OAE -Foundations of Reading -Practice
Test Questions and Actual Answers 2026
Updated.
1. Which of the following students is demonstrating the specific type of phonological awareness
known as phonemic awareness?
a. a student who after being shown a letter of the alphabet can orally identify its corresponding
sound(s)
b. a student who listens to the words: sting, ring, fling, and hang and can identify that hang is
different
c. a student who, after hearing the word hat, can orally identify that it ends with the sound /t/
d. a student who listens to the word magazine and can determine that it contains three syllables
- Answer a student who, after hearing the word hat, can orally identify that it ends with the
sound /t/
2. A kindergarten teacher could best
determine if a child has begun to develop
phonemic awareness by asking the
child to:
A. count the number of words the child hears in a sentence as the teacher says the sentence.
B. say the word cat, then say the first
sound the child hears in the word.
C. point to the correct letter on an
alphabet chart as the teacher names
specific letters.
D. listen to the teacher say boat and
coat, then identify whether the two
words rhyme. - Answer B. say the word cat, then say the first
sound the child hears in the word.
,3. As students begin to read, the ability to blend phonemes orally contributes to their reading
development primarily because it helps students:
A. recognize and understand sight words in a text.
B. use knowledge of letter-sound correspondence to decode words.
C. guess the meaning of unfamiliar words from their context.
D. divide written words into onsets and rimes. - Answer use knowledge of letter-sound
correspondence to decode words.
A teacher holds up a series of familiar objects, asking students to name each object and isolate
the final sound they hear. This type of activity would be most appropriate for a student who:
A. needs help developing phonemic segmentation skills.
B. is performing below grade-level benchmarks in reading fluency.
C. lacks automaticity in word recognition.
D. has difficulty sounding out phonetically regular one-syllable words. - Answer needs help
developing phonemic segmentation skills.
5. Phonemic awareness contributes most to the development of phonics skills in beginning
readers by helping them:
A. recognize different ways in which one sound can be represented in print.
B. count the number of syllables in a written word.
C. identify in spoken language separate sounds that can be mapped to letters.
D. understand the concept of a silent letter. - Answer identify in spoken language separate
sounds that can be mapped to letters.
6. Which of the following first-grade students has attained the highest level
of phonemic awareness?
,A. a student who, after hearing the word hot and the sound /ĭ/, can substitute /ĭ/ for /ŏ/ to
make the word hit
B. a student who can orally segment the word wonderful into
won-der-ful
C. a student who, after hearing the words fish and fun, can identify that they both begin with
the same phoneme, /f/
D. a student who can orally segment the word train into its onset and rime - Answer a student
who, after hearing the word hot and the sound /ĭ/, can substitute /ĭ/ for /ŏ/ to make the word
hit
7. Asking students to listen to a word (e.g., same) and then tell the teacher all the sounds in the
word is an exercise that would be most appropriate for students who:
A. have a relatively low level of phonological awareness.
B. are beginning to develop systematic phonics skills.
C. have a relatively high level of phonemic awareness.
D. are beginning to master the alphabetic principle. - Answer have a relatively high level of
phonemic awareness.
A kindergarten teacher asks a small group of students to repeat after her. First, she says the
word grape and then pronounces it as gr and ape. Next, she says the
word take and then pronounces it as tand ake. This activity is likely to promote the students'
phonemic awareness primarily by:
A. helping them recognize distinct syllables in oral language.
B. encouraging them to divide words into onsets and rimes.
C. teaching them how to distinguish between consonants and vowels.
, D. promoting their awareness of letter- sound correspondence. - Answer encouraging them to
divide words into onsets and rimes.
9. A teacher shows a student pictures of familiar objects. As the teacher points to the first
picture, she asks the student to name the object in the picture. Next, she asks the student to
count on his fingers the number of sounds he makes as he says the word again. This activity is
most likely to promote which of the following?
A. understanding of the alphabetic principle
B. phonemic awareness skills
C. development of letter-sound correspondence
D. word identification skills - Answer phonemic awareness skills
10. A beginning-level English Language Learner can consistently blend individual phonemes to
make simple English words composed of two or three phonemes but is having difficulty
blending the sounds of familiar single-syllable words composed of four phonemes (e.g., clip,
trap, spin). Which of the following questions would be most important for the first-grade
teacher to consider when addressing the needs of this student?
A. Are the target words in the student's oral vocabulary in English?
B. Does the student's primary language have consonant blends?
C. Can the student distinguish between short and long vowel sounds in English?
D. Do the target words have cognates in the student's primary language? - Answer Does the
student's primary language have consonant blends?
11. A fourth-grade student reads on grade level and consistently scores very high on spelling
tests that are part of weekly word study activities. However, the student often misspells the
same words, and other familiar words, in everyday writings. The following table shows examples
of typical errors the student makes on class writing assignments and in informal notes to
friends.
