• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Blog
  • Podcast
  • Courses
    • Teaching Every Reader
    • Teaching Every Writer
  • Subscriber Freebies
  • About
  • Contact
  • Shop
  • Member Login

The Measured Mom

Education resources for parents and teachers

  • Alphabet
  • Reading
    • Structured literacy
    • Printable Books
    • Pre-Reading
    • Phonics
    • Sight Words
    • Comprehension
    • Fluency
    • Vocabulary
  • Writing
    • Grammar
    • Handwriting
    • Spelling
    • Writing in Pre-K
    • Writing in K-3
  • Math
    • Counting
    • Number Recognition
    • Addition & Subtraction
    • Colors, Shapes & Patterns
    • Visual Discrimination
    • Time, Money & Measurement
    • Place Value
    • Graphs
    • Multiplication & Division
    • Fractions
    • Problem Solving
  • Book Lists
    • Letter of the Week
    • Early Childhood Themes
    • Pre-Reading Skills
    • Math Concepts
    • Writing Mentor Texts
    • Versions of Familiar Tales
    • Holidays and Seasonal
    • History
    • Leveled Book Lists
  • Join Membership
Home
  • Shop
  • Blog
    • Alphabet
    • Reading
    • Writing
    • Math
    • Book Lists
  • Podcast
  • Courses
    • Teaching Every Reader
    • Teaching Every Writer
  • Subscriber Freebies
  • About
  • Membership
  • Contact

PSPKK12314 Comments

Free phonics assessment

This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Sharing is caring!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Are you looking for a phonics assessment to help you determine your students’ phonics knowledge? I’m sharing a free assessment in today’s blog post!

free phonics assessment

Today I’m sharing what I wish I had in my early teaching years … a phonics assessment!

While most of my teaching career was with first and second grade, the first few years I taught a combination class of third, fourth, and fifth graders.

Looking back, I deeply regret that I didn’t do a phonics assessment for two of my struggling readers in third grade.

At the time, I was very much a balanced literacy proponent. I thought that with enough reading practice, these kids would become better readers.

It didn’t even cross my mind to see if they were getting stuck because of a lack of phonics knowledge.

(Looking back, it’s obvious that this was the issue!)

If I could go back in time (ahem) years ago, I would find a quality phonics assessment and find out exactly what they could (and could not) read and spell.

If phonics knowledge was tripping them up, I would meet with them for 15 minutes a day for explicit instruction, beginning with the skills they lacked. I would send games home for extra practice.

(Both of these kids had loving, involved parents who would have done whatever I asked. I just feel SO BAD that I didn’t know what to ask.)

I thought that by encouraging the parents to read to their kids (they did) and make their kids practice reading more (they did) that this would solve the problem.

But when struggling readers read on their own, it doesn’t magically make them better readers. If a lack of phonics knowledge is the reason they struggle, they need the missing decoding skills to become better readers.

A good phonics assessment will help you pinpoint where that decoding instruction needs to begin.

And I’ve got one waiting for you at the end of the post!

I used my scope and sequence to write the phonics assessment. You can download that for free below. ⬇

Free phonics scope and sequence

Sign up for our email list and get this FREE scope and sequence! I created this sequence based on my research, teaching experience, and Orton-Gillingham training. After you sign up, you’ll get a special offer for our Ultimate Collection of Phonics Word Lists. The scope and sequence will arrive in your email shortly.

When to administer a phonics assessment

If you want to see where a child is “at” with his/her phonics skills, you can administer one at any time. But K-3 teachers should administer phonics assessments at specific points in the year.

Here’s what I recommend for my phonics assessment (this table is included in the download).

How to give the phonics assessment

1-Print the record forms (one per student). You will mark what the students know/don’t know according to the directions on the form.

2-Print one copy of the student pages, and put them in sheet protectors. Store in a binder. This way the assessment is ready whenever you need it!

3- After you’ve assessed all your students, write their names and scores on the Decoding Assessment Summary page. You can use this data to form your differentiated, needs-based small groups (we’ll get to that in a future post in this series).

4- Rinse and repeat at different times of the school year. Refer to each student’s results on the previous assessment to know where to begin when you test a few months later. You don’t need to retest what students aced a few months ago.

5- Use the data to inform instruction. Later in this phonics series I’ll show you how to use the data to form small groups (and what to do with those small groups!).

Join thousands of happy educators!

