Issue 25: Guided by Data: Navigating Your Child's Reading Journey with Screening Results | Nicola Lott

Imagine you're travelling to a conference in another country. You punch the hotel address into your rental car's GPS, confident it will guide you. But instead of providing directions, the screen displays: "Congratulations, your trip request has been accepted. We'll let you know when you arrive."

That's it. No step-by-step directions, no updates, no idea if you're getting closer or hopelessly lost. The roads are unfamiliar, the signs make no sense, and you're filled with doubt. Hours later, the GPS chimes, "You have arrived." You pull into the hotel lot, relieved but wondering—how many others didn't make it?

This scenario sounds absurd. No one would want a GPS that leaves them guessing. Yet, this is often how we approach the journey of learning to read.

Where is your child on their journey to learning to read? Are you feeling confident or unsure if they need extra support? If they are getting extra support, is that support working? If you don't have good answers to these questions, you are not alone. For years, these same questions have puzzled educators and researchers.

By addressing gaps early, we can prevent the educational trauma that too often accompanies reading difficulties.

Fortunately, we now have tools to illuminate the path. Screening assessments act like a GPS for reading, tracking progress at critical points and alerting us when a child shows signs of struggle. This allows teachers to provide timely support, often before the child even realizes they've fallen behind. By addressing gaps early, we can prevent the educational trauma that too often accompanies reading difficulties.

As a parent, you have the power to ask for this data and gain a clear picture of your child's reading journey. Understanding this information means you can work with teachers to ensure your child gets the support they need—right when they need it.

What is screening?

Decades of research into how children progress in reading uncovered specific markers that accurately predict future reading success. Researchers turned these markers into quick and efficient tools called Universal Screeners that teachers can use to identify children who may be at risk of struggling with reading so we can provide support early, ideally before a child even falls behind.

It's important to note what screeners do and don't do. Literacy Screeners do not diagnose learning difficulties such as dyslexia. Nor do they deliver a simple 'yes' or 'no' verdict about reading ability. Instead, they flag teachers to an increased risk of difficulty in a similar way to your GPS, alerting you that there may be some congestion on the road ahead.

Beyond identifying risk, many screeners also provide teachers access to a powerful tool: Progress monitoring. Students who receive extra support can have their progress monitored so that the teachers can closely monitor to ensure that the support is working for them and adapt their instruction if not. This ensures that every child gets the tailored support they need to find success.

Schools choose from a variety of screening tools, often referred to as Curriculum-Based Measures or Criterion-Based Measures (CBMs). Popular examples include DIBELS, Acadience, FastBridge, and Aims Web. While the names and formats vary, the goal is the same: to guide teachers in supporting every student on their reading journey.

How to decode screening data?

Screening assessments are different depending on the brand and the age group for which they have been developed. However, they follow similar principles, meaning that a parent can quickly get the gist of the results.

At the heart of a screener is the 'benchmark'. A benchmark is a performance level at which a child is considered to have a low risk of progressing into difficulty. Note - not no risk. This distinction is crucial. Benchmarks are a helpful guide, but they are never the sole way we assess a child's learning journey.

The benchmarks are derived from extensive research involving large, diverse groups of children. By analyzing this wealth of data, researchers have been able to identify performance levels that correlate with varying degrees of risk for reading difficulties. These benchmarks serve as a guidepost for educators, helping them determine which students may benefit from additional support to stay on track.

Benchmarks are a helpful guide, but they are never the sole way we assess a child's learning journey.

Screeners typically group children into three or four categories depending on how they perform in relation to the benchmark. These categories are generally:

• Significantly above benchmark
• At benchmark
• Below benchmark
• Significantly below benchmark

The exact terms are different with each brand, but most brands use consistent colour coding. Blue and green are for lower risk, and yellow and red indicate more intensive support needs. These categories assist teachers in quickly analyzing their class composition so that they can plan targeted instruction and get extra support for those who need it. Screeners are a game changer, allowing teachers to identify children who may have slipped through the cracks in the past.

This is an example of how your child’s report may look. This example shows a child who needs some extra support at the beginning of the year and has caught up by the middle of the year.

When should I panic if my child scores in the yellow or red zone on a screener?

It's natural to feel worried if your child's screener results fall in the higher-risk zones, especially if school wasn't always a positive experience for you. However, being flagged through Universal Screening is actually a good thing – it's the system working as intended. These results put your child on the radar for receiving extra support, ideally to catch them up before they fall behind.

Research has consistently shown us that it's more effective to intervene with reading than it is to wait.

