Michael C. McKenna
University of Virginia
mcm7g@virginia.edu
The Cognitive Model
Phonological
Awareness
Decoding and
Sight Word
Knowledge
Print
Concepts
Vocabulary
Knowledge
Fluency
in
Context
Automatic
Word
Recognition
Background
Knowledge
Language
Comprehension
Knowledge of
Text and Sentence
Structures
General
Purposes
for Reading
Specific
Purposes
for Reading
Strategic
Knowledge
Knowledge of
Strategies
for Reading
Reading
Comprehension
The Cognitive Model
Phonological
Awareness
Decoding and
Sight Word
Knowledge
Print
Concepts
Vocabulary
Knowledge
Fluency
in
Context
Automatic
Word
Recognition
Background
Knowledge
Language
Comprehension
Knowledge of
Text and Sentence
Structures
General
Purposes
for Reading
Specific
Purposes
for Reading
Strategic
Knowledge
Knowledge of
Strategies
for Reading
Reading
Comprehension
The Cognitive Model
Phonological
Awareness
Decoding and
Sight Word
Knowledge
Print
Concepts
Vocabulary
Knowledge
Fluency
in
Context
Automatic
Word
Recognition
Background
Knowledge
Language
Comprehension
Knowledge of
Text and Sentence
Structures
General
Purposes
for Reading
Specific
Purposes
for Reading
Strategic
Knowledge
Knowledge of
Strategies
for Reading
Reading
Comprehension
The Cognitive Model
Phonological
Awareness
Decoding and
Sight Word
Knowledge
Print
Concepts
Vocabulary
Knowledge
Fluency
in
Context
Automatic
Word
Recognition
Background
Knowledge
Language
Comprehension
Knowledge of
Text and Sentence
Structures
General
Purposes
for Reading
Specific
Purposes
for Reading
Strategic
Knowledge
Knowledge of
Strategies
for Reading
Reading
Comprehension
The Cognitive Model
Phonological
Awareness
Decoding and
Sight Word
Knowledge
Print
Concepts
Vocabulary
Knowledge
Fluency
in
Context
Automatic
Word
Recognition
Background
Knowledge
Language
Comprehension
Knowledge of
Text and Sentence
Structures
General
Purposes
for Reading
Specific
Purposes
for Reading
Strategic
Knowledge
Knowledge of
Strategies
for Reading
Reading
Comprehension
Inadequate Oral Fluency
Good Sight Vocabulary
What do you do next?
Answer: Assess phonics
Adequate Oral Fluency
What do you do next?
Answer: No further assessment
Weak Oral Fluency
Weak Sight Vocabulary
What do you do next?
Answer: Assess phonics
Weak Oral Fluency
Weak Sight Vocabulary
Weak Phonics
What do you do next?
Answer: Assess PA
Weak Oral Fluency
Weak Sight Vocabulary
Strong Phonics
What do you do next?
Answer: No further assessment
Weak Oral Fluency
Strong Sight Vocabulary
Strong Phonics
What do you do next?
Answer: No further assessment
PA Screening Test
PA Levels Inventory
Phonics Screening Test
Informal Phonics Inventory
Sight Word Screening Test
Sight Word Inventory
Oral Reading Fluency Screening Test
Building an Assessment Toolkit for
Word Recognition
DIBELS
PA Screening Test
PA Levels Inventory
Phonics Screening Test
Informal Phonics Inventory
Sight Word Screening Test
Sight Word Inventory
Oral Reading Fluency
Building an Assessment Toolkit for
Word Recognition
DIBELS
PA Screening Test
ISF, PSF
PA Levels Inventory
None
Phonics Screening Test
LNF, NWF
Informal Phonics Inventory None
Sight Word Screening Test None
Sight Word Inventory
None
Oral Reading Fluency
ORF
ISF and PSF are not diagnostic.
 They are sometimes useful in gauging
response to intervention, but only if
instruction targets the same skills they
assess.
 What’s needed is a more fine-grained
measure of how children progress through
stages of PA development.

The goals are to
(1) find out the level
at which a child is
functioning,
(2) provide instruction
at the next level,
and
(3) periodically test to
see if the
instruction has
taken the child to
that level.
Rhyme Detection
Rhyme Generation
Phoneme Isolation
Phoneme Identity
Phoneme Categorization
Blending
Phoneme Addition
Phoneme Deletion
Phoneme Substitution
Phoneme segmentation
Student can identify teacher-generated
words that rhyme or don’t rhyme.
Example
I will say three words. Tell me the word
that does not rhyme with the other two.
cat, ball, hat
Student can generate words that rhyme
with a teacher prompt.
Example
Tell me some words that rhyme with cat.
Student can isolate particular sounds
from the remainder of the word.
Example
The first sound we hear in the word dog
is /d/. What is the first sound you hear in
the word cat?
Given three words, the child can identify
a common sound in all three words.
Example
Tell me the sound you hear in all three of
these words: mad, pat, can
Given three words, two of which have a
common sound, the child can identify the
word that lacks that sound.
Example
I will say three words. Two of them have
one sound that is the same. Tell me the
word that doesn’t belong: horse, duck, dog
Phoneme Blending
Upon hearing the phonemes that make
up a word, the child can identify the word.
Example
Tell the child that you are going to say a
word in your own “secret code.” Then
pronounce the word by saying each
phoneme in succession. For example,
say”/k/ /a/ /t/.” The child must blend these
sounds to form the word cat.
Upon hearing an onset and rime, the
child can blend them to form a word.
Example
Provide the child with a common rime.
Ask the child to make a word by adding a
sound. “What word do we get if we add
/sh/ to the beginning of ake.”
Upon hearing a word, the child can
remove the onset and say just the rime.
Example
Say a common one-syllable word, such
as cake. Ask the child to remove the
beginning sound, so that the child says
ake.
Given a word and a new onset, the child
can replace the original onset and say the
new word that is formed.
Example
The word is shake. Change /k/ to /d/ to
make a new word.
Given a word, the child can say its
phonemes in sequence.
Example
When I say the word dog, I can hear the
sounds /d/ /o/ /g/. What sounds do you
hear when I say … bad?
Progress from CVC to CCVC to CCVCC
Take a moment …
What diagnostic tools that
are already available to you
can provide this information
about PA?



