Students with Reading Difficulties
Diagnostic Testing
Since 2009, schools have been required to perform early language screenings of all students in Grade 0.66 The purpose of the screening is to identify students in need of special educational assistance at an early stage in order to tailor classroom instruction to their individual needs.67 It is up to the municipality or school to decide how the language assessment is carried out. In some schools, Grade 0 teachers are responsible for administering the language assessment; at others, a speech therapist, literacy counselor, or school psychologist is involved.68
The school principal is responsible for ensuring that students showing signs of dyslexia are tested, while the reading consultant identifies students for testing, implements the assessment, and advises teachers on how to identify students with dyslexia. Reading and spelling materials available at all grades focus on decoding and comprehension as well as student attitudes toward reading and learning.
At the end of 2016, the Danish Ministry of Education published a dynamic test assessing studentsʼ decoding abilities.69 The test (Dynamisk Afkodningstest) determines the ease with which students acquire basic decoding skills, thereby identifying students at risk of developing serious decoding difficulties by as early as at the end of Grade 0. A national dyslexia test (Ordblindetesten), launched by the Ministry in 2015, assesses students for dyslexia across municipalities from Grade 3 until the completion of higher education.70 Now all municipalities must administer the test if dyslexia is suspected.71 Students who are identified as dyslexic as a result of this assessment meet with the school principal, teachers, and their parents or guardian to discuss an educational plan.
Instruction for Children with Reading Difficulties
When a student encounters reading difficulties, Danish schools prefer to take the lowest degree of intervention. This often involves the grouping of students with similar difficulties, differentiated teaching, or classroom support from a remedial teacher. If this is not sufficient, the next step is classroom assistance from a literacy counselor. Structured support for students with reading difficulties within the classroom is preferred for students requiring fewer than nine hours of additional support per week, as this maintains studentsʼ sense of belonging to the ordinary class.72 Professional development programs pertaining to instruction for students with reading difficulties also are available for special education teachers at school level.
While teachers can suggest special education for individual students, the school principal may ask the municipal Educational Psychological Counseling Center to assess individual students and propose an educational plan tailored to their needs.73 This must be done in consultation with students and their parents. The principal is responsible for referring students with reading difficulties to special needs education within the school, while the municipal board may recommend placing students in a separate special needs class or school.74 Larger municipalities have arranged classes with teachers who are specialized in instructing students with dyslexia.