Reading Teacher (Grades K–12)
Subtest 1 Sample Items
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Question 1
1. A teacher would like to use small-group differentiated instruction to provide students with guided practice in applying recently taught prosodic reading skills. Which of the following guidelines would be most appropriate to use when grouping students for this purpose?
- including students with a range of reading skill levels in each group
- using students' interests to select texts and grouping the students accordingly
- changing the student composition in each group from lesson to lesson
- ensuring that students in each group have the same instructional reading level
Answer to question 1
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: D. (Objective 0001) Prosody is a component of reading fluency that includes natural phrasing, intonation, and expression. To practice teacher-guided prosodic reading skills, students should work with a text that is at least at their instructional level—one they can read with fewer than 10 errors per 100 words. Otherwise, they may stumble over words or pause inappropriately too often, breaking up the natural rhythm of speech. It would therefore be a best practice to group students together who read at the same instructional level for guided practice to ensure that all students are practicing with texts at the appropriate level.
Question 2
2. An elementary reading teacher encourages classroom teachers at all levels to include informational texts for teacher read-alouds and informal class discussions. This practice primarily contributes to students' reading proficiency by promoting their:
- development of decoding strategies.
- knowledge of general academic language.
- development of word consciousness.
- knowledge of print conventions.
Answer to question 2
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: B. (Objective 0001) General academic language is the formal language used in the school environment in discussions, textbooks, and other informational texts. It includes vocabulary (e.g., essential, correspond, characteristic) and syntax structures (e.g., compound-complex sentences). Students need to have a command of general academic language in order to read and comprehend content-area texts and to ultimately succeed in school. By using informational texts for read-alouds and discussions, the reading teacher exposes students to and helps develop their understanding of general academic language.
Question 3
3. Students who have progressed to the intermediate stage of reading development typically are beginning
to demonstrate an ability to:
- synthesize and reconstruct abstract ideas from reading multiple texts.
- decode grade-level words that follow regular phonics patterns.
- sound out and blend individual letters to read simple regular words.
- engage in reading in order to learn new grade-level content.
Answer to question 3
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: D. (Objective 0001) Intermediate readers
have already mastered basic reading skills in earlier stages and have attained a level of reading fluency
that allows them to focus primarily on the ideas and information presented in a text. Thus, intermediate
readers are able to learn new concepts and information from printed materials, and they can begin to
acquire the literacy skills and growing background knowledge needed to learn from increasingly complex
texts and reading tasks.
Question 4
4. A middle school reading teacher provides regular opportunities for students to informally discuss texts they have read together in class as well as to share and talk about books they have read independently. These practices best demonstrate the teacher's awareness of the:
- influence of students' social development on their reading development.
- importance of exposing students to a variety of different literary genres.
- influence of students' cognitive development on their ability to read critically.
- importance of providing students with explicit modeling of reading strategies.
Answer to question 4
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: A. (Objective 0001) Since peer interactions become increasingly important during adolescence, the reading teacher builds on this developmental fact by using instructional strategies that support students' positive interactions about texts. In addition to fostering students' academic language and vocabulary growth, which in turn supports reading comprehension, participation in text-based conversations helps nurture students' enthusiasm for reading and their sense of the classroom as a community of readers.
Question 5
5. Which of the following practices best exemplifies a reading teacher's application of schema theory
to facilitate students' reading development?
- providing students with ample opportunities to practice reading a variety of texts written at their
independent reading level
- introducing students explicitly to unfamiliar content and academic language found in a text prior to
having them read the text independently
- exposing students to new vocabulary that is slightly above their current level of reading ability through
the use of read-alouds
- encouraging students to look for morphemes in new multisyllable words found in a text to try to deduce the words' meanings
Answer to question 5
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: B. (Objective 0001) According to schema theory, readers use both contextual schemata (i.e., their prior experiences and general knowledge related to a particular concept) and textual schemata (i.e., their knowledge of discourse conventions) to provide an appropriate context or framework with which to understand a text. Providing students with explicit instruction on unfamiliar content and language activates and builds students' schemata related to the text and supports the students' comprehension of the assignment.
Question 6
6. Which of the following instructional practices related to planning reading-related instruction at the middle school and high school levels would likely be most effective in supporting the reading comprehension and academic achievement of English learners?
