California Commission on Teacher
1 TSETBUS • ACIR
RICA✦
✦
SUB 1
Credentialing
Reading Instruction Competence Assessment · Subtest 1
CA CTC
ENSURING EXCELLENCE IN READING INSTRUCTION
RICA — Subtest 1 Examination
I R I · M I S CU E A N A LYS I S · P H O N O LO G I C A L / P H O N E M I C A W A R E N E SS · CO N C E PTS A B O U T P R I N T ·
L E T T E R R E CO G N I T I O N
ORGANIZATION California Commission on Teacher EXAM TYPE Reading Instruction Competence
Credentialing (CTC) Assessment (RICA)
SUBTEST Subtest 1 — Word Analysis & Fluency ACADEMIC YEAR
TOTAL QUESTIONS 25 Questions SUBJECT AREAS IRI · Phonemic Awareness · Concepts
About Print · Letter Recognition
FORMAT Multiple Choice — Select the Single Best
Answer
SUBTEST 1 EXAMINATION INSTRUCTIONS
▸ Select the single best answer for each question based on RICA content specifications for Subtest 1.
▸ Content covers: Informal Reading Inventory (IRI) components and reading levels (independent/instructional/frustration),
miscue analysis (graphophonemic, semantic, syntactic errors), phonological/phonemic awareness (word awareness, syllable
awareness, blending, sound isolation/identity/substitution/deletion/segmentation), concepts about print, letter
recognition/naming/formation, and instructional strategies for struggling readers, English Learners, and advanced learners.
▸ Key assessments: Yopp-Singer Test of Phoneme Segmentation, Concepts About Print test, word recognition lists, graded reading
passages.
SECTION I — ASSESSMENT, PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS & PRINT Questions 1 –
CONCEPTS 25
1. What is an Informal Reading Inventory (IRI) and what are its components?
A. A single test measuring only reading comprehension through multiple-choice questions.
B. A collection of individually administered assessments including Word Recognition Lists, Graded Reading Passages,
Reading Interest Surveys, phonemic awareness measures, fluency assessments, structural analysis, and vocabulary
assessments.
C. A group-administered standardized test given at the end of each grade level.
D. An observational checklist completed by the teacher during independent reading.
CORRECT ANSWER B — A collection of individually administered assessments including Word Recognition Lists, Graded
Reading Passages, Reading Interest Surveys, phonemic awareness measures, fluency assessments,
structural analysis, and vocabulary assessments.
RATIONALE The IRI is a COLLECTION of assessments administered INDIVIDUALLY to determine reading level. Components:
WORD RECOGNITION LISTS (10 words each list; determines reading level, sight vocabulary, and phonics
decoding ability); GRADED READING PASSAGES (most important part — K–8th grade; students read aloud for
miscue analysis measuring graphophonemic, semantic, and syntactic errors); READING INTEREST SURVEY;
plus phonemic awareness, fluency, structural analysis, and vocabulary assessments. RETELING measures
comprehension by having the child list characters, places, and events in their own words.
, 2. What are the three types of miscue errors and what does each indicate?
A. Phonological, morphological, and syntactic — all indicate the same instructional need.
B. Graphophonemic (sound-symbol errors — child relies too much on phonics or passage is too difficult), Semantic
(meaning-related errors — child understands but needs phonics skills), and Syntactic (same part of speech error —
child needs to pay more attention to phonics).
C. Visual, auditory, and kinesthetic — based on learning modality.
D. Decoding, fluency, and comprehension — the three main reading components.
CORRECT ANSWER B — Graphophonemic (sound-symbol errors — child relies too much on phonics or passage is too
difficult), Semantic (meaning-related errors — child understands but needs phonics skills), and
Syntactic (same part of speech error — child needs to pay more attention to phonics).
RATIONALE GRAPHOPHONEMIC ERROR: sound-symbol relationship error (reading "feather" for "father") — indicates child
relies too much on phonics or the passage is too difficult. SEMANTIC ERROR: meaning-related error (reading
"dad" for "father") — child understands what is read but needs phonics skills. SYNTACTIC ERROR: same part of
speech as correct word (reading "into" for "through") — student needs to pay more attention to phonics.
Reading levels: INDEPENDENT = 95%+ words correct AND 90%+ comprehension; INSTRUCTIONAL = 90%+
words correct AND 60%+ comprehension; FRUSTRATION = below 90% words correct OR below 60%
comprehension.
3. What is the difference between phonological awareness and phonemic awareness?
A. They are identical concepts used interchangeably.
B. Phonological awareness is the broad knowledge that oral English is composed of smaller units (individual sounds
AND larger units like words/syllables); phonemic awareness is the specific ability to distinguish separate phonemes
in spoken words.
C. Phonological awareness involves written letters; phonemic awareness involves only oral sounds.
D. Phonological awareness applies only to rhyming; phonemic awareness applies to all sound manipulation.
CORRECT ANSWER B — Phonological awareness is the broad knowledge that oral English is composed of smaller units
(individual sounds AND larger units like words/syllables); phonemic awareness is the specific ability to
distinguish separate phonemes in spoken words.
RATIONALE PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS is the UMBRELLA — knowledge that oral English is composed of smaller units
including individual sounds (phonemic awareness) AND sounds in larger units (words and syllables).
PHONEMIC AWARENESS is a SUBSET — the ability to distinguish separate phonemes in a spoken word.
PHONICS is knowledge of letter-sound correspondences. The ALPHABETIC PRINCIPLE: speech sounds are
represented by letters (symbols = sounds). A PHONEME is a speech sound. GRAPHEMES are letters
representing phonemes. ONSET = initial consonant sound/blend; RIME = vowel and following consonants.
PHONOGRAMS are rimes with the same spelling (word families: -at in cat, bat, sat).