When you join our low-cost monthly membership, you’ll get instant access to 2000+ resources for Pre-K to third grade, including an incredible collection of games and centers for building phonics skills!
CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE

Best practices for administering a phonics assessment

1-Make a plan to give the decoding assessment three times a year (see the above chart).

2–Don’t give the full decoding assessment to each child; instead, administer just the sections that are recommended for the child’s grade level. However, always back up on the assessment or move ahead if it becomes clear that the child’s abilities are above or below grade level.

3– Break up the assessment as needed. If a child is tiring, it’s best to discontinue rather than to plow through. You want accurate results.

4-Give an encoding (spelling) assessment if desired. It’s likely that your students will read better than they spell (i.e. they will perform better on the decoding than the encoding assessment), so you may not want to form groups based on the encoding results. However, this is valuable information. Encoding (spelling) is often neglected, but it naturally fits into phonics lessons and should be included through dictation exercises.

You can grab the assessment below!

Get your FREE phonics assessment!

CLICK TO DOWNLOAD

 Check our the rest of our phonics series!

 Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10

 

Free Reading Printables for Pre-K-3rd Grade

Join our email list and get this sample pack of time-saving resources from our membership site! You'll get phonemic awareness, phonics, and reading comprehension resources ... all free!

Sharing is caring!

  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Filed Under: Reading, Phonics, Science of reading, Structured literacy Tagged With: first grade, second grade, third grade, kindergarten, Pre-K

You May Also Enjoy These Posts:

Consonant sounds sorting mats CVC word missing letter clip cards How to teach kids to have a good book discussion
Do’s and don’ts for teaching phonics
What does phonics have to do with comprehension?

Reader Interactions

14 Comments

  1. Lisa

    July 27, 2022 at 5:27 pm

    Hi Anna,
    First, THANK YOU, for your incredible leadership, advocacy, and support of teachers. The materials you help create have been invaluable to me for many years. I’ve downloaded and reviewed the phonics assessment in preparation for this school year and have a wondering: Is there anything I need to consider for students who seem to naturally recognize any word before them? In my 32 years working with young readers, there are often children who seem to “inhale” any word put before them. Would I expect to see their skill level become more apparent when using the ENcoding assessment more than the DEcoding assessment? And/or, would you recommend I seek nonsense words for them to decode that follow the different patterns as part of the assessment? I just want to get the best measure for my entire range. Thank you in advance for your insights.

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      July 29, 2022 at 6:45 am

      Hi Lisa!
      Yes, those kids are probably in the 5% of Nancy Young’s Reading ladder … the kids who just learn reading effortlessly. But you’re correct – spelling often lags behind reading, so I would give them the encoding assessment. I’m guessing they’ll do just fine with the nonsense words, but I would definitely focus on those with these kids.

      Reply to this comment
      • Lisa

        September 1, 2022 at 9:08 pm

        Anna,
        I just finished scoring the assessments and entered scores on the checklist. How many errors are acceptable for a section to determine the best starting point for a student? I didn’t see this mentioned in the materials.
        Thanks so much,
        Lisa

        Reply to this comment
        • Anna Geiger

          September 3, 2022 at 6:26 am

          Personally I would say that if there are more than two errors in a section, you should stop the assessment and begin instruction with that skill.

          Reply to this comment
  2. Heather Groth, Customer Support

    February 28, 2022 at 1:15 pm

    Hi Paige! I sent you an email about this, please let me know if you don’t get it!

    Reply to this comment
  3. Carol

    February 28, 2022 at 3:31 am

    Hi Anna – I am also struggling to get the phonics assessment to download. Any suggestions please? Many thanks Carol

    Reply to this comment
    • Heather Groth, Customer Support

      February 28, 2022 at 6:37 am

      Hi Carol! When you click the link on this page, do you see the pop-up appear asking for your name and email address? If not, you may need to turn off your ad blocker and refresh the page. If this doesn’t work, please send us an email at hello@themeasuredmom.com and we’ll be happy to continue to help!

      Reply to this comment
  4. Janice

    February 27, 2022 at 6:55 pm

    Hi Anna,
    I have been trying to get the phonics assessments to send to me for download. I cannot seem to get it to work. I would love to use them next week. Is there any way you can help?
    Janice

    Reply to this comment
    • Heather Groth, Customer Support

      February 28, 2022 at 6:37 am

      Hi Janice! Our system shows that the email containing the assessment was sent out to you yesterday. Did you get that email? You may need to check your spam folder just in case. If you have the email, but are still having download problems, please hit reply to that email and we’ll make sure to help you so you can have it in time for next week!

