Early Screening for Decoding-and Language-Related Reading Difficulties in First and Third Grades - Assessment for Effective Intervention

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Marglet

The present study examined how beginning-of-first-grade decoding- and language-related predictors identify later reading comprehension difficulties at the end of first grade (n=125) and end of third grade (n=77). Reading comprehension was measured using a composite of standardized reading comprehension tests. Students at or below the 25th percentile on the composite were classified as having difficulties. Sight word reading efficiency and sentence repetition predicted end-of-first-grade difficulty, while efficiency, sentence repetition, and oral discourse predicted end-of-third-grade difficulty. Screening showed high classification accuracy, with AUC values of 94.7% in Grade 1 and 90.5% in Grade 3.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages11

Reading Time28 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Background: Early Screening and RTI

Universal screening and progress monitoring

Language and Decoding Contributions to Reading Comprehension

Purpose and Study Rationale

Screening Battery Requirements and Accuracy

Sensitivity and specificity

Decoding-Related Measures in Screening

Early Screening for Decoding-and Language-Related Reading Difficulties in First and Third Grades Assessment for Effective Intervention 2021, Vol. 46(2) 99–109 © Hammill Institute on Disabilities 2019 Article reuse guidelines: [sagepub.com/journals-permissions](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[ ](sagepub.com/journals-permissions)[DOI: 10.1177/1534508419857234](DOI: 10.1177/1534508419857234)[ ](DOI: 10.1177/1534508419857234)[aei.sagepub.com](aei.sagepub.com) Rebecca D. Silverman, EdD 1, Daniel McNeish, PhD2, Deborah L. Speece, PhD3, and Kristin D. Ritchey, PhD4 Abstract The present study investigated the identification of end of first grade (n = 125) and end of third grade (n = 77) reading comprehension difficulties using beginning of first grade decoding-related and language-related predictors. Reading comprehension was defined using a composite of three standardized reading comprehension measures. Students at or below the 25th percentile on the reading comprehension composite were considered to have difficulty with reading comprehension. Sight word reading efficiency and sentence repetition predicted end of first grade reading comprehension difficulties. Sight word reading efficiency, sentence repetition, and oral discourse predicted end of third grade reading comprehension difficulties. Both screening batteries yielded high classification accuracy (area under the receiver operating characteristic curve [AUC] = 94.7% in Grade 1 and AUC = 90.5% in Grade 3). Results are discussed in light of the research base on early screening for reading comprehension difficulties. Keywords early literacy, reading/literacy, screening/benchmarking Research shows that early screening can identify students at risk of reading difficulties later in school (e.g., Compton, Fuchs, Fuchs, & Bryant, 2006; O’Connor & Jenkins, 1999; Speece et al., 2011) . The prevalence of early screening in schools has increased since the reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004), which allows for Response to Intervention (RTI) tobe used in identifying children with specific learning disabilities. A typical model of RTI includes three tiers of assessment and instruction. Tier 1 typically includes (a) universal screening (i.e., assessment of all students) to identify children at risk of difficulties,(b) quality evidencebased general education instruction, and (c) frequent progress monitoring to identify students who are not demonstrating expected growth. Students who are at risk of reading difficulties and who do not respond to evidencebased general education instruction as demonstrated by expected growth are provided with intervention in subsequent tiers. As the first step in the process of identifying difficulties, universal screening is an essential component of RTI. Although there has been extensive research on decoding-related predictors (e.g., phonological awareness, letter knowledge, and word reading) of reading difficulties (e.g., Compton et al., 2006; O’Connor & Jenkins, 1999), there has been relatively less research investigating whether language-related assessments would facilitate identifying students at risk of reading difficulties. However, as reviewed by Florit and Cain (2011), research has established that reading comprehension is a product of both decoding- and language-related skills. The relative importance of decoding-related and language-related skills seems to change over time (e.g., Adlof, Catts, & Little, 2006) . Initial reading activities place high demands on decoding-related skills, but, as students become more efficient decoders, language-related skills become more influential in reading comprehension. To effectively identify students who may have difficulty in decoding-related skills, language-related skills, or both, early screening batteries may need to include language measures in addition to decoding measures. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether assessment of

FAQs

How did the study define students with reading comprehension difficulties?

Students were classified as having reading comprehension difficulty when they scored at or below the 25th percentile on a composite of standardized reading comprehension measures.

Which predictors were linked to end-of-first-grade difficulties?

Sight word reading efficiency and sentence repetition predicted reading comprehension difficulties at the end of first grade.

Which predictors were linked to end-of-third-grade difficulties and how accurate were the screening results?

Sight word reading efficiency, sentence repetition, and oral discourse predicted end-of-third-grade difficulties, and screening achieved high classification accuracy with AUC values of 94.7% (Grade 1) and 90.5% (Grade 3).

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Marglet