STR Exam Terminology Questions and
Answers
Assets-based approach - Answers -An assets-based approach to reading instruction
focuses on what children know rather than on what they do not know. By continually
adjusting flexible groupings according to current assessment data, the teacher
acknowledges each child's growth in various areas of reading. The use of ongoing
assessment also supports the teacher in identifying each child's assets in order to
create student-centered instruction.
Which approaches to instruction would be most effective to enhance the student's
reading development? *w/ dyslexia - Answers -Providing the student with systematic,
explicit multimodal instruction in all the essential, evidence-based components of
reading.
Convergent research on dyslexia supports a language-based, multimodal approach to
instruction that is systematic and explicit; addresses all five components of reading
(phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension); and
integrates spelling and writing instruction with reading instruction. Language-based
means that attention is given to all the major language systems (phonology,
morphology, semantics, syntax, and discourse). Multimodal instruction involves using
auditory, visual, and tactile-kinesthetic sensory systems along with articulatory-motor
components to help students link spoken language to the printed language on the page.
It also involves integrating listening, speaking, reading, and writing activities to reinforce
new learning across language modalities. Systematic means that the teacher uses a
planned sequence of evidence-based instruction with an emphasis on developing
accuracy and automaticity in all skills. The sequence of instruction follows an optimal
order for introducing new information and skills according to the increasing complexity
and/or relative utility of linguistic units. Explicit means that language structures (e.g.,
phonemes, letter-sound relationships, syllable types) and skills are taught directly to
students using modeling and/or demonstration, explanation, examples, teacher-guided
practice, and independent practice leading to automaticity.
Formative Assessment - Answers -The purpose of a formative assessment is to obtain
information about what students have learned and are able to do following instruction. In
the scenario, the teacher uses the online application as an exit ticket to check individual
students' learning with respect to given reading lessons (e.g., instruction in prefixes).
The teacher can use the data collected to inform and adjust subsequent instruction.
, Diagnostic Assessment - Answers -The purpose of a diagnostic assessment is to
assess a specific area or areas of reading in depth to draw conclusions about the
cause(s) of a student's reading difficulties.
Summative Assessment - Answers -A summative assessment is typically administered
at the end of an instructional unit or period of time (end of semester, end of school year)
to measure students' progress in reading with respect to specific learning standards.
Screening Assessment - Answers -A screening assessment is typically administered in
order to measure discrete skills that could identify a student or students as being at-risk
for developing reading difficulties.
A first-grade teacher conducts a brief screening assessment in which the teacher asks
small groups of students to spell four CVC words and one word with a consonant blend
(e.g., bag, hen, sit, mop, slug).
In addition to providing the teacher with information about students' knowledge of letter-
sound correspondences, this type of assessment would also provide information about
students' development in which of the following other areas related to emergent
reading? - Answers -Phonemic Awareness because in this assessment students are
representing phonemes (sounds) with graphemes (letters). The number of graphemes a
student writes and the sequence of the graphemes provides insight into the students'
phonemic awareness, specifically their phonemic segmentation skills. If a student spells
a CVC word with one letter that represents the beginning sound, it indicates that the
student most likely perceives only the initial or most salient sound in a word. If the
student spells a CVC word with both the beginning and ending consonants, this
suggests that the student can perceive the initial and final phoneme of a word. If the
student spells a target word with a beginning and an ending consonant along with a
vowel in the middle, even if it is the wrong vowel, this indicates the ability to perceive
three sounds. Likewise, if a student spells a target word that contains a blend (e.g.,
slug) using only three letters (e.g., sug), this suggests that the student likely can
perceive words with up to three phonemes but not four phonemes. Thus, by analyzing
students' spellings in this brief screening assessment, a teacher can draw some
conclusions about a student's ability to perceive phonemes in words (i.e., phonemic
awareness). This information can help inform instruction in phonemic awareness to
support students' spelling and decoding development.
A prekindergarten teacher is preparing an introductory lesson focused on
isolating/identifying the initial sound in spoken words for a small group of children whose
informal assessments indicate that they are ready to learn this skill. The group includes
an English learner.
Which of the following instructional supports would best promote the English learner's
success in achieving the instructional goal of this lesson? - Answers -A. Selecting
stimulus words for the lesson that have sounds common to both English and the English
learner's home language.
