Phonic Decoding Assessment

The Phonic Decoding Assessment is designed as a formative tool to evaluate students' word reading skills and guide instructional planning. It involves assessing students' ability to read real and nonsense words, with scoring based on the percentage of correctly read words to determine the next instructional focus. The assessment includes various sections targeting different phonics skills, allowing educators to tailor their teaching strategies effectively.

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Phonic Decoding Assessment

Uploaded by

Benjamin Cole

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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

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Phonic Decoding Assessment

How Do I Use This Assessment?

This assessment is best used as a formative assessment—as a quick but effective way to determine what
word reading skills to teach next. Therefore, check-ins with students should be brief (about 5 minutes)
and should usually involve only those sections of the overall assessment most likely to give key
information that you can use to plan your next steps for instruction. Note that typically, you'll only assess
students using one set of a particular section at a time. You'll start with Set 1, only moving to Set 2 if a
student needs to be reassessed in the same category.

When administering this assessment . . .

1. Show the student page for the relevant section and ask the child to read the real words aloud. You
might say: “Here are some real words that you might see in a book. Please read them to me. You
can sound out the words, like this, ‘/sssĭĭĭp/. Sip,’ or you can read the words all at once, like this,
‘Sip.’” Depending on the student, you might show an entire row of words or show the words one
at a time.

2. After the child has read the real words from the set, ask the child to read the nonsense words
aloud. You might say: “Here are some nonsense words. These are not real words, they’re just
silly and made up, but you can still read them. Don’t try to change them into real words. You can
sound out the words, like this, ‘/nnnŏŏŏmmm/. Nom,’ or you can read the words all at once, like
this, ‘Nom.’” As before, show a row of words or one word at a time.

Nonsense words are included in the assessment so that you can determine whether or not students
are able to apply their phonics skills to the decoding of unfamiliar words. Even some students
without strong decoding skills may be able to recognize certain real words by sight.

How Do I Mark Student Responses on the Teacher Recording Sheet?

● If the child reads the word correctly, put a checkmark next to the word.
● If the child reads the word incorrectly, write the attempt next to the word.
● If the child makes multiple attempts to read the word, record all of the attempts.
● If the child self-corrects, write SC next to where you’ve written the incorrect attempts.
● If the child does not attempt to read the word, leave it blank. Then ask the student to try the word.
If the child still does not attempt the word, move on.
● Record your additional observations in the box. Examples: “Reads sound by sound.” “Reads
whole words.” “Accurate but slow.” “Rushes and makes mistakes.” “Inconsistent.” “Confident.”

1 n May be reproduced for classroom use. © 2023 by the Reading and Writing Project Network, LLC.
How Do I Score This Assessment?

Since the check-in is a formative assessment, it should be scored with an eye toward what to teach next.
Guidance on how to score each section and determine an instructional focus for the child is provided
below.

After a student has attempted all the words in a section, determine the percentage read correctly. What
you’re looking for is the first section where the child can no longer read 80% of the words correctly. The
phonics skills targeted by that section will be a good instructional focus for the student. As you administer
the assessment your rule of thumb should be: If 80% or more of the words are read correctly, move on. If
less than 80% of the words are read correctly, stop here—you’ve found something you can teach into.
This information is reflected in the table below.

Score on The student is Level of You might . . .

Specific Word at . . . Instructional
Reading Focus

100% Mastery Move On Select a different instructional focus.

Periodically review the phonics skills targeted by

this section if it seems sensible. Keep in mind
that students will also review them as they read
and write.

80% or more Proficiency Be Strategic Shift toward a different instructional focus, most
likely the phonics targeted by the next word
reading section.

As you do, strategically teach into the phonics

required to read the words in this section.

Achieved Instructional Provide Make the phonics targeted by the words in this
proficiency in Intensive section a major instructional focus for the
the preceding Teaching student.
section but less
than 80% in this
section

2 n May be reproduced for classroom use. © 2023 by the Reading and Writing Project Network, LLC.
Phonic Decoding Assessment - List of Sections

Click below to jump to the Teacher Recording Sheet or Student Page for each section