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My Child Was Flagged on a School Screener… What Does That Mean?
A school screener is designed to identify students who may benefit from closer attention or additional instruction. It can tell us that a child is having difficulty with particular foundational skills, but it cannot by itself explain why.
Prefer a printable version of this article? Download the free one-page guide: Five Questions to Ask After a Reading or Math Screening Result.
What are Alberta's Literacy and Numeracy Screeners?
Literacy screening looks at foundational reading skills. Depending on age/grade and the approved measure being used, this can include skills involved in recognizing and decoding words, phonological processing and reading efficiency.
Numeracy screening examines foundational number knowledge and mathematical skills, such as number relationships, operations and other underlying number concepts.
Alberta schools use government-provided or government-approved screening measures. Beginning in the 2026–27 school year, mandatory screening has expanded to include students in Grades 4 and 5, in addition to the screening already occurring in the early elementary years.
What Does it Mean if My Child Was “Flagged”?
When a child is “flagged” by a screener, this essentially means, “This skill deserves special attention.”
It does not automatically mean:
“Your child has dyslexia.”
“Your child has a learning disability.”
“Your child has ADHD.”
“Your child needs a Psychoeducational Assessment.”
Instead, interpret this information as an indicator that your child may need more specific or clear instruction, more practice, intervention, monitoring, or in some cases a closer look.
What Happens After a Child is Identified As Needing Additional Support?
Screen → Identify an area of concern → Provide additional support/intervention → Monitor progress → Re-assess
When a screener identifies an area of concern, the next step is usually support, not a diagnosis. The school may provide additional or more targeted instruction in the skill that was identified, while continuing to watch how your child is doing in the classroom. Over time, teachers can monitor your child’s progress and look at whether the extra support is helping. Your child may then be screened again or their progress reviewed using other classroom information.
This process helps answer an important question: Is your child making the expected progress with additional support, or are difficulties continuing despite that support? Persistent difficulties can be one reason to look more closely at what may be affecting your child’s learning.
Should We Be Worried?
A low score on a school screener does not mean that your child has dyslexia or another learning disorder. Screeners are designed to identify students who may need additional support or closer monitoring. They are intentionally broad: they can show that a particular skill is harder than expected, but they cannot explain why your child is having difficulty.
For many children, the appropriate next step is targeted instruction and monitoring at school. What happens over time can provide valuable information. A child who responds well to additional teaching may simply have needed more practice or explicit instruction with a particular skill. When difficulties are persistent, unexpected, or continue despite appropriate support, however, it can be helpful to look more closely.
“Does a low reading screener score mean dyslexia?”
No. A reading screener can identify difficulty with important reading skills, but a screening score alone cannot diagnose dyslexia.
What matters is the pattern over time. Pay closer attention when reading remains unusually slow or effortful, unfamiliar words are difficult to sound out, spelling stays challenging, or a child needs much more practice than expected to read fluently.
Some children are reasonably accurate readers while reading remains unusually effortful. Strong vocabulary, reasoning, memory, and use of context can help compensate for underlying difficulties.
“Does a low math screener score mean a math learning disorder?”
Not necessarily. Math performance can be affected by many things, including gaps in instruction, difficulty recalling basic facts, attention, working memory, anxiety, or challenges understanding underlying number concepts.
Again, the pattern is more informative than a single score. It may be worth looking more closely when a child receives appropriate instruction and practice but continues to struggle with foundational math concepts, has difficulty retaining previously learned skills, relies on effortful strategies for basic calculations, or understands a concept during instruction but has difficulty applying it independently later.
“What if my child seems to be doing fine in school?”
Some children compensate very effectively, particularly when they have strong reasoning or language skills, significant support, or are willing to put in a great deal of effort.
A useful question is not only “Can my child do this?” but also “How much effort does it take?”
If homework takes much longer than expected, reading or math is consistently avoided, skills do not become more automatic with practice, or there is a noticeable gap between what your child understands and what they can demonstrate independently, those observations are worth discussing with their teacher.
