Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41211409›Full record

ReviewFrontiers in public health2025

A narrative review of school-based screening tools for dyslexia among students.

Rinad Bakhti, Nishani Fonseka, Federica Amati, Dasha Elizabeth Nicholls, Dougal Hargreaves, Antonio Lazzarino, Lucy McCan, Sara-Nicole Gardner, Krishan Narayan, Helen Kerslake and 2 more

Abstract readReview
In one paragraph

Review in Frontiers in public health, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Rinad BakhtiDepartment of Brain Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Nishani FonsekaKeele University, Keele, United Kingdom.
Federica AmatiSchool of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Dasha Elizabeth NichollsDepartment of Brain Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Dougal HargreavesSchool of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Antonio LazzarinoSchool of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Lucy McCanWolfson Institute of Population Health, Queen Mary University of London, London, United Kingdom.
Sara-Nicole GardnerDepartment of Brain Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.
Krishan NarayanInstitute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.
Helen KerslakeRoyal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, United Kingdom.
Alex WestonListen to Act, London, United Kingdom.
Shamini GnaniSchool of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, Imperial College London, London, United Kingdom.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Early detection and intervention of dyslexia in children and young people (CYP) can help mitigate its negative impacts. Schools play a crucial role as a key point of contact for dyslexia screening. Objective: In this review, we examined the range of screening tools and reported sensitivities and specificities in school settings to identify CYP with dyslexia and explored variations in how tools captured the socio-demographic characteristics of screened student's groups. Design: Narrative review. Methods: We searched five electronic databases: EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsychInfo, Cochrane, and Scopus (2010-2023) to identify worldwide school-based dyslexia screening studies conducted in CYP aged 4-16 years. Three independent researchers screened the papers, and data were extracted on the sensitivity and specificity of the screening tools, the informants involved, the prevalence of dyslexia among those who screened positive, and the socio-demographic characteristics of the identified CYP. Results: Sixteen of 6,041 articles met the eligibility criteria. The study population ranged from 95 to 9,964 participants. We identified 17 different types of school-based dyslexia screening tools. Most studies combined screening tools (mean number of 3.7, standard deviation = 2.7) concurrently to identify dyslexia. Three studies used a staged approach of two and three stages. Developmental Dyslexia and Dysorthographia and Raven Progressive Matrices were the most used tools. The percentage of cases screening positive for dyslexia ranged from 3.1 to 33.0%. Among CYP identified by screening with dyslexia, there were missing socio-demographic data on gender (50%) and socio-economic status (81%) and none on ethnicity. Conclusion: A variety of screening tools are used to identify children and young people (CYP) with dyslexia in school settings. However, it is unclear whether this wide range of tools is necessary or reflects variations in definitions. Greater collaboration between researchers and front-line educators could help establish a solid evidence base for screening and reduce the inconsistencies in approach. In the meantime, a practical and beneficial approach may involve starting with a highly sensitive screening tool, followed by more specific tests to assess detailed deficits and their impact.

Indexed as

DyslexiaMass ScreeningSchool Health ServicesSchoolsStudentsAdolescentChildChild, PreschoolFemaleHumansMaleSensitivity and Specificitydyslexia screeninglearning disabilityschool-based screening toolssensitivity and specificitysystematic review

Identifiers

PMID41211409
PMCPMC12591040

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.