Presented at the 26th International Congress of Applied Psychology. Athens, July 16–21

Reading disability (RD) refers to unexplained failure in learning to read and write despite adequate instruction and no primary sensory, emotional, or behavioral disorders. We present a fully automated screening battery that evaluates critical skills relevant for RD diagnosis, designed for application in the absence of expert personnel. Psychometric validation in 261 children 12–14 years old indicates that computer-based screening can detect children likely to be diagnosed with RD if professionally evaluated, using a discriminant function derived from measures taken without supervision within a 30-minute “computer game” interaction. The test-retest reliability and the criterion-referenced validity of the detection are comparable to the interrater reliability among experts. The sensitivity and predictive value of detection can be balanced against each other to achieve optimal results. We present additional data from 143 children in the 3^rd and 4^th elementary grades demonstrating that computer-based screening can also be applied at this younger age, in an attempt to increase the probability that children in need of remedial intervention will be reliably detected and attended to as early as possible, to maximize the benefit of special instruction. We discuss the implications and caveats of widespread application of computer-based screening in the educational system.