Screening for dyslexia
A good deal of effort has gone into developing screening tests for learners on school entry to identify those who are dyslexic so that early intervention can be put into place. A large number of research studies have been carried out to identify factors which will predict dyslexia, and according to Singleton (in his 2009 review, Intervention for dyslexia)
… the strongest predictors include verbal memory, phonological awareness, letter identification, object naming and general language skills.
A number of screening instruments are available commercially, some of which are computer-based.
Most contain additional elements to those listed in the quote above, and some claim up to 90% accuracy in predicting dyslexic type difficulties.
However, no test is 100% accurate and will therefore produce both false positives (i.e. learners who are not dyslexic) and false negatives (i.e. some learners will be missed).
In particular learners experiencing difficulty in early literacy, due to a lack of exposure to language and books, are likely to be misidentified.
In addition, most of these screening instruments identify learners as either dyslexic or not dyslexic, and do not conceptualise dyslexia as a continuum.
Categorisation of this type can affect the way in which teachers interact with learners by creating expectations about individuals. There is a significant body of research which suggests that teachers’ expectations of learners can have a significant impact on their progress.
Rather than attempting to predict which learners may later on be identified as dyslexic, the Rose Report argues that a better approach is founded in monitoring learners’ response to intervention (RTI). In effect this means monitoring their progress in literacy throughout their school career. In the early stages learners are likely to be taught as a group. Those identified as falling behind their peers may then receive some additional support, with further changes based on the progress made.
This approach is expanded on the following pages.
