a concise battery of measures for effective reading assessment.