Idaho Comprehensive Literacy Ultimate
Exam
**Question 1.** Which phonological skill involves separating a spoken word into
its individual sounds?
A) Blending
B) Segmenting
C) Manipulating
D) Rhyme recognition
Answer: B
Explanation: Segmenting is the process of breaking a word into its constituent
phonemes, a foundational phonemic awareness skill.
**Question 2.** In English orthography, which spelling rule correctly describes
the “silent e” pattern?
A) Adds a long vowel sound to the preceding vowel
B) Makes the preceding vowel short
C) Changes a vowel team to a diphthong
D) Indicates a consonant is doubled
Answer: A
Explanation: A final silent “e” typically makes the preceding vowel say its name
(e.g., “cake” – /ā/).
**Question 3.** The morpheme “-ness” in the word “happiness” is an example of
a:
A) Root
,Idaho Comprehensive Literacy Ultimate
Exam
B) Prefix
C) Suffix
D) Infix
Answer: C
Explanation: “-ness” attaches to the end of a base word to form a noun,
functioning as a suffix.
**Question 4.** Which of the following is a closed syllable?
A) “ba” in “baby”
B) “go” in “goat”
C) “cat” in “catastrophe”
D) “pie” in “pie”
Answer: C
Explanation: A closed syllable ends with a consonant, causing the vowel to be
short (e.g., “cat”).
**Question 5.** The alphabetic principle states that:
A) Letters represent whole words
B) Each letter corresponds to a unique sound
C) Letters have fixed sounds regardless of context
D) Graphemes map onto phonemes in systematic ways
,Idaho Comprehensive Literacy Ultimate
Exam
Answer: D
Explanation: The alphabetic principle is the understanding that letters
(graphemes) symbolize sounds (phonemes) in a predictable system.
**Question 6.** Which decoding strategy is best described as sounding out each
letter sequentially?
A) Analytic phonics
B) Synthetic phonics
C) Whole-word recognition
D) Contextual guessing
Answer: B
Explanation: Synthetic phonics blends individual phonemes together after
sounding them out in order.
**Question 7.** An example of a high-frequency irregular word is:
A) “cat”
B) “said”
C) “bake”
D) “jump”
Answer: B
Explanation: “Said” does not follow regular phonics rules and appears frequently
in text, making it a high-frequency irregular word.
, Idaho Comprehensive Literacy Ultimate
Exam
**Question 8.** Which syllable type contains a vowel team that makes a single
sound?
A) Closed
B) Open
C) Vowel-team
D) R-controlled
Answer: C
Explanation: Vowel-team syllables have two vowels working together to produce
one sound, such as “team”.
**Question 9.** In the development of phonemic awareness, the progression
typically moves from:
A) Phoneme → syllable → onset-rime → word
B) Word → syllable → onset-rime → phoneme
C) Syllable → word → phoneme → onset-rime
D) Onset-rime → word → phoneme → syllable
Answer: B
Explanation: Children first become aware of whole words, then syllables,
onset-rime, and finally individual phonemes.
Exam
**Question 1.** Which phonological skill involves separating a spoken word into
its individual sounds?
A) Blending
B) Segmenting
C) Manipulating
D) Rhyme recognition
Answer: B
Explanation: Segmenting is the process of breaking a word into its constituent
phonemes, a foundational phonemic awareness skill.
**Question 2.** In English orthography, which spelling rule correctly describes
the “silent e” pattern?
A) Adds a long vowel sound to the preceding vowel
B) Makes the preceding vowel short
C) Changes a vowel team to a diphthong
D) Indicates a consonant is doubled
Answer: A
Explanation: A final silent “e” typically makes the preceding vowel say its name
(e.g., “cake” – /ā/).
**Question 3.** The morpheme “-ness” in the word “happiness” is an example of
a:
A) Root
,Idaho Comprehensive Literacy Ultimate
Exam
B) Prefix
C) Suffix
D) Infix
Answer: C
Explanation: “-ness” attaches to the end of a base word to form a noun,
functioning as a suffix.
**Question 4.** Which of the following is a closed syllable?
A) “ba” in “baby”
B) “go” in “goat”
C) “cat” in “catastrophe”
D) “pie” in “pie”
Answer: C
Explanation: A closed syllable ends with a consonant, causing the vowel to be
short (e.g., “cat”).
**Question 5.** The alphabetic principle states that:
A) Letters represent whole words
B) Each letter corresponds to a unique sound
C) Letters have fixed sounds regardless of context
D) Graphemes map onto phonemes in systematic ways
,Idaho Comprehensive Literacy Ultimate
Exam
Answer: D
Explanation: The alphabetic principle is the understanding that letters
(graphemes) symbolize sounds (phonemes) in a predictable system.
**Question 6.** Which decoding strategy is best described as sounding out each
letter sequentially?
A) Analytic phonics
B) Synthetic phonics
C) Whole-word recognition
D) Contextual guessing
Answer: B
Explanation: Synthetic phonics blends individual phonemes together after
sounding them out in order.
**Question 7.** An example of a high-frequency irregular word is:
A) “cat”
B) “said”
C) “bake”
D) “jump”
Answer: B
Explanation: “Said” does not follow regular phonics rules and appears frequently
in text, making it a high-frequency irregular word.
, Idaho Comprehensive Literacy Ultimate
Exam
**Question 8.** Which syllable type contains a vowel team that makes a single
sound?
A) Closed
B) Open
C) Vowel-team
D) R-controlled
Answer: C
Explanation: Vowel-team syllables have two vowels working together to produce
one sound, such as “team”.
**Question 9.** In the development of phonemic awareness, the progression
typically moves from:
A) Phoneme → syllable → onset-rime → word
B) Word → syllable → onset-rime → phoneme
C) Syllable → word → phoneme → onset-rime
D) Onset-rime → word → phoneme → syllable
Answer: B
Explanation: Children first become aware of whole words, then syllables,
onset-rime, and finally individual phonemes.
