The Early Literacy Screening Tools Resource is now available. This resource includes information for school districts on evidence-based early literacy screening tools that are commercially available and the criteria that locally developed screening tools must meet.
As part of the ministry mandate to ensure that BC’s early interventions for children struggling with literacy are the most effective in North America, we are moving beyond what was contemplated with our Technical Table for early literacy screening. This fall, school districts are expected to begin implementing mandatory screening in kindergarten (as a minimum), using one of the approved early literacy screening tools or a locally developed screening tool that meets the ministry’s screening criteria. Mandatory early literacy screening is one of the ways that we will make meaningful progress on literacy outcomes for students in our K-12 system.
The release of this information now is intended to support districts in their local planning and preparation, enabling a smooth and effective rollout of early literacy screening practices next year. Given this expanded direction on early literacy screening, the ministry has extended the submission deadline for district Literacy Professional Learning Plans from July 15 to October 17, 2025. This extension provides school districts with additional time to implement the mandatory early literacy screening and to incorporate it meaningfully into their Literacy Professional Learning Plans. School districts should also consider how these plans support their local strategic planning and reporting requirements under the Framework for Enhancing Student Learning.
A Community of Practice (CoP) will be established with school districts this fall, and the first meeting date will be October 2, 2025. Through the CoP, the ministry will work in partnership with districts across the 2025/26 school year to plan for a required, standardized approach for screening kindergarten through grade 3, including a single screening tool for provincial use, starting in the 2026/27 school year.
School districts can reach out to the K–12 Literacy Supports Initiative Team at literacy.supports@gov.bc.ca with any questions.