The basic assumptions underlying the development of early identification procedures are reviewed. The effectiveness of screening measures designed to identify educationally "at risk" children is critically examined. It is concluded that there is a general lack of evidence for the usefulness of such instruments. The implications of these findings are considered, and an alternative strategy of action based on the use of sequences of educational objectives rather than predictive instruments is proposed.T here is no doubt that a major growth area in education over recent years has been the early identification of children experiencing or likely to experience learning difficulties. While major interest in this area began in the 1960s in the United States, it has been within the past decade that work in England has proliferated. In 1972 a survey carried out by the Department of Education and Science (DES) reported that 25% of local education authorities (LEAs) carry out some form of educational screening, although this estimate also included surveys of educational attainment. In 1976 Makins reported that 47% of LEAs were using screening procedures and an additional 27% were planning to implement them.Official impetus to such endeavours has been provided by government reports, particularly that of the Bullock Committee (DES 1975) and more recently the Warnock Committee (DES 1978). However, while support for the aims underlying such procedures has grown and the production of instruments designed for the purpose has proliferated, the evaluation of the effectiveness of the procedures has not been so prevalent. One reason is that in England at least the majority of procedures have been initiated locally by practitioners (educational psychologists, educational advisers) with limited resources for large-scale studies.However, the need for a more critical evaluation of the early identification of children with learning difficulties has become increasingly apparent. If such procedures result in certain children being allocated to or deprived of particular resources, then an evaluation of their accuracy and usefulness is necessary.The purpose of this paper is first to examine the basic assumptions underlying the development of early identification procedures, and then to consider the evidence about the validity of the various types of procedure. In the final part of the paper, we consider the implications of the foregoing for achieving the aims of early identification.