- including prereading activities in each lesson that are designed to activate students' relevant prior knowledge and contextualize new content vocabulary and concepts
- ensuring that all student groups are given equitable access to available technology-based options in reading instruction
- including opportunities in each lesson for students to provide and receive peer mentoring in relevant reading skills
- ensuring that all reading-related activities use homogeneous groupings that promote students' shared language backgrounds and cultural experiences
Answer to question 6
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: A. (Objective 0002) Reading comprehension at the secondary level relies heavily on an ability to comprehend academic language (i.e., the formal and frequently decontextualized language of books and academic lectures and discussions) and on a well-developed store of general and topic-specific background knowledge and related vocabulary. Many English learners have the necessary background knowledge for understanding grade-level materials, but they may lack topic-specific vocabulary in English. Research shows that students who are taught a set of related words in context (i.e., as part of a concrete activity or discussion explicitly focused on that topic) are more likely to understand and retain the new words.
Question 7
7. Which of the following approaches to differentiating reading instruction would be most appropriate to use to address the needs of students who have reading difficulties as well as those who are advanced readers?
- using the results of standardized summative assessments to modify the students' long-term instructional goals
- providing substantially separate curricula and instructional goals for the students based on their reading performance
- modifying the pacing and complexity of instruction based on the students' ongoing assessment evidence
- replacing curriculum standards with standards from other grade levels that better match the students' performance
Answer to question 7
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: C. (Objective 0002) Pacing and complexity are dimensions of instructional planning and delivery that can be adjusted to meet the needs of all students. For example, instruction for students who already demonstrate mastery of grade-level skills can be modified to provide an appropriate level of challenge by covering grade-level topics at an increased pace or adding enrichment activities that promote development of complex skills. Instruction for students with reading difficulties can be modified by covering grade-level topics at a slower pace in order to provide time for additional instruction and guided practice and by focusing instruction on key grade-level concepts and skills.
Question 8
8. Individualized instruction would likely be the most appropriate grouping option to use in which of
the following instructional situations?
- demonstrating a complex reading task
- reinforcing a literacy skill previously taught
- introducing a specific critical-literacy skill
- delivering an intensive reading intervention
Answer to question 8
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: D. Objective 0002) An intensive reading intervention is designed to promote the fastest rate of learning for students who are significantly below their peers in reading development. The intensity of instruction is a measure of the amount of time during instruction in which a student is actively engaged in learning a new skill and has opportunities to practice the newly learned skill with teacher guidance as needed. Frequent, individualized instruction offers students the greatest opportunity for guided practice and instruction tailored to their needs.
Question 9
9. A reading teacher is planning a lesson for a group of students with a wide range of reading abilities.
Which of the following methods of instruction would be most appropriate for the teacher to take when
considering the varying reading needs of the students?
- beginning the lesson with whole group instruction
- creating differentiated forms of the lesson to meet each level
- grouping the students for the lesson according to their compatibility
- giving a short quiz prior to the lesson to gauge the students' depth of knowledge
Answer to question 9
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: B. (Objective 0002) Differentiation of
content, process, products, or the learning environment means tailoring instruction to meet the students'
individual strengths and needs. Differentiated instruction enables students with a wide range of abilities
to receive appropriate education within a single classroom. When planning a lesson for a group of students
at varying reading levels, the teacher should make adjustments to meet each level represented so that
each student is supported and challenged.
Question 10
10. Following a unit of study, a reading teacher would like to pair sixth-grade students together to
do a related project using computer-based instruction. Which of the following considerations would be
most important for the teacher to take into account first when planning this type of instruction?
- determining that the partners working together are compatible and at a comparable level of keyboarding skills
- reminding students of the appropriate etiquette and safety requirements recommended for Internet use
- setting up a workstation schedule for the students so that each team will have adequate time to work
on the task
- ensuring that the program and its content are aligned with the objectives that were used during the
direct instruction
Answer to question 10
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: D. (Objective 0002) One way a teacher can make use of computer-based instruction is as a follow-up activity of previously taught material. This instruction would be designed to extend students' knowledge of what they have learned and to give them autonomy while doing so, following a gradual release of responsibility model. In order for this instruction to be effective, the first planning consideration for the teacher should be to ensure that the computer program's content aligns with the objectives of the material that was taught.
Question 11
11. A reading teacher wants to find materials to use for instruction and remediation in phonemic awareness skills with struggling middle school students. The most important feature to consider is whether the materials require students to:
- make explicit connections between phonemic awareness and decoding skills.
- develop mastery of each discrete phonemic awareness skill orally and in isolation.
- use discovery learning and deduction to develop phonemic awareness skills.
- apply metacognitive comprehension strategies to build their phonemic awareness.
Answer to question 11
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: A. (Objective 0003) Research suggests that adolescent readers who have difficulty in decoding unfamiliar words have poor phonemic awareness. The phonemic awareness skill of sequentially blending the sounds of words is prerequisite for effective decoding. For older students who are already familiar with the alphabet and letter-sound correspondences, the teacher can take advantage of this foundation to teach (or reteach) and reinforce phonemic awareness skills. The letters of a printed word provide the students with concrete representations of the sounds of speech and help contextualize the phonemic awareness skill for the students, while at the same time reinforcing the students' decoding skills.