GIRL- GRIL
INSTEAD- INTEAD
DECIDED- DECIDEDED
Test Questions and Actual Answers 2026
Updated.
1. Which of the following students is demonstrating the specific type of phonological awareness
known as phonemic awareness?
a. a student who after being shown a letter of the alphabet can orally identify its corresponding
sound(s)
b. a student who listens to the words: sting, ring, fling, and hang and can identify that hang is
different
c. a student who, after hearing the word hat, can orally identify that it ends with the sound /t/
d. a student who listens to the word magazine and can determine that it contains three syllables
- Answer a student who, after hearing the word hat, can orally identify that it ends with the
sound /t/
2. A kindergarten teacher could best
determine if a child has begun to develop
phonemic awareness by asking the
child to:
A. count the number of words the child hears in a sentence as the teacher says the sentence.
B. say the word cat, then say the first
sound the child hears in the word.
C. point to the correct letter on an
alphabet chart as the teacher names
specific letters.
D. listen to the teacher say boat and
coat, then identify whether the two
words rhyme. - Answer B. say the word cat, then say the first
sound the child hears in the word.
,3. As students begin to read, the ability to blend phonemes orally contributes to their reading
development primarily because it helps students:
A. recognize and understand sight words in a text.
B. use knowledge of letter-sound correspondence to decode words.
C. guess the meaning of unfamiliar words from their context.
D. divide written words into onsets and rimes. - Answer use knowledge of letter-sound
correspondence to decode words.
A teacher holds up a series of familiar objects, asking students to name each object and isolate
the final sound they hear. This type of activity would be most appropriate for a student who:
A. needs help developing phonemic segmentation skills.
B. is performing below grade-level benchmarks in reading fluency.
C. lacks automaticity in word recognition.
D. has difficulty sounding out phonetically regular one-syllable words. - Answer needs help
developing phonemic segmentation skills.
5. Phonemic awareness contributes most to the development of phonics skills in beginning
readers by helping them:
A. recognize different ways in which one sound can be represented in print.
B. count the number of syllables in a written word.
C. identify in spoken language separate sounds that can be mapped to letters.
D. understand the concept of a silent letter. - Answer identify in spoken language separate
sounds that can be mapped to letters.
6. Which of the following first-grade students has attained the highest level
of phonemic awareness?
,A. a student who, after hearing the word hot and the sound /ĭ/, can substitute /ĭ/ for /ŏ/ to
make the word hit
B. a student who can orally segment the word wonderful into
won-der-ful
C. a student who, after hearing the words fish and fun, can identify that they both begin with
the same phoneme, /f/
D. a student who can orally segment the word train into its onset and rime - Answer a student
who, after hearing the word hot and the sound /ĭ/, can substitute /ĭ/ for /ŏ/ to make the word
hit
7. Asking students to listen to a word (e.g., same) and then tell the teacher all the sounds in the
word is an exercise that would be most appropriate for students who:
A. have a relatively low level of phonological awareness.
B. are beginning to develop systematic phonics skills.
C. have a relatively high level of phonemic awareness.
D. are beginning to master the alphabetic principle. - Answer have a relatively high level of
phonemic awareness.
A kindergarten teacher asks a small group of students to repeat after her. First, she says the
word grape and then pronounces it as gr and ape. Next, she says the
word take and then pronounces it as tand ake. This activity is likely to promote the students'
phonemic awareness primarily by:
A. helping them recognize distinct syllables in oral language.
B. encouraging them to divide words into onsets and rimes.
C. teaching them how to distinguish between consonants and vowels.
, D. promoting their awareness of letter- sound correspondence. - Answer encouraging them to
divide words into onsets and rimes.
9. A teacher shows a student pictures of familiar objects. As the teacher points to the first
picture, she asks the student to name the object in the picture. Next, she asks the student to
count on his fingers the number of sounds he makes as he says the word again. This activity is
most likely to promote which of the following?
A. understanding of the alphabetic principle
B. phonemic awareness skills
C. development of letter-sound correspondence
D. word identification skills - Answer phonemic awareness skills
10. A beginning-level English Language Learner can consistently blend individual phonemes to
make simple English words composed of two or three phonemes but is having difficulty
blending the sounds of familiar single-syllable words composed of four phonemes (e.g., clip,
trap, spin). Which of the following questions would be most important for the first-grade
teacher to consider when addressing the needs of this student?
A. Are the target words in the student's oral vocabulary in English?
B. Does the student's primary language have consonant blends?
C. Can the student distinguish between short and long vowel sounds in English?
D. Do the target words have cognates in the student's primary language? - Answer Does the
student's primary language have consonant blends?
11. A fourth-grade student reads on grade level and consistently scores very high on spelling
tests that are part of weekly word study activities. However, the student often misspells the
same words, and other familiar words, in everyday writings. The following table shows examples
of typical errors the student makes on class writing assignments and in informal notes to
friends.
GIRL- GRIL
INSTEAD- INTEAD
DECIDED- DECIDEDED
