University of Phoenix Material
Phonics Competency Test: Instructor Copy
Have the student read the sentences aloud from his/her copy. As you listen to the student read, record
the miscues on your copy of the test each time the student: 1) Skips a word, 2) Substitutes a different
word, 3) Inserts a non-related word, or 4) Mispronounces a word (if the student self-corrects the
mispronunciation, do not count the miscue). Continue with the testing until the student falls below mastery
on two or three successive levels. To continue further would only add to the student’s sense of frustration.
Part 1
The 1big 2red 3hen 4is 5mad
6Did 7Bob 8get 9on the 10bus?
11Ben 12can 13fix 14his 15bad 16bat.
17Hit the 18fat 19bug on the 20bed.
21Don 22let the 23cat 24sit on his 25lap.
Part 2
(Consonant-vowel-consonant)
No. Possible/ No. Correct
/ 25
Percent
%
Mastery = 22
(Consonant clusters-short vowels)
up 2when I yell, “3Lift the 4flag.”
5Bang 6went the 7black 8drum!
9Stan 10shot the 11last 12duck.
13Blot up the mess on the 14glass top 15desk.
16Help 17Fred 18lift the big 19clock.
1Step
/ 19
%
Mastery = 16
Part 3
(CVC-silent e)
got a 2base hit 3late in the 4game.
/ 23
5Take the pan of 6white 7rice off the 8stove.
Mastery = 20
9Eve will 10bake a 11fine 12cake and win a 13dime.
14Pete 15rode his 16bike in the 17race.
18Sue looked 19cute on the 20huge 21mule as she 22rode 23home.
1Steve
Part 4
(Vowel Digraphs)
In a 1dream 2Gail met a 3sheep on the 4beach.
Take a 5seat on the 6boat by the 7sail.
8Wait a 9week to 10paint the 12chain.
His 13team made 14roast 15beef to 16eat.
The 17rain on his 18feet made 19Dean 20groan.
Part 5
1Her 2third 3bird
was 4born in the 5barn.
Take 6more 7care of 8your 9hair.
10Four 11car 12horns 13were 14heard by the 15clerk.
16Wear your 17shirt at 18work.
The 19sports 20stars will 21park their cars by the 22church.
%
/20
%
Mastery = 17
(Vowel + R)
/ 22
Mastery = 19
%
Part 6
(Other Vowel Sounds)
I 1found a 2foul 3mouse in our 4room.
If I 5boil the 6sour 7soup it will 8spoil.
A 9loud 10howl was 11heard on the 12lawn.
The 13clown 14shook the 15round 16toy 17hoop.
The 18boy 19bought his 20smooth 21boots in 22town.
/ 22
%
Mastery = 19
Part 7
(Other Long Vowel Sounds)
He saw 1Sue 2play in the 3snow.
You 4may 5buy the two 6new 7saws.
Can she 8ski on the 9wide 10blue 11sea?
The 12cow and the 13crow 14play by the 15tree.
The 16blue 17fly 18lays its eggs in the 19dry 20hay.
/ 20
%
Mastery = 17
Part 8
(Silent and irregular sounds)
It was 1dumb to leave his 2glove in the 3field.
The 4calf 5would like some 6salt this 7cold 8night.
A 9ghost said, “10Dare to 11guess if I am 12dead.”
13Phone for some 14bread and 15fruit for the 16child.
17Find the part of the 18sword that is 19rough to 20touch.
/ 20
%
Mastery = 17
Part 9
(Two syllable regularities)
Last 1winter a blue 2ribbon 3circus came to
/ 20
town with 4tigers, 5zebras, and 6monkeys.
An 7inspired clown went up a 8ladder and
Mastery = 17
9prepared to be shot from a 10hollow 11cannon.
For 12breakfast they had 13bacon, 14pancakes, and 15coffee.
The 16purple vase on the 17table is 18broken and
there is a 19puddle on the 20marble floor.
%
Part 10
(Multi-syllabic nonsense words)
This test is designed to assess a student’s ability to sound out words s/he has not previously
encountered.
Test directions
When you administer this test to the student, use the following dialogue:
“The words in Part 10 are not real words. I want you to try and sound out these nonsense words. Don’t
worry if there are words you can’t read, just do the best you can.”
As the student reads the words, record their responses. Use the following codes:
Correct word
+
Substitution
record incorrect response
No response (after 6 seconds)
NR
minkle
fumbering
drezquit
whister
plabbentful
No. Possible/No. Correct
/10
Percent
%
slantiveness
unfronky
quidderish
flantation
jungulation
Some of the material in this test was adapted from The National Right to Read Foundation-Reading
Competency