Question 12
12. A reading teacher wants to use technology to help motivate sixth-grade students in their development
of content-area literacy skills (e.g., using reading and writing to extend and demonstrate their knowledge
of class content and to explore self-generated questions related to class content). Which of the following
technology-based strategies would be most appropriate for the teacher to use for this purpose?
- encouraging students to challenge each other using various content-themed educational computer games
- providing students with opportunities to participate in content-based WebQuests designed by the teacher
- arranging for students to progress through a series of computer-based, content-area skills tutorials
- having students regularly use a teacher-monitored classroom social media group to discuss content-related concepts
Answer to question 12
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: D. (Objective 0003) Students, especially adolescents, tend to find the use of technology and the collaborative nature of social media motivating. A teacher-monitored social media group allows students to write about and discuss content collaboratively online over time. The process of writing about content and also responding to classmates' writing about content helps broaden and deepen students' understanding of the topic and reinforces their content-specific vocabulary knowledge.
Question 13
13. A student is able to read all the books in a fiction series independently and with good comprehension
despite the fact that the assessed readability level of the series is significantly higher than the
student's independent reading level. Which of the following factors likely contributed most to the student's
success in reading these books?
- The books' readability level is only accurate if the books are read in class.
- The student was engaged in and motivated to read the books.
- The books were written just above the student's frustration reading level.
- The student was unaware that the book was so challenging.
Answer to question 13
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: B. (Objective 0003) The readability level of a book is a measure of reading difficulty based on vocabulary difficulty, sentence and syntactic complexity, and decoding difficulty. Readability level is a key consideration when identifying texts appropriate for a particular student since, in general, a student's reading comprehension is optimal when the readability of the text matches his or her literacy skills. However, readability is only one factor. A high degree of interest in a text increases reader engagement in constructing meaning and motivates the student to make extra effort, including the use of strategies to improve comprehension (e.g., rereading, self-questioning).
Question 14
14. A high school reading teacher is selecting a text to use with a student to provide instruction and remediation. The teacher first checks to make sure the reading level of the text is appropriate and is aligned with the state curriculum. Which of the following questions would be most important for the teacher to consider next to ensure selection of an appropriate text for this student?
- Is this text composed of words that are decodable using basic phonics skills?
- Does this text contain multiple illustrations to ensure comprehension?
- Is this text likely to have personal meaning or value to the student?
- Does this text expose the student to a variety of perspectives and opinions?
Answer to question 14
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: C. (Objective 0003) Motivation is an important factor in reading development during adolescence. As a consequence of ongoing difficulty in reading, adolescent students who are struggling readers frequently have an aversion to reading and may have developed habitual reading avoidance behaviors. Thus, motivation is a critical factor to consider when planning an intervention for these students, particularly at the secondary level. Selecting instructional reading materials that are personally relevant to a student is an effective method for building the student's motivation and engagement.
Question 15
15. In a school with a diverse population, one of a reading teacher's instructional goals is to help fifth-grade students affirm and embrace the cultural differences within their learning community and the world beyond. Which of the following approaches is most likely to achieve the teacher's goal in the most equitable way?
- assigning students to conduct interviews with family members about their heritage and report the results back to the class
- researching societal issues in the news and providing appropriate related video clips for the students to view
- acquiring reading materials with content, illustrations, and language that reflect characteristics of many different cultures
- contacting the school's music teacher to create an interdisciplinary lesson that combines literature with music from many countries
Answer to question 15
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: C. (Objective 0003) As part of the process of teaching students to embrace diversity within their school community and the world beyond, it is important for teachers to promote critical thinking (e.g., allowing students to compare and contrast various cultures). One way to facilitate this process is for the teacher to provide appropriate materials to help the students learn about the culture of their particular school and also of the world outside of school. Reading and viewing such materials helps students develop a sense of their own identity, their place within the community, and a respect for diversity.
Question 16
16. Which of the following questions would be most important to answer first when determining whether a particular formal reading test, administered annually to students districtwide, would provide useful information about the students' annual progress?
- Can the schools ensure that testing conditions will be the same for all examinees in the district?
- Are the skills and knowledge measured by the test aligned with state and district curricular goals
in reading?
- Can school faculty readily access individual test scores to inform ongoing differentiated instruction?
- Are the norms used for scoring the test based on test administrations in demographically comparable
school districts?
