Predicting Risk for Reading Difficulty among Spanish-English Speaking Students: Classification Accuracy of Kindergarten Oral Language and Early Literacy

Assessment and identification of language and reading disabilities among young bilingual children represents a significant challenge. Research indicates that language and reading disabilities are frequently misidentified in this population (e.g., Mancilla-Martinez et al., 2023). Misidentification of language and reading disabilities has serious consequences, as children with significant learning needs may not receive appropriate supports. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify which kindergarten early language and literacy measures have good classification accuracy for predicting first grade reading difficulty among Spanish-English bilingual children. Two hundred twenty children across South Carolina and Texas participated in this study. Children were enrolled in kindergarten, when they completed measures of oral language and early literacy skills in Spanish and English, and followed through first grade, when they completed measures of Spanish and English reading skills. Approximately 60% of the sample was enrolled in dual language instructional programs, and the remainder of the sample was enrolled in English-only programs. Results indicated that kindergarten English rapid letter naming had strong classification accuracy for distinguishing risk for dyslexia at the end of first grade among children enrolled in Spanish-English dual language instruction. However, no measures had strong classification accuracy for distinguishing children at risk for reading difficulty in English-only instructional contexts. These results have clear practical implications for screening bilingual students for risk for dyslexia and highlight the importance of considering language of instruction when evaluating risk for reading difficulty.