Research shows that many students at all grades struggle due to the critical but overlooked skills for the physical mechanics of reading. When students spend too much effort managing the mechanics, they devote less attention to understanding and comprehending text.
The Stanford Taylor Foundation has developed new online screeners to identify students in grades 2-8 held back by underdeveloped visual skills and inefficient reading patterns.
The screeners are designed for independent student individual student completion in about 20 minutes. They provide educators with both individual student and class reports, as well as instructional recommendations.
What are Visual Skills and Why Screen for Them?
- Standard eye screenings measure vision clarity at 20 feet. They don’t test the visual skills needed for reading such as eye tracking (following lines of text), eye teaming (eyes working together), fixation stability (holding a steady gaze), and convergence (eyes focusing on a target).
- Over 50% of elementary and 25% of middle school students with low reading achievement have underdeveloped visual skills.
What is Reading Efficiency and Why Screen for It?
- Reading Efficiency is the ability to read silently, with good comprehension, at or above the naturally slower pace of speaking. Many students develop inefficient patterns of tracking text, which can persist even after visual skills mature.
- Half of all students are inefficient readers. 70% of students with low reading achievement are inefficient readers. Even 30% of proficient readers have inefficient reading habits. As reading demands increase, these students can’t keep up with the reading load and begin to fall behind.
The Good News:
Visual skills and Reading Efficiency can be strengthened with targeted instruction and training.