Foundations of Reading Practice Test
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 - answera 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. - answerB. 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. - answeruse 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. - answerneeds
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. - answeridentify 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 - answera
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.
C. have a relatively high level of phonemic awareness.
D. are beginning to master the alphabetic principle. - answerhave a relatively high level
of phonemic awareness.
A kindergarten teacher asks a small group of students to repeat after her. First, she
says the word grape and then pronounces it as gr and ape. Next, she says the
word take and then pronounces it as tand ake. This activity is likely to promote the
students' phonemic awareness primarily by:
A. helping them recognize distinct syllables in oral language.
B. encouraging them to divide words into onsets and rimes.
C. teaching them how to distinguish between consonants and vowels.
D. promoting their awareness of letter- sound correspondence. - answerencouraging
them to divide words into onsets and rimes.
9. A teacher shows a student pictures of familiar objects. As the teacher points to the
first picture, she asks the student to name the object in the picture. Next, she asks the
student to count on his fingers the number of sounds he makes as he says the word
again. This activity is most likely to promote which of the following?
A. understanding of the alphabetic principle
B. phonemic awareness skills
C. development of letter-sound correspondence
D. word identification skills - answerphonemic awareness skills
10. A beginning-level English Language Learner can consistently blend individual
phonemes to make simple English words composed of two or three phonemes but is
having difficulty blending the sounds of familiar single-syllable words composed of four
phonemes (e.g., clip, trap, spin). Which of the following questions would be most
important for the first-grade teacher to consider when addressing the needs of this
student?
, A. Are the target words in the student's oral vocabulary in English?
B. Does the student's primary language have consonant blends?
C. Can the student distinguish between short and long vowel sounds in English?
D. Do the target words have cognates in the student's primary language? - answerDoes
the student's primary language have consonant blends?
11. A fourth-grade student reads on grade level and consistently scores very high on
spelling tests that are part of weekly word study activities. However, the student often
misspells the same words, and other familiar words, in everyday writings. The following
table shows examples of typical errors the student makes on class writing assignments
and in informal notes to friends.
GIRL- GRIL
INSTEAD- INTEAD
DECIDED- DECIDEDED
INDEPENDENT- INDEPEDNENT
INTERUPTED- INTERRUTED
The student's overall spelling performance suggests that the student most likely has a
weakness in which of the following foundational skills?
A. detecting syllable boundaries in words
B. sounding out and blending letter- sounds to make words
C. discriminating between a word's root morpheme and affixes
D. segmenting and sequencing phonemes in words - answersegmenting and
sequencing phonemes in words
12. A preschool child picks up an unfamiliar book, opens it to the end, points to the text,
and begins to "pretend read" the story. These behaviors suggest that the child most
likely:
A. has well-developed book-handling skills.
B. knows where individual words begin and end.
C. has developed an understanding that print carries meaning.
D. understands the concept of print directionality. - answerhas developed an
understanding that print carries meaning.
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 - answera 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. - answerB. 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. - answeruse 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. - answerneeds
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. - answeridentify 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 - answera
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.
C. have a relatively high level of phonemic awareness.
D. are beginning to master the alphabetic principle. - answerhave a relatively high level
of phonemic awareness.
A kindergarten teacher asks a small group of students to repeat after her. First, she
says the word grape and then pronounces it as gr and ape. Next, she says the
word take and then pronounces it as tand ake. This activity is likely to promote the
students' phonemic awareness primarily by:
A. helping them recognize distinct syllables in oral language.
B. encouraging them to divide words into onsets and rimes.
C. teaching them how to distinguish between consonants and vowels.
D. promoting their awareness of letter- sound correspondence. - answerencouraging
them to divide words into onsets and rimes.
9. A teacher shows a student pictures of familiar objects. As the teacher points to the
first picture, she asks the student to name the object in the picture. Next, she asks the
student to count on his fingers the number of sounds he makes as he says the word
again. This activity is most likely to promote which of the following?
A. understanding of the alphabetic principle
B. phonemic awareness skills
C. development of letter-sound correspondence
D. word identification skills - answerphonemic awareness skills
10. A beginning-level English Language Learner can consistently blend individual
phonemes to make simple English words composed of two or three phonemes but is
having difficulty blending the sounds of familiar single-syllable words composed of four
phonemes (e.g., clip, trap, spin). Which of the following questions would be most
important for the first-grade teacher to consider when addressing the needs of this
student?
, A. Are the target words in the student's oral vocabulary in English?
B. Does the student's primary language have consonant blends?
C. Can the student distinguish between short and long vowel sounds in English?
D. Do the target words have cognates in the student's primary language? - answerDoes
the student's primary language have consonant blends?
11. A fourth-grade student reads on grade level and consistently scores very high on
spelling tests that are part of weekly word study activities. However, the student often
misspells the same words, and other familiar words, in everyday writings. The following
table shows examples of typical errors the student makes on class writing assignments
and in informal notes to friends.
GIRL- GRIL
INSTEAD- INTEAD
DECIDED- DECIDEDED
INDEPENDENT- INDEPEDNENT
INTERUPTED- INTERRUTED
The student's overall spelling performance suggests that the student most likely has a
weakness in which of the following foundational skills?
A. detecting syllable boundaries in words
B. sounding out and blending letter- sounds to make words
C. discriminating between a word's root morpheme and affixes
D. segmenting and sequencing phonemes in words - answersegmenting and
sequencing phonemes in words
12. A preschool child picks up an unfamiliar book, opens it to the end, points to the text,
and begins to "pretend read" the story. These behaviors suggest that the child most
likely:
A. has well-developed book-handling skills.
B. knows where individual words begin and end.
C. has developed an understanding that print carries meaning.
D. understands the concept of print directionality. - answerhas developed an
understanding that print carries meaning.
