Texas STR Certification Exam | 2025/2026 | Questions 1
to 100 & ANSWERS & RATIONALES
1. A key purpose of the Science of Teaching Reading (STR) is to ensure teachers can:
a. Decorate classrooms effectively
b. Select engaging books only
c. Provide explicit, systematic reading instruction
d. Allow students to choose all reading activities
Correct Answer: c. Provide explicit, systematic reading instruction
Rationale: STR focuses on structured, evidence-based instruction aligned with how
the brain learns to read.
2. The alphabetic principle refers to understanding that:
a. Words are made of pictures
b. Reading relies mostly on guessing
c. Letters represent sounds in spoken language
d. Words cannot be decoded
Correct Answer: c. Letters represent sounds in spoken language
Rationale: Alphabetic principle is foundational for decoding and phonics.
3. A student struggles to distinguish between /b/ and /p/. This indicates difficulty in:
a. Vocabulary development
b. Phonemic awareness
,c. Comprehension
d. Fluency
Correct Answer: b. Phonemic awareness
Rationale: Differentiating similar phonemes is a core phonemic-awareness skill.
4. A teacher using systematic phonics instruction should:
a. Introduce skills in a random order
b. Follow a sequenced progression of skills
c. Allow students to choose which skills to learn
d. Avoid teaching decoding
Correct Answer: b. Follow a sequenced progression of skills
Rationale: Systematic phonics uses a planned, logical skill progression.
5. Which strategy helps students learn irregular high-frequency words?
a. Sounding out letter by letter only
b. Visual mapping techniques
c. Avoiding instruction on these words
d. Guessing based on pictures
Correct Answer: b. Visual mapping techniques
Rationale: Irregular words require orthographic mapping to commit to memory.
6. Phonological awareness is best taught:
a. Using printed text only
b. Through oral activities without print
c. After students read chapter books
d. Only to struggling readers
,Correct Answer: b. Through oral activities without print
Rationale: Phonological awareness is an auditory skill developed before using print.
7. A student can segment onset and rime but cannot segment individual phonemes. What is
the next step?
a. Phoneme isolation
b. Sight-word practice
c. Vocabulary lessons
d. Fluency drills
Correct Answer: a. Phoneme isolation
Rationale: Phoneme isolation precedes phoneme segmentation in skill progression.
8. Which component is NOT part of the "Big Five" of reading?
a. Fluency
b. Phonics
c. Comprehension
d. Creative writing
Correct Answer: d. Creative writing
Rationale: The Big Five include phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary,
comprehension.
9. A decodable text is primarily used to reinforce:
a. Inferencing skills
b. Newly taught phonics patterns
c. Silent sustained reading
d. Reading for pleasure
, Correct Answer: b. Newly taught phonics patterns
Rationale: Decodable texts match phonics instruction to support application.
10. Morphology instruction benefits students by increasing:
a. Penmanship
b. Understanding of word structure
c. Art skills
d. Independent reading only
Correct Answer: b. Understanding of word structure
Rationale: Morphology teaches roots, prefixes, and suffixes for vocabulary growth.
11. The most effective way to teach phonemic awareness is:
a. Through rhyming alone
b. Through explicit, systematic instruction
c. Through silent reading
d. Through memorization
Correct Answer: b. Explicit, systematic instruction
Rationale: Research supports structured phonemic-awareness teaching for strong
outcomes.
12. Which is an example of blending?
a. Saying cat → /c/ /a/ /t/
b. Saying /s/ /u/ /n/ → sun
c. Changing /m/ in “map” to /c/
d. Identifying the last sound in “dog”
to 100 & ANSWERS & RATIONALES
1. A key purpose of the Science of Teaching Reading (STR) is to ensure teachers can:
a. Decorate classrooms effectively
b. Select engaging books only
c. Provide explicit, systematic reading instruction
d. Allow students to choose all reading activities
Correct Answer: c. Provide explicit, systematic reading instruction
Rationale: STR focuses on structured, evidence-based instruction aligned with how
the brain learns to read.
2. The alphabetic principle refers to understanding that:
a. Words are made of pictures
b. Reading relies mostly on guessing
c. Letters represent sounds in spoken language
d. Words cannot be decoded
Correct Answer: c. Letters represent sounds in spoken language
Rationale: Alphabetic principle is foundational for decoding and phonics.
3. A student struggles to distinguish between /b/ and /p/. This indicates difficulty in:
a. Vocabulary development
b. Phonemic awareness
,c. Comprehension
d. Fluency
Correct Answer: b. Phonemic awareness
Rationale: Differentiating similar phonemes is a core phonemic-awareness skill.
4. A teacher using systematic phonics instruction should:
a. Introduce skills in a random order
b. Follow a sequenced progression of skills
c. Allow students to choose which skills to learn
d. Avoid teaching decoding
Correct Answer: b. Follow a sequenced progression of skills
Rationale: Systematic phonics uses a planned, logical skill progression.
5. Which strategy helps students learn irregular high-frequency words?
a. Sounding out letter by letter only
b. Visual mapping techniques
c. Avoiding instruction on these words
d. Guessing based on pictures
Correct Answer: b. Visual mapping techniques
Rationale: Irregular words require orthographic mapping to commit to memory.
6. Phonological awareness is best taught:
a. Using printed text only
b. Through oral activities without print
c. After students read chapter books
d. Only to struggling readers
,Correct Answer: b. Through oral activities without print
Rationale: Phonological awareness is an auditory skill developed before using print.
7. A student can segment onset and rime but cannot segment individual phonemes. What is
the next step?
a. Phoneme isolation
b. Sight-word practice
c. Vocabulary lessons
d. Fluency drills
Correct Answer: a. Phoneme isolation
Rationale: Phoneme isolation precedes phoneme segmentation in skill progression.
8. Which component is NOT part of the "Big Five" of reading?
a. Fluency
b. Phonics
c. Comprehension
d. Creative writing
Correct Answer: d. Creative writing
Rationale: The Big Five include phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary,
comprehension.
9. A decodable text is primarily used to reinforce:
a. Inferencing skills
b. Newly taught phonics patterns
c. Silent sustained reading
d. Reading for pleasure
, Correct Answer: b. Newly taught phonics patterns
Rationale: Decodable texts match phonics instruction to support application.
10. Morphology instruction benefits students by increasing:
a. Penmanship
b. Understanding of word structure
c. Art skills
d. Independent reading only
Correct Answer: b. Understanding of word structure
Rationale: Morphology teaches roots, prefixes, and suffixes for vocabulary growth.
11. The most effective way to teach phonemic awareness is:
a. Through rhyming alone
b. Through explicit, systematic instruction
c. Through silent reading
d. Through memorization
Correct Answer: b. Explicit, systematic instruction
Rationale: Research supports structured phonemic-awareness teaching for strong
outcomes.
12. Which is an example of blending?
a. Saying cat → /c/ /a/ /t/
b. Saying /s/ /u/ /n/ → sun
c. Changing /m/ in “map” to /c/
d. Identifying the last sound in “dog”
