decodable - The Assessment Gap: Why Schools Miss Dyslexia
December 12, 2025
If your child is struggling to read and the school says "they'll grow out of it," you are not alone - and you are right to pause. Here is a hard truth from the research: most schools never screen for dyslexia, and as a result, most children with dyslexia are never identified until they have fallen far behind. Some studies put the number around one in five children affected by dyslexia or a related reading difficulty. That is a lot of children sitting in classrooms every day, being told to try harder on something their brain is wired to struggle with.
Why does the gap exist? Because reading difficulty is often invisible in the early years. A child may have a strong vocabulary, tell wonderful stories, and still be unable to sound out simple words. The clues are there - they are just rarely measured. Assessment matters because the earlier a child gets the right kind of instruction, the better the outcome. Waiting is not neutral; every month of guessing practice makes the habit harder to break.
TRY THIS
This week, try a five-minute home screening. You do not need to be a specialist - you are just collecting clues to bring to the school.
- Listen to a page. Ask your child to read a book that is "too easy." Note every word they guess, skip, or misread.
- Play a rhyming game. "Can you say a word that rhymes with 'cat'?" Trouble here is a classic early signal.
- Test the last sound. "What is the last sound in 'dog'?" A child who cannot isolate the final sound is showing a marker worth writing down.
No diagnosis at home - just evidence. Write down what you see and bring it to your next school meeting.
MICRO-TIPS
- Look for the markers, not the label. Guessing, skipping, and avoiding reading are clues worth acting on.
- Bright kids hide it. A rich vocabulary can mask weak decoding for years.
- Ask in writing. A short email requesting a reading assessment creates a paper trail.
- Bring your evidence. Your observations are data; schools need to see them in writing.
- Early beats late. Research consistently shows earlier intervention leads to stronger outcomes.
A NOTE FOR YOU
If you have been told your child is "fine" or "just behind," and you know in your gut that something is off, trust yourself. You spend more hours watching your child read than anyone else does. The assessment gap is not your child's failure and it is not yours - it is a systems problem, and you can work within it. Asking for a screening is not being difficult; it is being a parent. Give yourself permission to take a breath, and then bring that calm, written request to the school. One question, asked clearly, can change a child's entire reading journey.
Warmly,
- The Decodable Team
Sources & Further Reading