If you already have concerns about your child's reading progress, these scores validate those concerns. You no longer have to accept reassurances like "everything is fine" or "they'll grow into it." Research has consistently shown us that it's more effective to intervene with reading than it is to wait. (Al Otaiba & Foorman, 2008; Dahl-Leonard et al., 2024; Herrera et al., 2021; Solari et al., 2021). Screening results give us a clear message as to who needs support. If your child has been flagged, ask what specific support plans are being put in place and how progress will be monitored. This is the first step toward ensuring your child gets the help they need to thrive.

What if screening is inclusive?

If your child receives a mixture of green 'projected to reach benchmark' and yellow 'greater risk to not meet benchmark' scores, then it's best to talk with your child's teacher along with the teacher in the school most trained in interpreting the results. Not all screener results carry the same weight, and these professionals can give you a deeper understanding of your child's profile and what it means for their progress.

If your child is hovering around the benchmark and isn't selected for pull-out support, don't assume that no support is happening. Schools are increasingly skilled at addressing specific needs within the general classroom setting. To understand what's in place, ask your child's teacher about their plan for targeted support. This conversation can give you peace of mind and ensure your child is on the right track.

It is a multi-stop journey

Teachers screen elementary-aged children three times per year. Children who are at risk get monitored more frequently. While a single set of results offers valuable insights, the real power of screening lies in watching children progress over time. This helps inform instructional decisions, especially for those children hovering right at the benchmark.

Parents can ask to receive this data regularly so that they can better understand their child's journey towards literacy. For struggling readers, progress monitoring graphs provide clarity on how intervention support is going. If you are concerned by the progress monitoring graphs, it's a good idea to ask the teacher about what barriers they are encountering and brainstorm together how to work around them.

Every brain is unique, and while literacy programmes are based on best practices, they require tweaking to meet the unique needs of the children they are serving. These adjustments can take a few weeks to see progress, so working collaboratively with your child's teachers ensures the best outcomes for your child.

When we look at data across time we can see clearly if the child is progressing at a rate that will catch them up and use this information to make instructional decisions.

What if my child’s school doesn't do this or won't share the results?

Screening has become mainstream over the last few years, but there are still many schools that are either not screening regularly or not at all. If that is the case, ask your child's teacher for evidence that your child is making progress and learning to read at an appropriate pace. Schools should always track reading development, and it's reasonable to ask for updates on your child's progress.

If your child's school is reluctant to provide the data, ask for clarification as to why. Often, the concern is that parents might misinterpret the data or use it to pressure the child. If this is the case, ask the teacher or resource staff to explain the results and their implications. Having them walk you through the data not only provides clarity but may also help the school realize that sharing this information with parents is both manageable and beneficial to all.

Bringing this road trip home

The journey of learning to read isn't one a child has to take alone. Teachers serve as guides, parents as the compass, and screening assessments as the GPS ensuring our children stay on track. These tools are more than just numbers; they provide the clarity needed to make timely course corrections and tailor support for unique learners who need more than standard instruction. By understanding the data teachers use, parents can become active, informed partners in the process, helping to create a smoother, more successful reading journey for their child.

The journey of learning to read isn't one a child has to take alone.

References

• Al Otaiba, S., & Foorman, B. (2008). Early Literacy Instruction and Intervention. Community Literacy Journal, 3(1), 21–37.
• Dahl-Leonard, K., Hall, C., Mesa, M. P., Zucker, T. A., & Peacott, D. (2024). Exploring Small-Group Reading Instruction for Students at Risk for Reading Difficulties in Kindergarten Classrooms. Reading & Writing Quarterly, 0(0), 1–18. [doi.org]
• Herrera, S., Philips, B. M., Newton, Y., Dombek, J. L., & Hernandez, J. A. (2021). Effectiveness of Early Literacy Instruction: Summary of 20 Years of Research(Governmental REL 2021–084; p. 20).
• U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Regional Educational Laboratory Southeast. [ies.ed.gov]
• Solari, E., Hall, C., & McGinty, A. (2021). Brick by Brick: A Series of Landmark Studies Pointing to the Importance of Early Reading Intervention. The Reading League Journal, January/February, 18–21.

Nicola Lott, M.SpEd

Nicola Lott, M.SpEd., is an educator with more than a decade of experience supporting neurodiverse learners. An accredited Orton-Gillingham practitioner through OG Canada and a CERI Accredited Structured Literacy Interventionist, Nicola also holds a master’s in special education with a focus on Learning Disabilities. She is the founder of the Canadian Academic Interventionists' Hub (CAI Hub), a community where she trains, mentors, and coaches educators on evidence-based literacy practices. Nicola is passionate about translating research into practical strategies for classrooms, particularly in the areas of Structured Literacy and Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS). With a commitment to equity and inclusion, Nicola works to bridge the gap between general and special education, empowering educators with the tools and knowledge to support diverse learners. Through CAI Hub, she equips educators with the skills to foster literacy success for all students, no matter their learning needs.

Extracts from Dystinct Magazine