Nationwide results from the Early Years Evaluation reinforce new research on the importance of early literacy.
FREDERICTON, NB, July 15, 2025 /CNW/ - New research is reinforcing the importance of pre-reading skills for Kindergarten students and offering parents free resources to help maintain those gains over the summer months.
Dr. Shayne Piasta and her colleagues at The Ohio State University followed over 700 children as they progressed from preschool to Grade 1. Their research found that prereading skills, including language development, letter knowledge, and print awareness, are strong predictors of reading success in Grade 1. These skills were especially important for children identified as at risk for later reading difficulties.
This research supports findings from Canada's Early Years Evaluation–Teacher Assessment (EYE-TA). In the 2024–25 school year, more than 31,000 Kindergarten students were assessed nation-wide.
Teachers evaluated students language development and five key pre-reading domains:
- Concepts about print (understanding how books work)
- Letter knowledge (recognizing letters)
- Sound–letter relationships (knowing which sounds letters make)
- Phonological awareness (playing with parts of words like rhymes and syllables)
- Phonemic awareness (hearing individual sounds in words)
The EYE-TA provides teachers with a snapshot of each child's development and helps them tailor instruction. Many educators also use a set of 100 structured learning activities developed by The Learning Bar, which created the tool.
In Alberta, all Kindergarten teachers assessed their students using the EYE-TA in January. Grade 1 teachers will reassess those same students in September to monitor their progress. Substantial gains in foundational skills are expected, especially in districts that consistently used the Early Years Evaluation lessons and activities. These province-wide assessments will provide valuable insights into early learning outcomes.
To support families at home, The Learning Bar has released Reading Ready, a set of 10 fun, free games that parents can use to build early literacy skills during the summer.
"Even 15 minutes of reading or play each day can help prevent summer learning loss," said Dr. J. Douglas Willms, founder of The Learning Bar and former Canada Research Chair in Literacy and Human Development.
Parents can access the free games at https://stan.store/thelearningbar.
SOURCE The Learning Bar Inc.
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