FOUNDATIONS OF READING EXAM 2026-2027
PRACTICE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
GRADED A+ WISCONSIN
1. Which of the following students is demonstrating the specific type of
phonological awareness known as phonemic awareness?
a. a student who after being shown a letter of the alphabet can orally identify its
corresponding sound(s)
b. a student who listens to the words: sting, ring, fling, and hang and can identify
that hang is different
c. a student who, after hearing the word hat, can orally identify that it ends with the
sound /t/
d. a student who listens to the word magazine and can determine that it contains
three syllables
a student who, after hearing the word hat, can orally identify that it ends with the
sound /t/
2. A kindergarten teacher could best
determine if a child has begun to develop
phonemic awareness by asking the
child to:
,A. count the number of words the child hears in a sentence as the teacher says the
sentence.
B. say the word cat, then say the first
sound the child hears in the word.
C. point to the correct letter on an
alphabet chart as the teacher names
specific letters.
D. listen to the teacher say boat and
coat, then identify whether the two
words rhyme.
B. say the word cat, then say the first
sound the child hears in the word.
3. As students begin to read, the ability to blend phonemes orally contributes to
their reading development primarily because it helps students:
A. recognize and understand sight words in a text.
B. use knowledge of letter-sound correspondence to decode words.
C. guess the meaning of unfamiliar words from their context.
D. divide written words into onsets and rimes.
,use knowledge of letter-sound correspondence to decode words.
A teacher holds up a series of familiar objects, asking students to name each object
and isolate the final sound they hear. This type of activity would be most
appropriate for a student who:
A. needs help developing phonemic segmentation skills.
B. is performing below grade-level benchmarks in reading fluency.
C. lacks automaticity in word recognition.
D. has difficulty sounding out phonetically regular one-syllable words.
needs help developing phonemic segmentation skills.
5. Phonemic awareness contributes most to the development of phonics skills in
beginning readers by helping them:
A. recognize different ways in which one sound can be represented in print.
B. count the number of syllables in a written word.
C. identify in spoken language separate sounds that can be mapped to letters.
D. understand the concept of a silent letter.
, identify in spoken language separate sounds that can be mapped to letters.
6. Which of the following first-grade students has attained the highest level
of phonemic awareness?
A. a student who, after hearing the word hot and the sound /ĭ/, can substitute /ĭ/
for /ŏ/ to make the word hit
B. a student who can orally segment the word wonderful into
won-der-ful
C. a student who, after hearing the words fish and fun, can identify that they both
begin with the same phoneme, /f/
D. a student who can orally segment the word train into its onset and rime
a student who, after hearing the word hot and the sound /ĭ/, can substitute /ĭ/ for /ŏ/
to make the word hit
7. Asking students to listen to a word (e.g., same) and then tell the teacher all the
sounds in the word is an exercise that would be most appropriate for students who:
A. have a relatively low level of phonological awareness.
B. are beginning to develop systematic phonics skills.
PRACTICE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
GRADED A+ WISCONSIN
1. Which of the following students is demonstrating the specific type of
phonological awareness known as phonemic awareness?
a. a student who after being shown a letter of the alphabet can orally identify its
corresponding sound(s)
b. a student who listens to the words: sting, ring, fling, and hang and can identify
that hang is different
c. a student who, after hearing the word hat, can orally identify that it ends with the
sound /t/
d. a student who listens to the word magazine and can determine that it contains
three syllables
a student who, after hearing the word hat, can orally identify that it ends with the
sound /t/
2. A kindergarten teacher could best
determine if a child has begun to develop
phonemic awareness by asking the
child to:
,A. count the number of words the child hears in a sentence as the teacher says the
sentence.
B. say the word cat, then say the first
sound the child hears in the word.
C. point to the correct letter on an
alphabet chart as the teacher names
specific letters.
D. listen to the teacher say boat and
coat, then identify whether the two
words rhyme.
B. say the word cat, then say the first
sound the child hears in the word.
3. As students begin to read, the ability to blend phonemes orally contributes to
their reading development primarily because it helps students:
A. recognize and understand sight words in a text.
B. use knowledge of letter-sound correspondence to decode words.
C. guess the meaning of unfamiliar words from their context.
D. divide written words into onsets and rimes.
,use knowledge of letter-sound correspondence to decode words.
A teacher holds up a series of familiar objects, asking students to name each object
and isolate the final sound they hear. This type of activity would be most
appropriate for a student who:
A. needs help developing phonemic segmentation skills.
B. is performing below grade-level benchmarks in reading fluency.
C. lacks automaticity in word recognition.
D. has difficulty sounding out phonetically regular one-syllable words.
needs help developing phonemic segmentation skills.
5. Phonemic awareness contributes most to the development of phonics skills in
beginning readers by helping them:
A. recognize different ways in which one sound can be represented in print.
B. count the number of syllables in a written word.
C. identify in spoken language separate sounds that can be mapped to letters.
D. understand the concept of a silent letter.
, identify in spoken language separate sounds that can be mapped to letters.
6. Which of the following first-grade students has attained the highest level
of phonemic awareness?
A. a student who, after hearing the word hot and the sound /ĭ/, can substitute /ĭ/
for /ŏ/ to make the word hit
B. a student who can orally segment the word wonderful into
won-der-ful
C. a student who, after hearing the words fish and fun, can identify that they both
begin with the same phoneme, /f/
D. a student who can orally segment the word train into its onset and rime
a student who, after hearing the word hot and the sound /ĭ/, can substitute /ĭ/ for /ŏ/
to make the word hit
7. Asking students to listen to a word (e.g., same) and then tell the teacher all the
sounds in the word is an exercise that would be most appropriate for students who:
A. have a relatively low level of phonological awareness.
B. are beginning to develop systematic phonics skills.