NWF is not diagnostic.
It is inappropriate to analyze NWF errors to
determine skill deficits.
◦ It is timed.
◦ It is not systematic.
Miscue analysis is not a reliable method of
determing skill deficits.
◦ The effects of context often distort what a child
can do.
◦ Sight word knowledge can lead to
overestimates of phonics knowledge.
◦ See McKenna & Picard (2006/07).
A graduated inventory of phonics skills can
guide instructional planning.
 It can also be used for progress
monitoring.
 Such an inventory can include letter
sounds in isolation, real words, and
nonsense words.
 It is untimed.

Hierarchy of Decoding Skills
Consonant Sounds
Consonant Digraphs
Beginning Consonant Blends
Final Consonant Blends
Short Vowels in CVC Words
The Rule of Silent e
Long Vowel Digraphs (Teams)
Diphthongs
r-controlled Vowels and -al
Point to S. Say, “What sound does this letter say?” Go
from left to right, repeating this question. It is fine if the
child reads across a line without prompting. For C and G,
have the child give both sounds.
Note: If the child cannot pass this subtest, consider giving
an alphabet inventory.
Point to Th. Say, “What sound do these letters say?” Go
from left to right, repeating this instruction. It is fine if the
child reads all five without prompting.
Point to bl. Say, “What sound do these letters say?” Allow
child to proceed with or without prompting.
Point to bank. Say, “What is this word?” Allow child to
proceed with or without prompting.
Point to fit. Say, “What is this word?” Allow child to
proceed with or without prompting.
Have the child read each word across each line, from left
to right.
Have the child read each word, from left to right.
Have the child read each word, from left to right.
Take a moment …
What diagnostic tools that
are already available to you
can provide this information
about decoding?


Noting words a student can identify
automatically while reading orally is not a
reliable way to judge sight vocabulary.
◦ It is not systematic.
◦ It lacks benchmarks.
◦ It does not control for context.
Graded lists of high-frequency words can be
used to judge whether a student’s acquisition of
sight words is adequate.
An organization like this
allows you to quickly
judge sight word level.
Simply find the highest
level with 80% accuracy.
This same test can be
used diagnostically,
since each word missed
becomes an instructional
target.
Take a moment …
What diagnostic tools that
are already available to you
can provide this information
about sight words?


Remember that fluency problems are diagnosed
by examining screening results at lower levels
(word recognition and PA).
ORF qualifies as a screening test but is
inadequate for diagnostic purposes.



Although diagnostic assessment in these areas
is not possible, we can assess a student’s
responsiveness to instruction in two principal
ways.
Compare screenings at two points in time.
Measure growth with respect to a specific text or
set of texts.




Although there are no diagnostic tests of
vocabulary, it is possible to judge a student’s
responsiveness to vocabulary instruction.
One way is to assess knowledge of word
meanings taught during small-group work over
the course of a unit.
RtI requires pre/post comparisons.
There are many ways to assess word
knowledge, and all are problematic.




Like vocabulary, it is possible to judge how well
a student comprehends a selection.
Doing so over a series of texts can help you
judge whether the student is responding to
instruction.
Unfortunately, this approach cannot tell you
whether the student’s ability to comprehend is
improving. Only repeated screenings can do so.
But repeated screenings are problematic
because so many factors influence
comprehension.
How might the tests in this toolkit be
used in a comprehensive RtI model?
A Stairway to Proficiency
Vocabulary & Comprehension
Fluency and Comprehension
Word Recognition and Fluency
PA and Word Recognition
Vocabulary and Comprehension
Students
T eacher Reading
Reading
Fluency and Comprehension
First Grade
Second Grade
Third Grade
Reader
Reader
Reader
Blends and
Digraphs
Word Recognition and Fluency
R-Controlled
VowelVowel T eams
Vowels
Consonant-E
Phonemic Awareness and Word Recognition
Basic
Using
Using
Alphabet Knowledge
Letter Sounds
Letter P atterns
McKenna, M. C., & Picard, M. (2006/2007). Does miscue
analysis have a role in effective practice? The Reading
Teacher, 60, 378-380.
McKenna, M. C., & Stahl, K. A. D. (2009). Assessment for
reading instruction (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford.
Walpole, S., & McKenna, M. C. (2009). How to plan
differentiated reading instruction: Resources for grades
K-3. New York: Guilford.
Walpole, S., & McKenna, M. C. (2007). Differentiated
reading instruction: Strategies for the primary grades.
New York: Guilford.