Effective July 1, 2023

2023-2024 KSDE Dyslexia Screening Updates 

Upcoming changes for the universal screening procedure to identify students who may be at risk for reading difficulty have been released for implementation during the 2023-2024 academic year.  These changes were made to assist districts in administering subskill assessments at times recommended by the assessment tool's technical manual that aligns with the tool's national norms and provide an exiting process for secondary students who screen at benchmark and are not showing evidence of reading risk.  A formal document will be posted on the KSDE Dyslexia page related to EOYA requirements for the 2023-2024 on, or before, July 1, 2023. and changes will be reflected in the Dyslexia Handbook.  Key elements are noted below. 

• All K-8 students in KSDE accredited private or public schools will be screened three times a year using a KSDE approved nationally normed valid, reliable screener which includes the following subskill measures: letter naming, letter/ sound fluency, phoneme segmentation, nonsense word fluency, oral reading fluency and comprehension. The schedule for subskills assessed should follow grade level recommendations in the technical manual for the utilized screening instrument.

  • Spring scores to be uploaded to KIDS (at or above/ below benchmark)

    • Kindergarten- phoneme segmentation

    • 1st Grade- nonsense word reading

    • 2nd Grade- oral reading fluency (rate and accuracy)

    • 3rd Grade - oral reading fluency (rate and accuracy) - NEW for Spring 2024

    • 8th grade - comprehension -NEW for Spring 2024

• Secondary Students

  • All 9th graders will be screened in the fall using a comprehension measure (valid, reliable, nationally normed screener)

    • If student scores at or above benchmark they can exit secondary screening- unless there is teacher or parent concern or district decision to continue. Benchmark level should be determined by the assessment product's technical manual or reasonable alignment with grade level standards (40th percentile)

    • If a student flags at some or high risk (below 40th percentile), their score can be validated by methods below and student can be exempt from further screening with: 

      • PreACT (9th Grade) score of 16 (Reading) or above

      • ACT ELA score of 18 or above

    • Students who do not meet the above requirements and score at risk, should be given the CBM/ Oral Reading Fluency assessment with follow-up comprehension questions and be provided any diagnostic assessments that would be useful in determining how to provide core support or reading intervention. Continue progress monitoring and universal screening until student has scored at benchmark (40th percentile or above), or longer, if district feels continued screening is warranted. 

• Additional Information: 

  • A recently arrived students is defined as a student who is first entering/ enrolling in a United States school and is ESOL eligible.  Recently arrived students are exempt from screening for one year following their initial enrollment and then would be screened at the next available screening opportunity. 

  • Students with significant cognitive disability in grades K, 1, 2 and 3 who are unable to complete the regular district early literacy dyslexia screener should be assessed using the Kansas Alternate Early Literacy Screener and results entered on the district EOYA report in the spring. No further dyslexia screening is required for students who qualify for the DLM in grades 4 through high school.