Diagnostic – Decoding List of Skills by domain
The Decoding tool presents students with items in six categories. These categories are
embedded within the adaptive nature of the tool such that students will not be aware of when
categories change during their engagement with the tool. This will allow the teacher to receive
more specific, actionable data about each student’s progress in order to take instructional next
steps.
The six categories embedded in the Diagnostic tool are:
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CVC Words – short vowel sounds, initial consonants, final consonants
Blends and Digraphs – consonant digraphs, consonant s-blends, consonant l-blends,
consonant r-blends, final consonant digraphs, final consonant blends and combinations
Complex Consonants – three-letter with blends, three-letter with digraphs, consonant
combinations (kn, wr), consonant combinations (gh, ph, gn, m), hard and soft c sound,
hard and soft g sound, complex consonants
Complex Vowels – long vowel sounds, vowel-r words, vowel sounds for oo, vowel
diphthongs ou/ow and oi/oy, vowel sound for y (long i and e sound), vowel sound in
ball, schwa sound, long a, e, i, o, u vowel patterns
Word Recognition/Inflectional Endings – plurals with s, es, plurals with o, fe, plurals
change y to i and add es. Endings with s(es), ed, ing, y, ending with doubled consonants,
irregular verbs, contractions, compound words, root words
Affixes (prefixes, suffixes)/Syllabication – prefixes un-, re-, pre-, dis-, mis-, non-, in-, im-,
il-, suffixes er, est, ful,less, ness, ment, affixes and root words, number of syllables,
VC/CV divide words with like and unlike double consonants, VC/V divide words with
single consonant, short vowel sound, V/CV divide words with long vowel sound,
syllabication – accented syllables