Since 2010, our priority is to deliver quality programs to educators working with children with learning disabilities, through these three goals:

  1. Instruction and Intervention for all Educators:

    • Ensuring educators have the capacity to provide effective core literacy instruction and intervention to children at risk for reading problems.

  2. Screening for Every child:

    •  All children in kindergarten and grade one are screened for potential reading difficulties.

  3. Every child is supported:

    • Children at potential risk for reading problems are provided with support at the earliest possible stage in their educational journey.

New Courses!

1. Literacy Assessment Certificate (LAC) – previously called the Reading Readiness Screening Tool (RRST)

  • Price: $185
  • Length: 25 Hours
  • Aligned with Alberta Curriculum, previously called the ‘Reading Readiness Screening Tool (RRST)
  • Complete both courses to earn certification to administer the Assessment for Foundational Reading Skills (AFRS) AND for the Teaching Foundational Literacy Skills (TFLS) course.
  • The AFRS course guides educators how to use and administer the tool to assess students’ phonological awareness and phonics skills and then interpret student scores to inform planning for individual, small group, and classroom instruction.
  • The TFLS is the first online course of the Literacy Assessment Certification that provides research-based information, strategies, and activities for teaching foundational literacy skills that are essential building blocks to strong word recognition and spelling skills. Learn activities that are essential building blocks to strong word recognition and spelling skills.
  • Certificate issued upon completion of both courses.
  • Discounts offered for groups of 15 or more.

2. Teaching Foundational Literacy Skills Course (TFLS)

  • Price: $135
  • Length: 18 Hours
  • This is offered as a stand-alone course for educators not pursuing certification to use the Assessment of Reading Skills tool.
  • The first online course of the Literacy Assessment Certification that provides research-based information, strategies, and activities for teaching foundational literacy skills that are essential building blocks to strong word recognition and spelling skills. Learn activities that are essential building blocks to strong word recognition and spelling skills.
  • Applicable to teachers of students in Kindergarten through grade 3, as well as older struggling students and English Language Learners.
  • Discounts offered for groups of 15 or more.

Note: Educators who have recently taken the original Right to Read – Reading Readiness Screening Tool course, please contact LDAA for recertification options.

3. Literacy Essentials – Educational Assistants Certificate:

Coming Soon!

Online course content includes background information to develop an understanding of essential literacy skills and instructional strategies and activities to implement with students in Kindergarten through Grade 3, older struggling students, and English Language Learners.

History of Right to Read Programs

The original version of LDAA’s literacy assessment tool was called the Reading Readiness Screening Tool (RRST). It covered broad reading readiness skills addressed in Kindergarten and Grade 1 curriculum and has been used widely in schools since 2013. Small updates have been undertaken over the years. In 2023, LDAA focused on rewriting the original Reading Readiness Screening Tool (RRST) to the new name, Assessment of Foundational Reading Skills (AFRS) tool to ensure alignment with the new updated Alberta Learning Curriculum.

The new revision sharpens the focus on two foundational domains, phonological awareness and phonics, and to ensure the tool and accompanying courses are in alignment with the most current research on the science of reading.

We are very excited about the new Assessment of Foundational Reading Skills tool and our Literacy Assessment Certificate Courses!
–And we hope you will be too!