The purpose of this study was to describe the use of curriculum-based monitoring (CBM) of reading fluency for identifying students at risk for presenting dyslexia. One hundred and forty six third grade students from a group of schools in Braga, Portugal, participated in the study; they were monitored twice during the school year. The students whose result was below or in the 20th percentile were considered at risk. The results show that: 1) The CBM reading fluency test was economic, quick and easy to apply and measure and well accepted by teachers and students; 2) On average, the students' results for the first application were 85.21 (SD=28.41) correct words per minute (cwpm), and 97.46 (SD=30.07) cwpm in the second application (at the end of the school year); 3) The weekly increase was 0.49 (SD=0.38) cwpm; 4) After the second application, 11 boys and 18 girls were considered at risk for presenting dyslexia; 5) The difference in results between class groups was statistically significant; 6) Considering the sample results, at the end of the school year in two classes, more than 30% of students were at risk; 7) 70.55 % did not reach the goal of 110 cwpm stipulated by the Ministry of Education for that school level; 8) The Cronbach's Alpha coefficient for the first application was 0.981 and 0.978 for the second application.
Special Education; Reading; Risk Factors