Early Literacy Screening in Kindergarten: Widespread Implementation in Virginia

Journal of Literacy Research, Winter 2004/2005 by Invernizzi, Marcia, Justice, Laura, Landrum, Timothy J, Booker, Keonya

Early success in reading is predicated on a child's ability to accurately and effectively master core literacy constructs (e.g., phonological awareness, alphabet knowledge, concept of word, and grapheme-phoneme correspondence) and to exercise these understandings in a comfortable sociocultural context. In recent years, educators, legislators, and policymakers have shown great interest in creating an effective and instructionally useful diagnostic screening tool for identifying children at risk for early reading difficulties. In response to this charge, the Phonological Awareness and Literacy Screening-Kindergarten (PALS-K) was developed. Through Fall 2003, more than 430,000 kindergarten students in Virginia had been screened using PALS-K. The purposes of this paper are to (a) describe the PALS-K instrument, (b) examine its effectiveness in screening for poor beginning literacy skills, and (c) discuss the educational and policy implications of the results of statewide literacy screening efforts.

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 has focused attention on beginning reading in a way that is perhaps unparalleled in recent decades. Although increasing attention has been directed in the last several years toward the development of effective strategies for preventing reading difficulties in young children (e.g., Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998), systematic application of such strategies has been lacking. As part of the No Child Left Behind Act, the Reading First initiative put forth by the Bush Administration was designed to provide assistance to states in the application of scientifically based reading research. Inherent in any cohesive and scientifically sound reading program are systematic assessment protocols; children must be screened for reading difficulties at an early age, for example, and progress must be regularly assessed so that the effectiveness of instruction can be evaluated and future instruction can be planned.

The early screening of children for potential problems with beginning literacy skills is particularly important and is rightly stressed throughout Reading First language. Indeed, Reading First requirements state that appropriate assessment tools must serve four purposes: screening, diagnosis, progress monitoring, and outcome assessment. Moreover, children must be assessed in each of the five generally recognized essential components of reading: phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

Although the importance of these assessment purposes and the essential components of reading are generally unquestioned, a compelling case can be made that the cornerstone of an effective plan for improving reading achievement lies in early identification and amelioration of any insufficiency in literacy fundamentals. Data suggest, for example, that success in early reading is predicted by children's acquisition of early core literacy skills and that early and targeted intervention in identified areas of need can lessen the impact of any shortcomings on later reading performance (Snow et al., 1998). Obviously, what is needed to prevent reading problems on a wide scale is the accurate identification of those children who experience delays in attaining these critical early literacy skills. That effort, though, requires the development and broad implementation of a valid and reliable means of screening children for inadequate preparation in early literacy skills.

Early literacy screening, in fact, serves a variety of purposes. For instance, it provides a mechanism for identifying those children who are in need of (a) a more thorough and detailed assessment and (b) targeted intervention for improving early literacy performance. Results from early literacy screening may also be used to guide the development of instructional procedures for enhancing the early literacy skills of individuals or particular groups of children in classroom settings. Teachers can and should use the results of such assessments as a systematic plan for instruction. Furthermore, a systematic screening protocol may serve to document children's early literacy accomplishments as a result of instructional experiences (i.e., in the kindergarten or early primary curricula).

Such benefits could be realized if all children were administered early literacy screening at critical developmental junctures, such as entering kindergarten. During this time, children's early literacy skills are in a state of gradual maturation (e.g., Chaney, 1992; Lavine, 1977; Mason, 1980; Roberts, 1992; Snow, et al., 1998). Referring to the early reading and writing behaviors that are acquired by children during the period that precedes development of conventional reading skills, the attainment of early literacy spans the preschool through kindergarten years. By the end of kindergarten, children are generally expected to be developmentally ready to engage in those instructional processes by which conventional reading skills are taught.

Four dimensions comprise the key elements of the young child's attainment of an early literacy foundation. Phonological awareness refers to children's ability to identify and manipulate sounds within a language (Ball & Blachman, 1991; Bradley & Bryant, 1983; Stahl & Murray, 1994; Wagner & Torgeson, 1987). Alphabet knowledge describes young children's awareness of the distinctive features of individual letters and their knowledge of letter names (Adams, 1990; Lavine, 1977; Treiman & Broderick, 1998). Concept of word refers to children's ability to segment spoken sentences and phrases into words and to match spoken words with their counterparts in text (Adams, 1990; Bowey, Tunmer, & Pratt, 1984; Flanigan, 2003; Morris, Bloodgood, Lomax, Si Perney, 2003; Roberts, 1992). Grapheme-phoneme correspondence describes children's ability to identify correspondence between letters (graphemes) and sounds (phonemes) and to use this information in their earliest decoding and writing attempts (Adams, 1990; Wagner & Torgeson, 1987).