Answer to question 16
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: B. (Objective 0004) In order to use test results to evaluate students' reading progress from one year to the next, it is essential that the skills and knowledge tested reflect what is being taught to students. This can only be accomplished if the test is aligned with the curriculum the teachers are using for instruction and the goals set by the state and district.
Question 17
17. At the beginning of the school year, a reading teacher assists an elementary classroom teacher in conducting class screening assessments in key areas of reading. This type of assessment is appropriate for the purpose of supporting the classroom teacher in:
- creating a class profile of students' range of strengths and needs in reading.
- developing appropriate curriculum standards in reading for the class.
- planning effective long-term whole-group instructional lessons.
- organizing class instruction in reading based on state standards.
Answer to question 17
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: A. (Objective 0004) Conducting a class
screening assessment in key areas of reading at the beginning of the school year allows the classroom
teacher to develop a quick overview or reading profile of the students in the class. This overview provides
a starting point for more detailed diagnostic reflection regarding, for example, what materials might
be appropriate for different students and which students might require additional support, intervention,
remediation, or extension with respect to state curriculum standards. Screening assessments are not
meant to take the place of more in-depth diagnostic testing that might be needed or ongoing informal
assessment, the latter of which should take place continuously throughout the school year.
Question 18
18. In reading the specifications for a standardized diagnostic reading test, a reading teacher discovers that the test's decoding subtest has a reliability of 0.95 while its comprehension subtest has a reliability of 0.90. Which of the following conclusions would be most appropriate for the teacher to draw given this information?
- Neither the decoding nor the comprehension subtest of this test is sufficiently reliable.
- The decoding subtest of this test is sufficiently reliable but the comprehension subtest is not.
- Both the decoding and the comprehension subtests of this test are sufficiently reliable.
- The comprehension subtest of this test is sufficiently reliable but the decoding subtest is not.
Answer to question 18
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: C. (Objective 0004) Test reliability refers
to the degree with which the test yields consistent results. On a standardized diagnostic reading test,
it is recommended that subtest reliability be 0.90 or above. In the scenario described, both subtests
of the diagnostic test the teacher is reviewing have a reliability of 0.90 or above, so both subtests
should be considered to have sufficient reliability.
Question 19
19. As compared to criterion-referenced reading tests, norm-referenced reading tests are more likely
to:
- relate student performance to a set standard of mastery.
- align test items to the objectives of a particular reading program.
- measure student mastery of specific learning objectives.
- contain test items that purposefully range in difficulty.
Answer to question 19
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: D. (Objective 0004) Norm-referenced tests are designed to provide information about a student's performance relative to that of a norming group for a particular grade level or range of grade levels. A norm-referenced test is purposefully constructed so that struggling readers within the grade range can answer at least some items correctly, while the stronger readers in the grade range will probably not be able to answer all the items correctly. Thus, the items in a norm-referenced test must range greatly in difficulty; otherwise, the test will not yield reliable results.
Question 20
20. Which of the following types of miscues is interpreted as a scorable reading error on an oral reading
fluency assessment?
- repeating a word or phrase
- ignoring the punctuation between two sentences
- omitting a word or phrase
- hesitating before pronouncing a word correctly
Answer to question 20
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: C. (Objective 0005) An oral reading fluency (ORF) assessment calculates how many words in a piece of connected text a student reads correctly in one minute (WCPM). The teacher times the student and marks any miscues on a copy of the text. However, not all miscues are counted as errors. For example, self-corrections, word insertions, and word repetitions are not considered errors. Word omissions, mispronunciations, substitutions, and transpositions (switching the order of words) count as errors.
Question 21
21. A middle school reading teacher is designing an initial assessment to help determine the most likely cause(s) of a student's comprehension difficulties. The teacher plans to have the student read aloud a grade-level passage about a familiar topic, reread it silently, and then answer ten comprehension questions of varying difficulty. Which of the following additional steps would be most beneficial for the teacher to take when administering the assessment to ensure that it is effective in achieving its purpose?
- asking the student to describe the meaning of key words in the passage after reading it
- providing contextual supports such as illustrations to help the student construct meaning from the
passage
- having the student reread the passage aloud again after answering the questions the teacher asks
- preteaching the meaning of any words in the passage that are likely to be unfamiliar to the student
Answer to question 21
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: A. (Objective 0005) Many factors contribute to reading comprehension, including proficiency in basic reading skills (e.g., decoding ability, reading fluency), vocabulary knowledge, background knowledge related to a text, and ability to apply various comprehension skills and strategies. In the initial assessment, the teacher should try to identify which factor, or combination of factors, might be playing a significant role in disrupting the student's comprehension. By listening to the student read the passage aloud orally, the teacher gains important information about the student's basic reading skills, and by observing and analyzing how well the student responds to the questions, the teacher gains important insights into the student's ability to apply various comprehension skills and strategies. However, the student's reading performance and responses to the questions will provide only indirect evidence about his or her vocabulary knowledge. Using a direct approach through explicit questioning (e.g., "What is the meaning of this word as it is used this sentence?") is a much more effective method of assessing the student's vocabulary knowledge in order to determine if limited vocabulary is a significant factor impeding the student's reading comprehension.>
Question 22
22. At the beginning of the school year, a second-grade teacher administers a spelling inventory to
the class comprising 25 words that gradually increase in difficulty. In addition to providing information
about students' spelling skills, an analysis of individual students' errors on this assessment is most
likely to provide important clues about each student's development in:
- fluency with respect to accuracy and rate.
