Reading
This domain tests the science of reading for PK–3: how word recognition and language comprehension develop, how to teach them explicitly and systematically, and how to use assessment to drive intervention. Expect items that describe a student's reading behavior and ask for the most appropriate next step.
The developmental sequence
- Concepts of print, then phonological awareness (word, syllable, onset-rime, phoneme), then phonemic awareness (blending, segmenting, deleting, substituting), then the alphabetic principle and phonics.
- Systematic, explicit phonics moves in a defined sequence (letter-sound correspondences, digraphs, blends, syllable types, common affixes) and is applied in decodable text. High-frequency irregular words are taught as whole words alongside it.
- Fluency has three parts - accuracy, rate, and prosody - and grows from automatic word recognition.
Comprehension and vocabulary
- The simple view of reading: comprehension is the product of decoding and language comprehension, so either can be the bottleneck.
- Vocabulary instruction includes direct teaching of tier-two words, morphology (roots and affixes), and rich context. Comprehension depends heavily on background knowledge and knowledge of text structures (narrative, compare-contrast, cause-effect, description, problem-solution).
Assessment and intervention
- Screening identifies risk; diagnostics locate the gap; progress monitoring shows whether intervention works. Accuracy below roughly 95 percent signals a word-recognition need, not just slow reading.
- MTSS tiers: core instruction for all, targeted small-group intervention, and intensive individual support, with data-based decisions reviewed on a schedule.
Worked example
A second grader reads 38 words correct per minute with 88 percent accuracy and guesses at multisyllabic words. The correct move is not "read more at home." Accuracy under 95 percent combined with guessing points to a decoding gap: administer a phonics inventory and a nonsense-word check, then deliver explicit, systematic small-group phonics instruction with daily application in connected text, monitoring weekly.
Traps
- Confusing phonological awareness (sound structures) with phonemic awareness (individual phonemes).
- Substituting sight-word memorization for phonics instruction.
- Using a running record as a universal screener.
- Teaching comprehension strategies without a knowledge-rich text to apply them to.
- Assuming a fluent reader comprehends.