Reading Specialist Exam Questions and Answers | Updated 2026 | Guaranteed Pass

Reading Specialist Exam Questions and Answers | Updated 2026 | Guaranteed Pass Stop Sounds - answer-Stop sounds are phonemes we can't hold. "C" is an example of a stop sound. We can't hold "C." "D" and "G" are stop sounds. Sometimes students (and teachers) forget to clip stop sounds. Instead of "d," they say "du." Instead of "g," they say "gu." This can cause confusion. A student may say "duogu" for dog. After the student reads "duogu" they, unsurprisingly, can't figure out that the word is actually "dog." b, c, d, g, h, j, k, p, q, t, x Continuous Sounds - answer-Continuous sounds are sounds we can hold. "M" is a continuous sound, because we can elongate this phoneme: "Mmmmmmmm." a, e, f, i, l, m, n, o, r, s, u, v, w, y, z Digraphs? Morpheme - answer-in a language, the smallest unit that carries meaning; may be a word or a part of a word (such as a prefix) Fluency Score Formula - answer-Do a one-minute reading assessment. Total words read (minus) errors made = words correct per minute. WPM (words per minute) by age - answer-The following are the number of words students should be able to read correctly at the end of each year: 1st grade: 60 2nd grade: 90 3rd grade: 115Automaticity - answer-is the fast, effortless word recognition that comes with a great deal of reading practice. In the early stages of learning to read, readers may be accurate but slow and inefficient at recognizing words. Continued reading practice helps word recognition become more automatic, rapid, and effortless. Automaticity refers only to accurate, speedy word recognition, not to reading with expression. Therefore, automaticity (or automatic word recognition) is necessary, but not sufficient, for fluency. Fluency Levles - answer-Independent Level-Relatively easy for the student to read (95% word accuracy). Instructional Level-Challenging but manageable for the reader (90% word accuracy). Frustration Level-Difficult text for the student to read (less than 90% word accuracy). Prosody - answer-is concerned with those elements of speech that are not individual phonetic segments (vowels and consonants) but are properties of syllables and larger units of speech. These contribute to linguistic functions such as intonation, tone, stress, and rhythm. Transactional Strategies Instruction - answer-TSI involves teachers modeling their use of comprehension strategies to demonstrate when and how to apply the strategies in different problem-solving situations. Teachers share the responsibility of conducting a thoughtful discussion about a common text with students, who are also expected to explain their use of strategies and to communicate their reflective responses to what they have read. The goal of TSI is to have students independently use the comprehension strategies as they read any text and this goal is for ALL students, not just a few. Here are comprehension strategies that are often taught in TSI: Questioning Summarization Prediction Visualization Activation and use of prior knowledgeUse of story grammar (fictional texts) Use of text structures (informational texts) Thinking aloud Understanding when comprehension breaks down Personal respo Norm-referenced assessments - answer-Norm-referenced refers to standardized tests that are designed to compare and rank test takers in relation to one another. Norm-referenced tests report whether test takers performed better or worse than a hypothetical average student, which is determined by comparing scores against the performance results of a statistically selected group of test takers, typically of the same age or grade level, who have already taken the exam. Criterion-referenced assessments - answer-Criterion-referenced tests and assessments are designed to measure student performance against a fixed set of predetermined criteria or learning standards—i.e., concise, written descriptions of what students are expected to know and be able to do at a specific stage of their education. Selected response assessment - answer-With selected response assessment items, the answer is visible, and the student needs only to recognize it. Although selective response items can address the higher levels of Bloom's taxonomy, many of them demand only lower levels of cognition. Constructed response assessments - answer-With constructed response assessments (also referred to as subjective assessments), the answer is not visible -- the student must recall or construct it. Constructed response assessments are conducive to higher level thinking skills. Miscue analysis - answer-Miscue analysis is an assessment that helps a teacher identify the cueing systems used by a reader — the strategies a reader uses to make sense of a text. Instead of focusing on errors, miscue analysis focuses on what the student is doing right, so that he or she can learn to build on existing reading strategies. Phonology - answer-the study of speech sounds in language ex. When we teach alliteration or syllables. Semantics - answer-Meaning of words and sentencesex. Teaching synonyms, antonyms, vocabulary, making sense when we read by saying "does that makes sense." *different than syntax. Phonetics - answer-study of indivdual sounds Grammar - answer-in a language, a system of rules that enables us to communicate with and understand others/word combinations Syntax - answer-Sentence structure/word combinations Grammar and syntax are interchangeable. Word order makes a different meaning ex. The dog bit the cat verses The cat bit the dog. Same words but different meaning. *different than semantics Morphology - answer-(within the word) Sub category of grammar and syntax. Adding the suffix or prefix. Pragmatics - answer-The speakers's intent, used to influence or control actions or attitudes of others. Adjusting one's tone or formality. Also includes inferring. Phonological awareness - answer-Ability to hear and manipulate sounds. Phonological awareness is the broader awareness of sound and is auditory. Ex. rhyming, alliteration, syllables. Most basic: rhyming and alliteration Phonemic awareness - answer-Very specific category of phonological awareness or more defined phonological awareness.Working with individual sounds. ex. isolating, blending, or segmenting sounds (phonemes), also counting sounds. Hardest task is sound manipulation ex. say chair, now say chair without the ch. Phonemic awareness is the ability to distinguish the separate sound