- decoding with respect to phonics and word analysis skills.
- vocabulary with respect to word-learning strategies.
- comprehension with respect to understanding multiple-meaning words.
Answer to question 22
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: B. (Objective 0005) Decoding and encoding
are reciprocal skills. A student must apply knowledge of phonics elements, regular phonics patterns,
inflectional morphemes, and structural analysis in order to develop accurate spelling skills. Conversely,
knowledge of regular spelling patterns, such as common word families, contributes to students' decoding
skills and development of automaticity.
Question 23
23. During an informal oral reading fluency assessment, a reading teacher calculates the number of words a student read correctly per minute (WCPM) and the percentage of words the student read accurately. Which of the following steps would be most important for the teacher to take next when administering this type of assessment?
- having the student read aloud additional passages written at successive levels of difficulty
- comparing the student's assessment results to those of students with comparable reading skills
- asking the student a range of questions about the passage as a comprehension check
- assessing the student's word recognition skills using a series of graded word lists
Answer to question 23
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: C. (Objective 0005) The goal of reading
instruction is to develop competent, thoughtful readers who can comprehend and respond to a wide range
of texts. Conducting a comprehension check in conjunction with assessing a student's oral reading fluency
is essential to ensure that the student is not simply word calling and/or increasing reading rate at
the expense of accuracy and comprehension.
Question 24
24. At the beginning of the school year, a reading teacher would like to screen students to get a general
sense of their reading levels and identify students who may need extra support. Which of the following
tools would be most appropriate for the teacher to use to obtain the relevant information about students'
reading levels most efficiently?
- a miscue analysis
- a standardized reading test
- a diagnostic battery of skills
- a comprehension assessment
Answer to question 24
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: A. (Objective 0005) A miscue analysis using
an oral reading passage is an efficient, effective screening tool of many reading components. When doing
a miscue analysis, the teacher selects a piece of grade-level text and has each student read it aloud,
keeping a running record of errors within a set time. This running record helps the teacher judge accuracy,
which reveals the student's level of decoding skills and sight word knowledge. The teacher is also able
to assess the student's reading fluency (e.g., accuracy, rate, prosody, automaticity) with a miscue
analysis by listening to how the passage is read. In addition, the teacher may ask several questions
after the reading to assess the student's comprehension of the passage.
Question 25
25. A reading teacher administers an informal oral reading assessment to a second-grade student who
is a struggling reader. In this assessment, the teacher asks the student to read aloud a prepared list
of 50 words while the teacher makes a record of the student's performance on a separate form, using
check marks to indicate words the student reads quickly and accurately and using simplified phonetic
transcriptions to record any errors. Following is a representative sample of the student's performance
on this assessment.
Left column is printed word, right column is student reads. Printed word is fist, student reads it as
fit with a breve above the I. Student reads tube correctly. Student reads sing correctly. Printed word
is frog, student reads it as frog with a breve above the O. Student reads neck correctly. Student reads
chap correctly. Printed word is plan, student reads it as pan with a breve above the A. Printed word
is hunt, student reads it as hut with a breve above the U. Student reads shop correctly. Printed word
is pike, student reads it as pik with a breve above the I.
Based on the evidence provided, an intervention plan for this student should include targeted intensive
instruction and practice designed to promote the student's mastery of which of the following phonics
elements?
- consonant digraphs
- consonant blends
- short vowels
- vowel digraphs
Answer to question 25
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: B. (Objective 0006) The student consistently
misreads words containing consonant blends in both initial and final positions, which are phonics elements
that are normally mastered in first grade. This pattern of performance indicates that the student requires
intensive intervention in consonant blends.
Question 26
26. On informal diagnostic assessments, a first-grade student's most advanced phonological awareness skill is the ability to segment onset/rime in single-syllable words. In keeping with research-based sequences within the phonological awareness continuum, these results suggest that ongoing instruction for this student should focus on which of the following skills next?
