Being able to read, understand a text and work with the text are the basic preconditions for a successful life today. Therefore, the contemporary society has to be able not only to read printed words, but also work with the text, understand it, and distinguish between significant and insignificant information, be able to search the text and classify various types of information, which can be used not only for further education but also in various life situations. Interest in reading should be encouraged from the earliest age, but structured training of reading skills in the Czech Republic starts only at the beginning of elementary education. Yet there are students in the first grades who already have this competence. This fact inspired us to perform a deeper analysis of reading competences of children entering elementary school. The main objective of the research study was to identify the proportion of students who can read prior to entering elementary school, and to analyse any relevant issues. The research method used to accomplish the objective was a questionnaire; the research sample consisted of 75 teachers in the first grades of elementary schools, who mapped the situation in their classes. The results of the questionnaire survey were then evaluated and processed by means of statistical tests of significance. In the conclusion section, recommendations were formulated for further work of teachers in the primary grades.
