NES EAS Reading (NT001) cheat sheet

The Simple View of Reading: decoding (word recognition) × language comprehension = reading comprehension; a zero in either factor yields near-zero comprehension.

Scarborough's Rope: word recognition strands (phonological awareness, decoding, sight recognition) and language comprehension strands (background knowledge, vocabulary, language structure, verbal reasoning, literacy knowledge) intertwine toward skilled reading.

Chall's stages: Stage 0 (birth–6, pre-reading), Stage 1 (grades 1–2, decoding), Stage 2 (grades 2–3, fluency/confirmation), Stage 3 (grades 4–8, reading to learn), Stage 4 (high school, multiple viewpoints), Stage 5 (college, construction/reconstruction).

Ehri's phases of word reading: pre-alphabetic, partial alphabetic, full alphabetic, consolidated alphabetic; sight-word vocabulary grows as orthographic mapping consolidates.

Three cueing systems (semantic, syntactic, graphophonic) describe sources of information readers use; structured literacy instead emphasizes explicit, systematic code instruction aligned to the Simple View.

Print concepts to teach in emergent literacy: front/back of book, directionality (left-to-right, top-to-bottom), return sweep, concept of word, concept of letter, and spoken-versus-written word distinction.

Dual-route/connectionist models distinguish phonological recoding from direct orthographic access; both routes operate in skilled reading, so isolated sight-word drilling is insufficient.

The 2000 National Reading Panel identified five essential components: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.

Phonological awareness is the umbrella (syllables, onsets/rimes, rhyme); phonemic awareness is the narrowest level, operating on individual phonemes.

Continuum of difficulty: word > syllable > onset-rime > phoneme; within phonemes, identification < blending < segmentation < deletion < substitution, with deletion/substitution typically hardest.

Phoneme counting and segmentation tasks are done in speech, not print; letters are not introduced until students can manipulate sounds orally.

Elision tasks: say 'cowboy' without 'cow' → 'boy'; say 'smile' without /s/ → 'mile'; these test phoneme deletion and are diagnostic of advanced PA.

Rhyme and alliteration are early phonological tasks but do not by themselves demonstrate phonemic awareness; they are prerequisites, not substitutes.

English has approximately 44 phonemes (about 25 consonants, 19 vowels including diphthongs); phoneme counts vary by dialect, so accept regional vowel realizations.

Blending is synthetic (c/a/t → cat); segmenting is analytic (cat → /k/ /æ/ /t/); both are prerequisites for phonics blending routines.

Students with PA deficits need explicit, brief, intensive instruction (10–15 minutes daily) with manipulatives (chips, Elkonin boxes) and immediate corrective feedback.

Systematic phonics teaches letter-sound correspondences in a defined sequence (simple to complex, high-utility to low-utility) rather than incidentally as words appear in text.

Consonant digraphs: sh, ch, th, wh, ph, ck, ng - two letters, one phoneme; consonant blends (bl, st, str) retain both phonemes.

Vowel teams and diphthongs: ai/ay, ee/ea, oa/ow, oo (as in moon/book), ou/ow, oi/oy, au/aw; vowel digraphs often represent one phoneme while diphthongs glide.

Six syllable types: closed (CVC, short vowel), open (CV, long vowel), vowel-consonant-e (silent e), vowel team, r-controlled, and consonant-le (final stable).

The silent-e (VCe) rule: final e is silent and usually makes the preceding vowel long (cap → cape, hop → hope).

Syllable division patterns: VC/CV (rab-bit), V/CV (ti-ger), VC/V (cam-el), V/V (li-on); division supports multisyllabic decoding.

Morphemic analysis: prefixes (un-, re-, dis-, pre-, mis-), suffixes (inflectional -s, -ed, -ing; derivational -tion, -ment, -able), and Greek/Latin roots (bio, graph, port, struct) for advanced word recognition.

Irregular/high-frequency words (said, was, they, of) are taught through orthographic mapping with attention to the regular parts, not through rote visual memorization alone.

Encoding (spelling) reinforces decoding; dictated spelling with immediate feedback strengthens phoneme-grapheme mapping.

Fluency comprises accuracy, automaticity (rate), and prosody (expression); all three are needed for comprehension.

Oral reading fluency benchmarks (Hasbrouck & Tindal) provide grade-level words-correct-per-minute targets by season (fall, winter, spring); use them as screening, not as the sole diagnostic.

Repeated reading, paired reading, echo reading, choral reading, and reader's theater are evidence-based fluency routines.

Prosody indicators: appropriate phrasing, pitch, stress, and pausing at punctuation; students reading word-by-word without phrasing need phrasing instruction.

Fluency is not speed alone; pushing rate without accuracy or prosody does not improve comprehension.

A fluency assessment should compute accuracy (correct words ÷ total words read) and words correct per minute (WCPM); accuracy below 90% suggests the text is too hard.

