ALTA Certification Exam (CALT & CALP) EXAM
with Questions and Answers/Plus a Rationale
Updated 2026 A+/Instant Download PDF
EXAM COVERAGE - 1. Language Development and Phonology - 2.
Structural Linguistics and Phonetics - 3. Knowledge of Dyslexia and
Etiology - 4. Psychometric Assessment and Evaluation - 5.
Multisensory Structured Language (MSL) Principles - 6. Diagnostic-
Prescriptive Instructional Strategies - 7. Orthography, Morphology,
and Etymology - 8. Reading Comprehension, Syntax, and Semantics
1. A seven-year-old student presents with severe difficulty in segmenting spoken words into
individual phonemes and frequently substitutes stops for nasals during articulation tasks.
Diagnostic data indicate a deficit in phonological working memory. Which underlying cognitive
mechanism is primarily responsible for this presentation?
A. Visual-spatial processing impairment affecting grapheme-to-phoneme conversion
B. Deficit in phonological awareness and phonemic representation access
C. Impairment in executive functioning and working memory capacity only
D. Surface dyslexia characterized by an inability to recognize irregular sight words
CORRECT ANSWER : B
Rationale: Phonological awareness and the ability to access phonological representations are
core prerequisites for segmenting spoken words and mapping them to print. Deficits in this
domain directly impair phonemic segmentation and speech sound differentiation, such as nasals
versus stops. Options A, C, and D describe visual, general executive, or visual-orthographic
patterns rather than the core phonological deficit shown.
2. When evaluating a nine-year-old for a reading disability, the multidisciplinary team notes
discrepancy scores alongside severe deficits in phonological decoding, while listening
comprehension remains well above average. What classification profile best fits this profile
under contemporary response-to-intervention and psychometric models?
A. Mixed reading disability
B. Specific learning disability in basic reading (Dyslexia)
C. Hyperlexia with concomitant comprehension delays
, D. Linguistic comprehension deficit secondary to developmental delay
CORRECT ANSWER : B
Rationale: The profile of intact listening comprehension paired with severe phonemic decoding
deficits is the classic hallmark of dyslexia (specific reading disability in basic reading). Mixed
reading disabilities involve both decoding and listening comprehension deficits, whereas
hyperlexia features advanced decoding with impaired comprehension.
3. Which of the following articulatory features distinguishes the phoneme /b/ from the phoneme /p/
in English structural linguistics?
A. Place of articulation
B. Manner of production
C. Voicing (vocal cord vibration)
D. Nasal resonance
CORRECT ANSWER : C
Rationale: Both /b/ and /p/ share identical bilabial place of articulation and stop manner of
production; they differ solely in voicing, where /b/ is voiced and /p/ is unvoiced. Options A, B,
and D incorrectly identify the feature that differentiates this specific phoneme pair.
4. A therapist is designing a multisensory lesson incorporating simultaneous oral spelling (SOS).
Which neurological pathways are primarily reinforced by this specific instructional routine?
A. Visual-motor pathways operating independently of auditory processing loops
B. Auditory, visual, kinesthetic, and tactile pathways integrated simultaneously
C. Visual-spatial processing pathways linked to right-hemisphere holistic processing
D. Purely auditory processing pathways with minimal tactile feedback
CORRECT ANSWER : B
Rationale: Simultaneous oral spelling (SOS) requires the student to see a grapheme, say its
name and sound, and write it while feeling the movement, thereby integrating visual, auditory,
kinesthetic, and tactile (VAKT) pathways. Options A, C, and D omit one or more of these crucial
multisensory interactive loops.
5. In English orthography, the letter represents the soft sound /s/ when followed by which specific
group of vowels?
, A., ,
B. , ,
C. <a, ,
D. <i, ,
CORRECT ANSWER : B
Rationale: The phonological conditioning for the soft pronunciation of (/s/) and (/j/) is that they
are followed by the front vowels , , or . Back vowels (, , ) trigger the hard pronunciation.
6. Which diagnostic instrument is classified as a standardized measure of timed pseudoword
decoding, making it highly sensitive to phonological decoding deficits?
A. Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-5)
B. Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE-2 Sight Word Efficiency and Phonemic
Decoding Efficiency)
C. Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP-2)
D. Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Oral Language
CORRECT ANSWER : B
Rationale: The TOWRE-2 specifically measures the number of real words and nonsense
pseudowords a student can accurately decode within 45 seconds, isolating phonological
decoding efficiency. The CTOPP-2 measures phonological processing skills rather than direct
decoding performance, while the others measure vocabulary or oral language.
7. A student spells the word "skin" as "sgn." From a linguistic error analysis perspective, this error
reveals a strong understanding of which concept, paired with a misunderstanding of what?
A. Strong understanding of vowel placement and poor grasp of consonant blends
B. Strong phonological awareness of salient sounds with weak orthographic mapping of
unvoiced stops
C. Excellent morphological awareness with weak visual memory for affixes
D. Strong understanding of syllable division rules and poor grasp of silent e
CORRECT ANSWER : B
, Rationale: The student captured the salient nasal and fricative/stop features but substituted a
voiced velar/nasal configuration or struggled with the specific unvoiced stop representation (),
demonstrating incomplete orthographic mapping despite phonological awareness. Options A, C,
and D misinterpret the linguistic nature of the error.
8. When teaching syllable division patterns, a therapist encounters a word with a VCCV structure
where the medial consonants are a consonant blend (e.g., "napkin"). Where should the syllable
break occur?
A. Before the consonant blend
B. After the consonant blend
C. Between the two medial consonants of the blend
D. Directly before the vowel nucleus
CORRECT ANSWER : C
Rationale: The standard VCCV syllable division pattern dictates that when two different
consonants stand between two vowels, the division generally splits the two consonants (e.g., nap-
kin). Options A, B, and D violate the structural distribution rules for VCCV division.
9. Which Greek combining form means "light" and typically retains its Greek spelling pattern () in
English derivatives?
A. Chron
B. Photo
C. Graph
D. Psych
CORRECT ANSWER : B
Rationale: Photo derives from the Greek phos/photos, meaning light, and preserves the
historical spelling representing /f/. Chron means time, graph means write, and psych means
mind.
10. In a diagnostic-prescriptive teaching model, what is the primary purpose of conducting error
analyses on weekly progress-monitoring probes?
A. To assign an overall percentile rank for district reporting purposes
with Questions and Answers/Plus a Rationale
Updated 2026 A+/Instant Download PDF
EXAM COVERAGE - 1. Language Development and Phonology - 2.
Structural Linguistics and Phonetics - 3. Knowledge of Dyslexia and
Etiology - 4. Psychometric Assessment and Evaluation - 5.
Multisensory Structured Language (MSL) Principles - 6. Diagnostic-
Prescriptive Instructional Strategies - 7. Orthography, Morphology,
and Etymology - 8. Reading Comprehension, Syntax, and Semantics
1. A seven-year-old student presents with severe difficulty in segmenting spoken words into
individual phonemes and frequently substitutes stops for nasals during articulation tasks.
Diagnostic data indicate a deficit in phonological working memory. Which underlying cognitive
mechanism is primarily responsible for this presentation?
A. Visual-spatial processing impairment affecting grapheme-to-phoneme conversion
B. Deficit in phonological awareness and phonemic representation access
C. Impairment in executive functioning and working memory capacity only
D. Surface dyslexia characterized by an inability to recognize irregular sight words
CORRECT ANSWER : B
Rationale: Phonological awareness and the ability to access phonological representations are
core prerequisites for segmenting spoken words and mapping them to print. Deficits in this
domain directly impair phonemic segmentation and speech sound differentiation, such as nasals
versus stops. Options A, C, and D describe visual, general executive, or visual-orthographic
patterns rather than the core phonological deficit shown.
2. When evaluating a nine-year-old for a reading disability, the multidisciplinary team notes
discrepancy scores alongside severe deficits in phonological decoding, while listening
comprehension remains well above average. What classification profile best fits this profile
under contemporary response-to-intervention and psychometric models?
A. Mixed reading disability
B. Specific learning disability in basic reading (Dyslexia)
C. Hyperlexia with concomitant comprehension delays
, D. Linguistic comprehension deficit secondary to developmental delay
CORRECT ANSWER : B
Rationale: The profile of intact listening comprehension paired with severe phonemic decoding
deficits is the classic hallmark of dyslexia (specific reading disability in basic reading). Mixed
reading disabilities involve both decoding and listening comprehension deficits, whereas
hyperlexia features advanced decoding with impaired comprehension.