      Reply to this comment
  5. Wendy

    February 27, 2022 at 5:56 pm

    It is a huge help to be able to access your materials. I am a special ed teacher. With students at multiple levels and scattered gaps, this assessment tool will make data collection much easier and more efficient. Thanks so munch

    Reply to this comment
    • Anna Geiger

      March 4, 2022 at 5:50 pm

      I’m so glad that you can use my materials, Wendy! I really appreciate your comment!

      Reply to this comment
  6. ~Claire

    February 27, 2022 at 5:43 pm

    I would love to check out the phonics assessment, but there is an error when I click to download. Thank you for sharing this resource!

    Reply to this comment
    • Heather Groth, Customer Support

      February 28, 2022 at 6:31 am

      Hi Claire! When you click the link on this page, do you see the pop-up appear asking for your name and email address? If not, you may need to turn off your ad blocker and refresh the page. If this doesn’t work, please send us an email at hello@themeasuredmom.com and we’ll be happy to continue to help!

      Reply to this comment

Trackbacks

  1. Planning for Small Group Instruction in Kindergarten * Darling Ideas says:
    August 30, 2022 at 9:48 pm

    […] You can also find a great one by the Measured Mom here! […]

    Reply to this comment

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Grade Level Key

  • PS Preschool (ages 2-3 years)
  • PK Pre-K (ages 4-5 years)
  • K Kindergarten
  • 1 1st grade
  • 2 2nd grade
  • 3 3rd grade

Hello, I’m Anna!

Welcome to The Measured Mom. I’m so glad you’re here!

Meet Our Team

Free Reading Printables for Pre-K-3rd Grade

Join our email list and get this sample pack of time-saving resources from our membership site! You'll get phonemic awareness, phonics, and reading comprehension resources ... all free!

Shop these popular reading resources!

Editable Reading Games for Every Season – MEGA PACK!

$24.00

Phonics Books & Games – Complete Set

$49.00

Reading response sheets & Early chapter book lists

$18.00

Shop All Resources

Members get more!

The Measured Mom Plus is the perfect online membership for Pre-K to third grade educators.

Learn More

Love Freebies?

Subscribing to our email newsletter is completely free. And when you do, you'll get access to our library of subscriber freebies! Sign up below to get access to a wonderful variety of math and literacy resources.

Join our online courses and get the tools you need to teach every learner in K-2!

Confidently teach every reader in your classroom. Still have time to live your life.

Learn More

Get everything you need to teach writing well, including over 200 ready-to-use lessons.

Learn More

Listen and subscribe on iTunes, Spotify, and Stitcher

Check out these recent podcast episodes:

  • My response to Jan Richardson & Michele Dufresne, Part 1
  • 6 Things to remember about the science of reading
  • What order should we teach the letters of the alphabet?
More Episodes

Check out these FREE email courses...

Get strategies and tools to teach a particular topic with a free 5-day email series! Just click an image to sign up. We recommend signing up for just one at a time.

For Pre-K Educators

How to teach letters and sounds to preschoolers

How to teach letters and sounds to preschoolers

Learn my must-follow tips for teaching the alphabet in this free 5-day email series!

How to teach phonological & phonemic awareness

How to teach phonological & phonemic awareness

Learn how to develop this important pre-reading skill with a free 5-day email series!

How to teach preschool math

How to teach preschool math

Learn exactly what to teach your preschoolers in this free 5-day series!

For Kinder & 1st Grade Educators

How to teach kids to sound out words

How to teach kids to sound out words

Learn my top strategies for teaching kids to "sound it out"

How to teach sight words

How to teach sight words

Get strategies and tools for teaching sight words to young learners!

Tips for teaching phonics

Tips for teaching phonics

Sign up for our free 5-day email series to learn what phonics skills to teach and how to structure your phonics lessons!

For 2nd & 3rd Grade Educators

How to build reading fluency

How to build reading fluency

Learn smart strategies for helping your learners become fluent readers with this free 5-day series!

How to teach writing in 2nd & 3rd grade

How to teach writing in 2nd & 3rd grade

Learn the most important writing skills to teach to 2nd & 3rd graders in this free 5-day series!

How to build reading comprehension

How to build reading comprehension

Discover the essential reading comprehension strategies for 2nd & 3rd grade and how to teach them!

“Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” –Matthew 6:33

Copyright © 2023 The Measured Mom •  All rights reserved  •  Privacy & Disclosure Statement  •  Site Design by Emily White Designs