| Purpose. Traditional school vision screening has focused on the examination of distance vision using screenings such as the School Vision Screening used in this study. No vision screenings for determining how well children can see print or pictures at close distances are administered on a regular basis. The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationship among three vision screening instruments (School Vision Screening, Adaptive Vision Screening, Teacher Observation Checklist) and third, fourth, and fifth grade students' reading test scores.;Methodology. The participants in the study included 152 students enrolled in grades 3 through 5, from two selected elementary schools. The instruments used to collect data were the School Vision Screening, the Adaptive Vision Screening, the Teacher Observation Checklist, and the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills reading test.;Findings. Chi-square statistical analyses were used to investigate relationships and no statistically significant findings were found. However, there were several clinically significant findings, results that make a real practical or noticeable difference in the lives of children. These clinically significant findings indicated that by using the School Vision Screening, together with the Adaptive Vision Screening, 18% more students in grades 3, 4, and 5 who did not meet the state assessment reading standard, were identified as having vision problems. By using the Teacher Observation Checklist together with the School Vision Screening, 5% more students in grades 3, 4, and 5 who did not meet the state assessment reading standard were identified as having vision problems. Use of the Adaptive Vision Screening, together with the Teacher Observation Checklist, identified 14% more students in grades 3, 4, and 5 who did not meet the state assessment reading standard as having vision problems. The use of additional vision screening instruments identified more students who did not meet state assessment reading standards as having vision problems than did the use of the regularly administered school vision screening alone.;Implications and Conclusions. Besides identifying abnormal visual and ocular conditions, it was determined that two additional screenings, the Teacher Observation Checklist, together with the Adaptive Vision Screening, could be used as tools to help identify vision problems that can intervene with children's ability to read with fluency and comprehend what they see on paper. Through the identification of these vision needs, early intervention strategies can be designed for struggling students who are not achieving expected standards. These strategies could reduce some of the barriers and frustrations students (and teachers) may experience in school and could also raise the levels of awareness of educators, parents, and school nurses regarding the need for more comprehensive eye exams, treatments and/or therapy. Quality vision screenings have the potential to help all groups of students regardless of ethnicity, age, or gender, to overcome vision-related reading difficulties.;KEY WORDS: School Vision Screening, Teacher Observation Checklist, Adaptive Vision Screening, reading difficulties, reading fluency, reading comprehension, reading achievement, vision. |