- segmenting spoken sentences into words
- identifying initial phonemes in spoken words
- blending spoken syllables into words
- substituting medial phonemes in spoken words
Answer to question 26
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: B. (Objective 0006) In a research-based sequence of instruction in the phonological awareness continuum, segmenting onset/rime in individual words is considered an advanced phonological awareness skill that directly precedes the development of beginning phonemic awareness skills. Phonemic awareness is a specific type of phonological awareness involving the ability to distinguish and manipulate the separate phonemes in a spoken word. The most basic phonemic awareness skill is the ability to identify the initial phoneme in a spoken word and is therefore what the teacher should focus on next.
Question 27
27. A middle school student is experiencing increasing difficulty with reading-related activities. On a diagnostic reading achievement assessment, the student performs on grade level in decoding and fluency but well below grade level in comprehension. The student's classroom teachers report that not only does the student have difficulty comprehending the textbooks but the student's responses to direct questions during lectures, class discussions, and small-group work indicate gaps in listening comprehension, even when the student has adequate background knowledge about the topic. This evidence suggests that the student is likely to benefit most from an intervention program focused on promoting the student's:
- development of phonological- and phonemic-awareness skills.
- knowledge of orthographic guidelines and grade-level sight words.
- development of cued phrasing and other prosodic reading skills.
- knowledge of academic language structures and vocabulary skills.
Answer to question 27
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: D. (Objective 0006) Many factors influence a student's reading comprehension. In the scenario described, the student demonstrates grade-level ability in phonological processing and oral reading skills but limited ability in comprehending both written and oral academic discourse (i.e., the language of books, tests, lectures, class discussions, and other oral and written formal language). This evidence strongly suggests that the student has adequate decoding skills but lacks the language skills necessary to understand what he or she decodes. In this situation, an intervention program focused on developing the student's knowledge of academic language, including instruction in complex language structures, vocabulary, and vocabulary-building skills, would be most likely to improve the student's reading comprehension.
Question 28
28. A reading teacher uses fourth-grade students' writing samples to conduct an informal spelling and
phonics assessment. The teacher notes that a few students are struggling with several letter patterns
(e.g., -dge vs. -ge, -ch vs. -tch). Which of the following methods of explicit
instruction would likely be most effective for the teacher to use first to facilitate the students'
learning of the correct usage of these word endings?
- leading a brainstorming session in which the teacher asks students to supply additional words that
have the sounds found in the targeted word endings
- setting up a student-centered open word sort in which the teacher preselects words with the targeted
endings and the students sort them as they explain their choices
- having students do a word hunt in which the teacher directs them to look through texts to find examples
of words that contain the targeted endings
- conducting a closed word sort in which the teacher chooses words with the targeted endings, explains and models the sorting categories, then has the students practice sorting
Answer to question 28
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: D. (Objective 0006) When working with older
struggling readers, it is necessary to work quickly to provide explicit instruction in a given area
of challenge. The closed word sort is a very explicit instructional method because the teacher selects
the words to be manipulated, provides direct instruction on the categories, and models the categorization
task of sorting. The teacher then offers opportunities for the students to practice manipulation of
the words on their own. This activity would provide the highest level of teacher support.
Question 29
29. A fourth-grade student who is new to the school is unwilling to read aloud in class and has difficulty responding to post-reading questions (e.g., Can you tell me what the story is about in your own words? What is the main idea in this passage? What are some key details in this story?) about grade-level literary and informational texts. The teacher could most appropriately address this student's needs by taking which of the following steps first?
- giving individualized instruction and practice in self-monitoring strategies to the student
- providing the student with third-grade-level reading materials on similar topics
- administering diagnostic assessments to the student in decoding, vocabulary, and comprehension
- having the student take notes using various graphic organizers during reading
Answer to question 29
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: C. (Objective 0006) If a student is unable to answer post-reading questions, it is possible the student has difficulty with text comprehension. The underlying cause may be insufficient decoding skills (e.g., phonics, word-structure analysis, multisyllable word reading) and/or vocabulary knowledge (i.e., academic and domain-specific terms), as well as a lack of comprehension strategies. Diagnostic assessment in decoding, vocabulary, and comprehension would be necessary in order to determine where the student's challenges lie and where instruction should begin, particularly since the student is new to the school and is unwilling to read aloud in class. Diagnostic assessments may also reveal other underlying issues (e.g., hearing loss, speech difficulties).
Question 30
30. A reading teacher at an elementary school selects a variety of fiction and nonfiction texts for
reading instruction that reflect the diversity of cultures and perspectives in the school community.
Which of the following statements best describes an important way this practice contributes to a literate
classroom environment?
- Seeing their own background and experiences represented in the curriculum enhances students' self-concept
as readers and as members of an academic community.
