Decoding

Purpose

This assessment measures a student’s ability to decode words with automaticity. The spelling patterns in each Word List become increasingly more complex throughout the assessment, mirroring the sequence of instruction in the K–2 Skills block Continuum. As such, the assessment results provide a clear picture of the types of words the student can decode and the next steps for instruction.

Instructions for Choosing the Word List

There is a Decoding Word List for each reading and word acquisition phase. Administer the assessment individually.

Instructions for Administering and Scoring the Assessment

Make one copy of the appropriate scoring sheet (for the teacher) and the Decoding Word List (for students).
Sit beside the student and provide the Word List. Point to the first box of words, then move your finger away so the student can begin reading.
As the student reads the words, take notes using the following symbols to record the student’s reading behaviors above each word. (One point for each word read correctly within one second.)
Follow the scoring guidance instructions on the back of the scoring sheet. This will indicate whether or not you need to move to another list with the student.
After administering the assessment offline, assign the assessment to students, and input each student's microphase using the Data Input Tool. Use the following rubric below to understand students' performance. View the following video to learn more about the Data Input Tool.

	Microphase	Criteria
20%	Early Partial or Late Pre-Alphabetic Phase	Reads 4 or fewer words on the Middle Partial Alphabetic list accurately (automatically or not).
30%	Middle Partial Alphabetic	Reads 5 or more words on the Middle Partial Alphabetic list accurately but not automatically.
40%	Late Partial Alphabetic	Reads 6 or more words on the Late Partial Alphabetic list accurately, but not automatically.
50%	Early Full Alphabetic	Reads 6 or more words on the Early Full Alphabetic list accurately but not automatically.
60%	Middle Full Alphabetic	Reads 6 or more words on the Middle Full Alphabetic list accurately but not automatically.
70%	Late Full Alphabetic	Reads 6 or more words on the Late Full Alphabetic list accurately but not automatically.
80%	Early Consolidated Alphabetic	Reads 6 or more words on the Early Consolidated Alphabetic list accurately but not automatically.
90%	Middle Consolidated Alphabetic	Reads 6 or more words on the Middle Consolidated Alphabetic list accurately but not automatically.
100%	Late Consolidated Alphabetic	Reads 6 or more words on the Late Consolidated Alphabetic list accurately but not automatically.

Scoring and Analyzing the Assessment to Determine Microphase

While automaticity in word recognition is the goal, it is important to look at not just the number of points (words read automatically) scored but also the types of errors made.

For example,

Recording the incorrect response above the word on the scoring sheet allows you to look for error patterns that can inform instruction. The types of errors (recorded above the word on the scoring sheet) that indicate the student needs targeted re-teaching of patterns in that phase include:

Tracking: These are errors such as “no” for “on” and “gum” for “mug.” These errors suggest that students are not properly tracking left to right.
Lack of Monitoring: These are errors such as “long” for “lung,” “stamp” for “stomp,” or “bag” for “bang.” These errors suggest a lack of close attention and careful processing of letter sounds.
Letter Confusion: The student makes visual errors by replacing a letter or cluster of letters with similar letters (e.g., “b” for “d”).
Word Guessing/Substitution: An example of this would be reading “bread” for “brand”; the student recognizes the overall visual appearance of the word or part of the word and calls up a familiar word instead.
Lack of Spelling Pattern Knowledge: The word is decoded inaccurately; for example, “stoomp” for “stomp,” “wick” for “wink,” and “throt” for “throat.” This indicates the student does not yet have control over the spelling pattern.

Grade 1 Skills Block Benchmark Assessments