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Updated: Jan 11, 2026
Universal Screening for Prevention of Reading, Writing, and Math Disabilities in Spanish
Published on: July 18, 2020
Evaluating the Relative Importance of Seven Language Screening Measures: A Preliminary Investigation
Rebecca Summy1, Hugh W Catts2, Yaacov Petscher2
1The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa.
Purpose:
This preliminary study evaluated the relative importance of seven language screening measures, including sentence repetition, vocabulary, nonword repetition, listening comprehension, and word learning, in predicting overall language ability.
Method:
A total of 126 kindergarten and first-grade students completed a comprehensive language screening battery, followed by an overall language assessment. Dominance analysis was used to assess complete, conditional, and general dominance for all language predictors.
Results:
Sentence repetition emerged as the most dominant predictor, demonstrating complete dominance over all other language predictors. A synonyms task was the second strongest predictor, though there was a substantial gap in the variance explained between sentence repetition and synonyms. The word learning task was the weakest predictor among all measures.
Conclusions:
This study supports prior research underscoring the strength of sentence repetition as a screening measure. While sentence repetition should serve as the cornerstone of language screening, further research is needed to explore whether additional language measures enhance accuracy.