- Making available a range of texts representing different genres and areas of interest helps students
learn to adapt reading strategies to different texts and purposes for reading.
- Refreshing the selection of texts available in each classroom to represent current trends in children's
literature motivates students to increase their independent reading.
- Offering students a variety of texts that address similar topics at different reading levels ensures
that all students have equal access to the core reading curriculum.
Answer to question 30
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: A. (Objective 0007) A key component of a literate environment is creating a classroom in which students view themselves as readers and as belonging to a community of readers. To motivate students' independent reading and their sense of being part of the reading community, it is important that teachers select materials for instruction in which students are able to make connections between their reading and their everyday lives. Never seeing oneself represented in what the class is reading can promote feelings of marginalization and cause a student to question the relevance of reading in general or even to question their place in the school or larger society. Conversely, selecting reading materials that are relevant to students' lives promotes both reflective reading and the development of positive dispositions toward reading.
Question 31
31. Which of the following components is an essential element of an effective secondary-level reading
program?
- comprehensive instruction in phonics
- explicit instruction in functional literacy skills
- integrated literacy and content-area instruction
- cross-age literacy activities and projects
Answer to question 31
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: C. (Objective 0007) Reading materials in
different content areas or disciplines vary not only in content but also in other dimensions, such as
the text styles and text structures authors use to convey and present content. For this reason, many
leading researchers point to the importance of embedding literacy instruction in content. For the secondary-level
reading teacher, this means both integrating content-area texts in reading and language arts instruction
and helping content-area teachers incorporate disciplinary reading skills and strategies into content-area
instruction.
Question 32
32. When assigning new books for a literature study, a sixth-grade teacher makes a practice of creating an annotated list of Web sites keyed to background information related to the assigned text. For example, when assigning a historical novel set in medieval Japan, the teacher includes an entry for a Web site that features photographs of medieval artifacts used by primary characters in the text. Which of the following strategies would be most effective in extending this activity to develop the students' digital literacy skills?
- having students routinely print and include relevant photographs or illustrations from the Internet
in their literary response journals
- providing modeling and guided practice in creating a "hyperlinks" folder with the list of the Web sites
on the classroom computer
- having students meet regularly in small groups to discuss what they have learned from consulting the
teacher's online resources
- providing explicit instruction in locating information on the Internet using a search engine and evaluating
the relevance of the information found
Answer to question 32
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: D. (Objective 0007) To prepare students adequately for the world in which they will be living and working as adults, it is important that reading programs promote digital literacy skills, in addition to traditional literacy skills. In this scenario, the teacher models the importance and benefits of using online resources to build background information about a text and enhance reading comprehension. Explicitly teaching students effective skills for conducting their own background research promotes students' independence and self-efficacy as readers as well as their knowledge of two key digital literacy skills: locating relevant online information and evaluating it for a particular purpose.
Question 33
33. A reading teacher offers a variety of collaborative reading activities (e.g., book clubs, reading groups, literature circles) as part of students' instructional reading time. Which of the following statements best explains the rationale for this practice?
- Students will have opportunities to compare their reading ability to that of their classmates.
- Students will tend to view community-based reading as more valuable than independent reading.
- Students will begin to develop a shared vision of literacy as they develop their reading skills together.
- Students will benefit personally with improved reading skills as a result of receiving peer instruction.
Answer to question 33
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: C. (Objective 0007) Many students benefit by interacting with one another about the texts they read. Collaborative discussions greatly enhance students' comprehension as they share their own ideas and hear the viewpoints of their classmates. Sharing a reading experience with peers also makes the reading itself more enjoyable. As students work through the reading and discussion of a text together, they begin to develop a shared vision of what literacy is and its importance to them as a community.
Question 34
34. Which of the following strategies would likely be most effective in motivating and engaging seventh-grade students to read an assigned nonfiction text?
- allowing the students to use the Internet for group-based activities prior to the reading of the text
- choosing a text that is relevant to and reflective of issues that are important to the students
- organizing writing activities that will allow the students to summarize and analyze the text
- offering the students extra credit or other incentives for completing text-related projects
Answer to question 34
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: B. (Objective 0007) Reading a text that is relevant and linked to real-life experiences and cultures helps build intrinsic motivation in students. Intrinsic motivation implies that the students are reading for the sheer enjoyment of reading rather than for rewards or to avoid negative consequences.
Question 35
35. A high school reading teacher is helping a social studies teacher plan instruction in strategic
reading to promote students' comprehension of content-area texts. When helping the teacher develop a
lesson focused on a specific text, which of the following steps would be most effective for the reading
teacher to take first?
