Overview:

In April 2024, the Ministry of Education announced an initiative designed to improve the literacy skills of students in British Columbia, particularly those in Kindergarten to Grade 3:

• Link to news release

A major focus of this initiative was to mandate the early literacy screening of Kindergarten to Grade 3 students using early literacy screeners.  These screeners are brief classroom checks that help teachers understand where students are in their reading journey and provide extra support when needed.  While not diagnostic, they can help guide instruction and track progress. 

Starting in 2024/2025, Mission School District has started exploring the Acadience Reading K-6 screener beginning with Kindergarten.   Other carefully chosen diagnostic tools will continue to be used for more thorough assessment of skills, such as the Early Phonemic Awareness Tool Surrey (ELPATS), which we have been using in Kindergarten.

See the letter sent to K Families on Sept. 11^th, 2025 from the Minister of Education and Child Care about the introduction of screening to Kindergarten.

• Letter to Families: Kindergarten Early Literacy Letter (Minister of Education and Child Care, Sept. 2025)

What is a screener? 

• Link to Standardized Literacy Screener information

Resources for Families:

• Literacy at Home Resources
• Communication  and MPSD Speech-Language Resources
• Mission Community Resources for Literacy