AFTER THE SCREENER
Five Questions to Ask Your Child's Teacher
→ Which specific reading or math skills were difficult for my child?
→ How does this compare with what you see during everyday classroom work?
→ What additional instruction or intervention will my child receive?
→ How will you monitor whether the intervention is helping?
→ When should we meet again to review their progress?
If difficulties continue, another useful question is:
“Do we understand why my child is struggling or are there still unanswered questions?”
Want to bring these questions to your next school conversation?
Download the one-page question guide to save, print, or share.
When should parents consider a Psychoeducational Assessment?
A screening result alone usually isn't a reason to rush into a psychoeducational assessment. Often, it makes sense to see what the school observes and how your child responds to targeted instruction.
An assessment may become more useful when there are questions that screening and classroom intervention haven't fully answered.
It may be worth looking more closely when:
difficulties have been present for some time
progress remains limited despite targeted intervention
reading, spelling or math requires substantially more effort than expected
teachers and parents are noticing concerns across settings
there is a significant mismatch between what the child seems to understand and what they can demonstrate academically
attention, executive functioning, anxiety or other factors may also be affecting learning
parents need a clearer understanding of their child's overall learning profile
What can a Psychoeducational Assessment tell us that a screener can't?
A screener asks:
Is there a skill that may need additional support?
A Psychoeducational Assessment asks:
Why might this child be struggling, how do they learn, and what supports are likely to help?
An assessment can look at thinking and reasoning, reading, writing and math, attention and executive functioning, and relevant factors such as anxiety.
This broader view can help clarify whether difficulties are related to a learning disorder, ADHD, another factor affecting school performance, or a combination—and guide practical recommendations for home and school.
What parents can do right now:
Don't panic over one score.
Ask what specific skill was identified.
Find out what support will happen next.
Watch progress over time.
Keep copies of screening results and school reports.
Seek further assessment when the pattern remains unclear or difficulties persist.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Learn More About Academic Screeners
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It means the screener identified a skill that may need more attention or targeted instruction. It does not mean your child has a learning disorder. The school may provide additional teaching or intervention and monitor your child’s progress to see how they respond to that support.
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No. A low reading screener score can identify areas of reading difficulty, but it cannot diagnose dyslexia. If reading or spelling difficulties persist despite appropriate instruction, further assessment may help determine why your child is struggling and what support would be most helpful.
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Yes. Some children with dyslexia learn to read accurately but continue to read slowly, rely heavily on context, struggle with unfamiliar words, or have persistent difficulty with spelling. Efficiency and effort can be just as important to look at as whether a child can read the words correctly.
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A low math screening score may indicate that your child needs additional instruction or practice with specific foundational math skills.
Ask your child’s teacher which skills were difficult, what support will be provided, and how progress will be monitored. One screening result alone does not establish a math learning disorder.
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Not necessarily. A screening result alone is usually not a reason to rush into an assessment. It may make sense to first learn more about the area of concern, begin targeted support, and see how your child progresses.
A Psychoeducational Assessment may become more useful when difficulties have been present for some time, continue despite appropriate intervention, or there are unanswered questions about why learning is harder than expected.
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Yes. Attention, working memory, organization, and impulse control can all affect how a child performs on academic tasks. For example, a child may lose track of steps, miss details, work too quickly, or have difficulty holding information in mind.
However, ADHD and learning disorders can also occur together, so persistent academic difficulties should not automatically be attributed to attention alone.
When Questions Remain
School screening can be an important first step in identifying where a child may need support. Sometimes targeted instruction and monitoring provide the answers a family needs. In other situations, difficulties persist or the reason for challenges remains unclear.
A Psychoeducational Assessment can help clarify the broader picture by looking at how a child thinks, learns, pays attention and approaches academic tasks.
FROM THE PARENT LIBRARY
Keep Reading
Signs of a Learning Disability: What Parents May Notice at Different Ages →
Does My Child Need a Psychoeducational Assessment? 8 Signs It May Be Time →