- determining the teacher's learning goals for the reading assignment
- identifying the approximate reading difficulty of the specific text
- surveying the reading assignment for content-specific vocabulary
- obtaining assessment data about the reading skills of class members
Answer to question 35
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: A. (Objective 0008) Comprehension of content-area
texts involves various skills and strategies, from the acquisition of domain-specific vocabulary and
analysis of chronological or cause-effect relationships to the evaluation of arguments. In order to
provide effective guidance to a colleague, a reading teacher must first know the learning objectives
the teacher has for the lesson and what the teacher wants the students to "take away" with them. The
reading teacher can then offer guidance on promoting the skills and strategies the students will need
to accomplish those specific objectives.
Question 36
36. A first-grade teacher asks a reading coach for help planning professional development to increase effectiveness in reading instruction. When working with the teacher, which of the following steps would be most appropriate for the coach to take first?
- helping the teacher identify specific areas of concern and personal goals for improvement in reading
instruction
- reviewing with the teacher state learning standards in reading for students in the primary grades
- offering to observe the teacher during a reading lesson and then suggesting specific goals for improvement
- determining if the teacher is familiar with research-based components of effective beginning reading
instruction
Answer to question 36
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: A. (Objective 0008) Self-improvement goals
tend to be most effective—that is, they are most likely to be acted on—when people develop
their own goals. However, when one is setting goals in an area in which one has not yet achieved a certain
level of expertise, it can be difficult to put the goals into words, to focus the goals, and/or to prioritize
the goals. A reading teacher or coach can help the classroom teacher articulate and prioritize goals
related to reading instruction, which is the first step in developing an effective personal professional
development plan.
Question 37
37. A school's reading teacher would like to remain current with regard to research-based best classroom practices and assessments by subscribing to a literary publication. Which of the following criteria would be most appropriate for the teacher to look for in such a publication?
- the publication is available in a digital format
- the publication's articles contain real-life applicable scenarios
- the publication's articles are peer-reviewed
- the publication is published and written by reputable educators
Answer to question 37
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: C. (Objective 0008) Peer review refers to the process by which contributions made are determined, by other scholars in the field, to be based on accurate, reliable, and original research findings. In order to ensure one is reading reliable information in the field of reading, it is a good practice to choose well-researched publications.
Question 38
38. A reading teacher has volunteered to serve on a faculty committee charged with planning schoolwide
professional development in reading instruction. Which of the following steps would be most important
for the group to take first?
- investigating potential sources of funding from public education agencies or private institutions
- reviewing the most current scientifically based research on effective literacy practices
- discussing and developing a set of concrete, incremental, and measurable goals for the program
- identifying areas for improvement in the school literacy program based on students' performance data
Answer to question 38
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: D. (Objective 0008) The most effective professional development programs target specific areas of students' needs. Interpreting data patterns in a school's large-scale-assessment results, such as those of districtwide and statewide assessments, can be a very helpful step in identifying strengths and areas that need improvement in the reading program, and can thus help target key areas of need on which to focus professional development at the school.
Question 39
39. Which of the following actions best demonstrates a reading teacher's understanding of the importance
of being a role model to colleagues?
- critiquing major theories of reading and writing development
- joining a national or international reading organization
- conducting reading research and sharing the results
- engaging in best practices for reading and writing instruction
Answer to question 39
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: D. (Objective 0008) By definition, role models display desired behavior. Strategies for serving as a role model to colleagues include displaying positive attitudes toward literacy in the school and district and actively engaging in effective reading and writing practices. By engaging in best practices for reading and writing instruction, a reading teacher is modeling what colleagues should do to be effective reading instructors.
Question 40
40. A third-grade teacher asks a reading teacher to suggest a way to use self-reflection to improve reading instruction. The reading teacher suggests that the teacher arrange to have a colleague conduct a peer observation. Which of the following actions would be most appropriate for the reading teacher to suggest the teacher take as part of the observation?
- giving the peer a checklist to use to guide the observation
- having the peer elicit students' feedback after the observation
- asking the peer to preview the lesson plan prior to the observation
- inviting the peer to conduct the observation as a surprise classroom visit
Answer to question 40
- Answer Enter to expand or collapse answer. Answer expanded
- Correct Response: A. (Objective 0008) Self-reflection offers
teachers the opportunity to analyze and evaluate their instructional practices to determine what is
and is not working. With this knowledge, teachers can seek ways to improve their teaching. Self-reflection
involves collecting, recording, and analyzing everything that happens in a lesson. One way to collect
and record this information is by peer observation. Inviting a colleague to observe and record—guided
by questions about objectives, materials, activities, classroom management, and student response—can
provide a teacher with the information needed to analyze and evaluate his or her performance in specific
areas.