Answers
Assets-based approach - Answers -An assets-based approach to reading instruction
focuses on what children know rather than on what they do not know. By continually
adjusting flexible groupings according to current assessment data, the teacher
acknowledges each child's growth in various areas of reading. The use of ongoing
assessment also supports the teacher in identifying each child's assets in order to
create student-centered instruction.
Which approaches to instruction would be most effective to enhance the student's
reading development? *w/ dyslexia - Answers -Providing the student with systematic,
explicit multimodal instruction in all the essential, evidence-based components of
reading.
Convergent research on dyslexia supports a language-based, multimodal approach to
instruction that is systematic and explicit; addresses all five components of reading
(phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension); and
integrates spelling and writing instruction with reading instruction. Language-based
means that attention is given to all the major language systems (phonology,
morphology, semantics, syntax, and discourse). Multimodal instruction involves using
auditory, visual, and tactile-kinesthetic sensory systems along with articulatory-motor
components to help students link spoken language to the printed language on the page.
It also involves integrating listening, speaking, reading, and writing activities to reinforce
new learning across language modalities. Systematic means that the teacher uses a
planned sequence of evidence-based instruction with an emphasis on developing
accuracy and automaticity in all skills. The sequence of instruction follows an optimal
order for introducing new information and skills according to the increasing complexity
and/or relative utility of linguistic units. Explicit means that language structures (e.g.,
phonemes, letter-sound relationships, syllable types) and skills are taught directly to
students using modeling and/or demonstration, explanation, examples, teacher-guided
practice, and independent practice leading to automaticity.
Formative Assessment - Answers -The purpose of a formative assessment is to obtain
information about what students have learned and are able to do following instruction. In
the scenario, the teacher uses the online application as an exit ticket to check individual
students' learning with respect to given reading lessons (e.g., instruction in prefixes).
The teacher can use the data collected to inform and adjust subsequent instruction.
, Diagnostic Assessment - Answers -The purpose of a diagnostic assessment is to
assess a specific area or areas of reading in depth to draw conclusions about the
cause(s) of a student's reading difficulties.
Summative Assessment - Answers -A summative assessment is typically administered
at the end of an instructional unit or period of time (end of semester, end of school year)
to measure students' progress in reading with respect to specific learning standards.
Screening Assessment - Answers -A screening assessment is typically administered in
order to measure discrete skills that could identify a student or students as being at-risk
for developing reading difficulties.
A first-grade teacher conducts a brief screening assessment in which the teacher asks
small groups of students to spell four CVC words and one word with a consonant blend
(e.g., bag, hen, sit, mop, slug).
In addition to providing the teacher with information about students' knowledge of letter-
sound correspondences, this type of assessment would also provide information about
students' development in which of the following other areas related to emergent
reading? - Answers -Phonemic Awareness because in this assessment students are
representing phonemes (sounds) with graphemes (letters). The number of graphemes a
student writes and the sequence of the graphemes provides insight into the students'
phonemic awareness, specifically their phonemic segmentation skills. If a student spells
a CVC word with one letter that represents the beginning sound, it indicates that the
student most likely perceives only the initial or most salient sound in a word. If the
student spells a CVC word with both the beginning and ending consonants, this
suggests that the student can perceive the initial and final phoneme of a word. If the
student spells a target word with a beginning and an ending consonant along with a
vowel in the middle, even if it is the wrong vowel, this indicates the ability to perceive
three sounds. Likewise, if a student spells a target word that contains a blend (e.g.,
slug) using only three letters (e.g., sug), this suggests that the student likely can
perceive words with up to three phonemes but not four phonemes. Thus, by analyzing
students' spellings in this brief screening assessment, a teacher can draw some
conclusions about a student's ability to perceive phonemes in words (i.e., phonemic
awareness). This information can help inform instruction in phonemic awareness to
support students' spelling and decoding development.
A prekindergarten teacher is preparing an introductory lesson focused on
isolating/identifying the initial sound in spoken words for a small group of children whose
informal assessments indicate that they are ready to learn this skill. The group includes
an English learner.
Which of the following instructional supports would best promote the English learner's
success in achieving the instructional goal of this lesson? - Answers -A. Selecting
stimulus words for the lesson that have sounds common to both English and the English
learner's home language.