1 TSETBUS • ACIR
RICA✦
✦
SUB 1
Credentialing
Reading Instruction Competence Assessment · Subtest 1
CA CTC
ENSURING EXCELLENCE IN READING INSTRUCTION
RICA — Subtest 1 Examination
I R I · M I S CU E A N A LYS I S · P H O N O LO G I C A L / P H O N E M I C A W A R E N E SS · CO N C E PTS A B O U T P R I N T ·
L E T T E R R E CO G N I T I O N
ORGANIZATION California Commission on Teacher EXAM TYPE Reading Instruction Competence
Credentialing (CTC) Assessment (RICA)
SUBTEST Subtest 1 — Word Analysis & Fluency ACADEMIC YEAR
TOTAL QUESTIONS 25 Questions SUBJECT AREAS IRI · Phonemic Awareness · Concepts
About Print · Letter Recognition
FORMAT Multiple Choice — Select the Single Best
Answer
SUBTEST 1 EXAMINATION INSTRUCTIONS
▸ Select the single best answer for each question based on RICA content specifications for Subtest 1.
▸ Content covers: Informal Reading Inventory (IRI) components and reading levels (independent/instructional/frustration),
miscue analysis (graphophonemic, semantic, syntactic errors), phonological/phonemic awareness (word awareness, syllable
awareness, blending, sound isolation/identity/substitution/deletion/segmentation), concepts about print, letter
recognition/naming/formation, and instructional strategies for struggling readers, English Learners, and advanced learners.
▸ Key assessments: Yopp-Singer Test of Phoneme Segmentation, Concepts About Print test, word recognition lists, graded reading
passages.
SECTION I — ASSESSMENT, PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS & PRINT Questions 1 –
CONCEPTS 25
1. What is an Informal Reading Inventory (IRI) and what are its components?
A. A single test measuring only reading comprehension through multiple-choice questions.
B. A collection of individually administered assessments including Word Recognition Lists, Graded Reading Passages,
Reading Interest Surveys, phonemic awareness measures, fluency assessments, structural analysis, and vocabulary
assessments.
C. A group-administered standardized test given at the end of each grade level.
D. An observational checklist completed by the teacher during independent reading.
CORRECT ANSWER B — A collection of individually administered assessments including Word Recognition Lists, Graded
Reading Passages, Reading Interest Surveys, phonemic awareness measures, fluency assessments,
structural analysis, and vocabulary assessments.
RATIONALE The IRI is a COLLECTION of assessments administered INDIVIDUALLY to determine reading level. Components:
WORD RECOGNITION LISTS (10 words each list; determines reading level, sight vocabulary, and phonics
decoding ability); GRADED READING PASSAGES (most important part — K–8th grade; students read aloud for
miscue analysis measuring graphophonemic, semantic, and syntactic errors); READING INTEREST SURVEY;
plus phonemic awareness, fluency, structural analysis, and vocabulary assessments. RETELING measures
comprehension by having the child list characters, places, and events in their own words.
, 2. What are the three types of miscue errors and what does each indicate?
A. Phonological, morphological, and syntactic — all indicate the same instructional need.
B. Graphophonemic (sound-symbol errors — child relies too much on phonics or passage is too difficult), Semantic
(meaning-related errors — child understands but needs phonics skills), and Syntactic (same part of speech error —
child needs to pay more attention to phonics).
C. Visual, auditory, and kinesthetic — based on learning modality.
D. Decoding, fluency, and comprehension — the three main reading components.
CORRECT ANSWER B — Graphophonemic (sound-symbol errors — child relies too much on phonics or passage is too
difficult), Semantic (meaning-related errors — child understands but needs phonics skills), and
Syntactic (same part of speech error — child needs to pay more attention to phonics).
RATIONALE GRAPHOPHONEMIC ERROR: sound-symbol relationship error (reading "feather" for "father") — indicates child
relies too much on phonics or the passage is too difficult. SEMANTIC ERROR: meaning-related error (reading
"dad" for "father") — child understands what is read but needs phonics skills. SYNTACTIC ERROR: same part of
speech as correct word (reading "into" for "through") — student needs to pay more attention to phonics.
Reading levels: INDEPENDENT = 95%+ words correct AND 90%+ comprehension; INSTRUCTIONAL = 90%+
words correct AND 60%+ comprehension; FRUSTRATION = below 90% words correct OR below 60%
comprehension.
3. What is the difference between phonological awareness and phonemic awareness?
A. They are identical concepts used interchangeably.
B. Phonological awareness is the broad knowledge that oral English is composed of smaller units (individual sounds
AND larger units like words/syllables); phonemic awareness is the specific ability to distinguish separate phonemes
in spoken words.
C. Phonological awareness involves written letters; phonemic awareness involves only oral sounds.
D. Phonological awareness applies only to rhyming; phonemic awareness applies to all sound manipulation.
CORRECT ANSWER B — Phonological awareness is the broad knowledge that oral English is composed of smaller units
(individual sounds AND larger units like words/syllables); phonemic awareness is the specific ability to
distinguish separate phonemes in spoken words.
RATIONALE PHONOLOGICAL AWARENESS is the UMBRELLA — knowledge that oral English is composed of smaller units
including individual sounds (phonemic awareness) AND sounds in larger units (words and syllables).
PHONEMIC AWARENESS is a SUBSET — the ability to distinguish separate phonemes in a spoken word.
PHONICS is knowledge of letter-sound correspondences. The ALPHABETIC PRINCIPLE: speech sounds are
represented by letters (symbols = sounds). A PHONEME is a speech sound. GRAPHEMES are letters
representing phonemes. ONSET = initial consonant sound/blend; RIME = vowel and following consonants.
PHONOGRAMS are rimes with the same spelling (word families: -at in cat, bat, sat).
