A screening test measures phoneme awareness with letter-name knowledge, letter-sound association, and vocabulary. This screening test has the best predictive validity for students in which grade levels?
kindergarten or first grade
third or fourth grade
first or second grade
fourth or fifth grade
The correct answer is first or second grade.
At these grade levels, students are typically developing crucial foundational skills in reading, including phoneme awareness and letter-sound associations. Screening tests that measure these abilities are particularly predictive of future reading success in early elementary years. By the time students reach third or fourth grade, they are usually expected to have mastered these skills, making such tests less predictive.