Instructional-level text for fluency practice is typically 90–95% accuracy; independent level is 95–100%; frustration level below 90%.

Automaticity frees working memory for comprehension; fluency difficulties often co-occur with decoding difficulties and require targeted intervention.

Tiers: Tier 1 (basic everyday words), Tier 2 (high-frequency, cross-domain academic words like analyze, contrast), Tier 3 (domain-specific technical terms); Tier 2 words are the priority for direct instruction.

Direct vocabulary instruction includes student-friendly definitions, multiple exposures, examples and non-examples, and opportunities to use the word in speaking and writing.

Context clues: definition/restatement, example, contrast, cause-effect, and inference; teach students to verify predictions with a dictionary.

Morphology supports vocabulary: teaching prefixes, suffixes, and roots (e.g., -tion, -ology, un-) enables students to infer meanings of unfamiliar words.

Word consciousness: fostering interest in words through word play, word walls, and discussion builds depth of vocabulary knowledge.

Breadth (number of words known) and depth (richness of knowledge about a word) both matter; depth predicts comprehension more strongly.

Academic language: complex sentences, nominalizations, and academic connectives (however, therefore) are often more difficult than the content words themselves.

Oral language development includes listening comprehension, syntax, and discourse; it is a core component of the Simple View's language comprehension factor.

Comprehension strategies: predicting, questioning, visualizing, monitoring, making connections, summarizing, and determining importance; teach them explicitly with modeling and gradual release.

Narrative text structure: characters, setting, problem, events, solution; story maps and story grammar support retelling and comprehension.

Informational text structure: description, sequence, compare-contrast, cause-effect, problem-solution; teaching text features (headings, captions, diagrams, index) supports navigation.

Question-answer relationships (QAR): right there, think and search, author and me, on my own; this taxonomy helps students locate and infer answers.

Inferential comprehension requires background knowledge plus text evidence; literal questions require locating explicit information.

Reciprocal teaching: predict, question, clarify, summarize - modeled by the teacher and then rotated among students.

Text complexity is determined by quantitative (readability), qualitative (levels of meaning, structure, knowledge demands), and reader/task considerations.

Close reading: repeated reading of a short complex text with text-dependent questions that require evidence from the text.

Writing process: planning, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing; recursive rather than strictly linear.

Six traits of writing: ideas, organization, voice, word choice, sentence fluency, and conventions.

Writing genres: narrative, informative/explanatory, and opinion/argument; each has distinct organizational structures and language features.

The writing-reading connection: spelling and handwriting fluency free cognitive resources for composition; transcription skills predict writing quality.

Sentence combining and sentence expansion build syntactic complexity and support revision.

Rubrics should be analytic (separate scores for ideas, organization, conventions) so students receive targeted feedback.

Conventions: capitalization, punctuation, spelling, and grammar; grammar instruction is most effective when embedded in actual writing.

Writing assessment: use rubrics scored by trained raters, and include both process measures (drafts, revisions) and products.

Screening identifies students at risk; diagnostic assessment pinpoints specific skill deficits; progress monitoring tracks response over time; summative assessment evaluates end-of-year learning.

Curriculum-based measurement (CBM) uses brief, standardized repeated probes (e.g., DIBELS, AIMSweb) to monitor progress; aim for 1–3 data points per week for at-risk students.

Reliability refers to consistency (test-retest, inter-rater, internal consistency); validity refers to whether the test measures what it claims to measure.

Norm-referenced tests compare students to a norm group (percentile ranks, standard scores); criterion-referenced tests compare students to a standard or skill criterion.

Formal assessments are standardized and norm-referenced; informal assessments include running records, miscue analysis, and teacher observation.

Miscue analysis: record substitutions, omissions, insertions, and self-corrections; analyze whether errors are semantic, syntactic, or graphophonic.

Running record accuracy rate: (words read correctly ÷ total words) × 100; use to determine independent, instructional, and frustration levels.

Data-based decision making: use multiple data sources, set measurable goals, and adjust instruction based on progress-monitoring trends.

RTI is a multi-tiered system of support: Tier 1 (core, all students), Tier 2 (targeted small-group), Tier 3 (intensive, individualized).

Tier 2 typically involves 20–40 minutes of small-group instruction 3–5 times per week; Tier 3 is more intensive and often one-on-one or very small group.

Progress monitoring within RTI uses brief, valid measures (CBM) to determine whether students are responding to intervention.

Decision rules: if a student is not responding after a set number of weeks of fidelity-implemented intervention, intensify or change the intervention.

Fidelity of implementation means delivering the intervention as designed; poor fidelity invalidates conclusions about student response.

RTI can be used within a comprehensive evaluation for specific learning disability identification, but it is not the only method and must be combined with other data.

Standard treatment protocol versus problem-solving approach: the former applies a validated intervention, the latter designs individualized intervention based on assessment.

Family involvement and culturally responsive practices are essential components of RTI implementation.