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EADING SPECIALIST CERTIFICATION
EXAM PRACTICE SET|QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS WITH RATIONALE|GRADED
A+|100% CORRECT|2026 UPDATE
1. A reading specialist observes a 2nd grader who reads “cat”
as “c-a-t” (sounding each letter) but cannot blend them into a
word. This student lacks:
A) Phonemic awareness
B) Phonological blending
C) Letter-sound correspondence
D) Orthographic mapping
Answer: B
Rationale: Phonological blending is the ability to combine
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individual sounds into a word. The student knows letter sounds but
cannot blend — a core deficit in early decoding.
2. Which theory of reading development posits that skilled
readers use both phonological and orthographic routes?
A) Simple View of Reading
B) Dual Route Cascaded Model
C) Transactional Theory
D) Whole Language Theory
Answer: B
Rationale: Dual Route Model (Coltheart) includes lexical (whole
word) and nonlexical (phonological) routes. Simple View =
decoding × listening comprehension.
3. A 5th grader reads with high accuracy (98%) but very low
comprehension. According to the Simple View of Reading, the
most likely cause is:
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A) Poor decoding
B) Poor language comprehension
C) Poor fluency
D) Poor visual memory
Answer: B
Rationale: Simple View: Reading Comprehension = Decoding ×
Language Comprehension. High decoding + low comprehension
= language comprehension deficit.
4. Scarborough’s Reading Rope identifies which two major
components?
A) Phonemic awareness and phonics
B) Word recognition and language comprehension
C) Fluency and vocabulary
D) Syntax and morphology
EADING SPECIALIST CERTIFICATION
EXAM PRACTICE SET|QUESTIONS AND
ANSWERS WITH RATIONALE|GRADED
A+|100% CORRECT|2026 UPDATE
1. A reading specialist observes a 2nd grader who reads “cat”
as “c-a-t” (sounding each letter) but cannot blend them into a
word. This student lacks:
A) Phonemic awareness
B) Phonological blending
C) Letter-sound correspondence
D) Orthographic mapping
Answer: B
Rationale: Phonological blending is the ability to combine
,Page 2 of 30
individual sounds into a word. The student knows letter sounds but
cannot blend — a core deficit in early decoding.
2. Which theory of reading development posits that skilled
readers use both phonological and orthographic routes?
A) Simple View of Reading
B) Dual Route Cascaded Model
C) Transactional Theory
D) Whole Language Theory
Answer: B
Rationale: Dual Route Model (Coltheart) includes lexical (whole
word) and nonlexical (phonological) routes. Simple View =
decoding × listening comprehension.
3. A 5th grader reads with high accuracy (98%) but very low
comprehension. According to the Simple View of Reading, the
most likely cause is:
, Page 3 of 30
A) Poor decoding
B) Poor language comprehension
C) Poor fluency
D) Poor visual memory
Answer: B
Rationale: Simple View: Reading Comprehension = Decoding ×
Language Comprehension. High decoding + low comprehension
= language comprehension deficit.
4. Scarborough’s Reading Rope identifies which two major
components?
A) Phonemic awareness and phonics
B) Word recognition and language comprehension
C) Fluency and vocabulary
D) Syntax and morphology