3. Which of the following articulatory features distinguishes the phoneme /b/ from the phoneme /p/
in English structural linguistics?
A. Place of articulation
B. Manner of production
C. Voicing (vocal cord vibration)
D. Nasal resonance
CORRECT ANSWER : C
Rationale: Both /b/ and /p/ share identical bilabial place of articulation and stop manner of
production; they differ solely in voicing, where /b/ is voiced and /p/ is unvoiced. Options A, B,
and D incorrectly identify the feature that differentiates this specific phoneme pair.
4. A therapist is designing a multisensory lesson incorporating simultaneous oral spelling (SOS).
Which neurological pathways are primarily reinforced by this specific instructional routine?
A. Visual-motor pathways operating independently of auditory processing loops
B. Auditory, visual, kinesthetic, and tactile pathways integrated simultaneously
C. Visual-spatial processing pathways linked to right-hemisphere holistic processing
D. Purely auditory processing pathways with minimal tactile feedback
CORRECT ANSWER : B
Rationale: Simultaneous oral spelling (SOS) requires the student to see a grapheme, say its
name and sound, and write it while feeling the movement, thereby integrating visual, auditory,
kinesthetic, and tactile (VAKT) pathways. Options A, C, and D omit one or more of these crucial
multisensory interactive loops.
5. In English orthography, the letter represents the soft sound /s/ when followed by which specific
group of vowels?
, A., ,
B. , ,
C. <a, ,
D. <i, ,
CORRECT ANSWER : B
Rationale: The phonological conditioning for the soft pronunciation of (/s/) and (/j/) is that they
are followed by the front vowels , , or . Back vowels (, , ) trigger the hard pronunciation.
6. Which diagnostic instrument is classified as a standardized measure of timed pseudoword
decoding, making it highly sensitive to phonological decoding deficits?
A. Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT-5)
B. Test of Word Reading Efficiency (TOWRE-2 Sight Word Efficiency and Phonemic
Decoding Efficiency)
C. Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP-2)
D. Woodcock-Johnson IV Tests of Oral Language
CORRECT ANSWER : B
Rationale: The TOWRE-2 specifically measures the number of real words and nonsense
pseudowords a student can accurately decode within 45 seconds, isolating phonological
decoding efficiency. The CTOPP-2 measures phonological processing skills rather than direct
decoding performance, while the others measure vocabulary or oral language.
7. A student spells the word "skin" as "sgn." From a linguistic error analysis perspective, this error
reveals a strong understanding of which concept, paired with a misunderstanding of what?
A. Strong understanding of vowel placement and poor grasp of consonant blends
B. Strong phonological awareness of salient sounds with weak orthographic mapping of
unvoiced stops
C. Excellent morphological awareness with weak visual memory for affixes
D. Strong understanding of syllable division rules and poor grasp of silent e
CORRECT ANSWER : B
, Rationale: The student captured the salient nasal and fricative/stop features but substituted a
voiced velar/nasal configuration or struggled with the specific unvoiced stop representation (),
demonstrating incomplete orthographic mapping despite phonological awareness. Options A, C,
and D misinterpret the linguistic nature of the error.
8. When teaching syllable division patterns, a therapist encounters a word with a VCCV structure
where the medial consonants are a consonant blend (e.g., "napkin"). Where should the syllable
break occur?
A. Before the consonant blend
B. After the consonant blend
C. Between the two medial consonants of the blend
D. Directly before the vowel nucleus
CORRECT ANSWER : C
Rationale: The standard VCCV syllable division pattern dictates that when two different
consonants stand between two vowels, the division generally splits the two consonants (e.g., nap-
kin). Options A, B, and D violate the structural distribution rules for VCCV division.
9. Which Greek combining form means "light" and typically retains its Greek spelling pattern () in
English derivatives?
A. Chron
B. Photo
C. Graph
D. Psych
CORRECT ANSWER : B
Rationale: Photo derives from the Greek phos/photos, meaning light, and preserves the
historical spelling representing /f/. Chron means time, graph means write, and psych means
mind.
10. In a diagnostic-prescriptive teaching model, what is the primary purpose of conducting error
analyses on weekly progress-monitoring probes?
A. To assign an overall percentile rank for district reporting purposes
