CALT EXAM 2026 | COMPREHENSIVEEXAM QUESTIONS | COMPLETE
Q&A | EXPLANATIONS
1. Which factors interrelate to affect overall reading comprehension
achievement?
A. Vocabulary and fluency
B. Sight word recognition and spelling
C. Language comprehension and decoding
D. Motivation and background knowledge
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: According to the Simple View of Reading, reading comprehension is the
product of language comprehension and decoding (RC = D × LC). Weakness in
either component negatively impacts overall comprehension.
2. What steps should an academic language therapist take if a local school
district requests records of a former student?
A. Release records immediately upon request
B. Release records only if the student has dyslexia
C. Request approval from the school administrator
D. Receive written consent from the adult student, or from the parent or legal
guardian of the minor student
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Educational and therapeutic records are protected by confidentiality
laws. Written consent is required before records can be released.
3. A student confuses "pat" and "tap." Which skill is likely weak?
,A. Morphological awareness
B. Phonological awareness
C. Syntactic awareness
D. Semantic awareness
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Confusing "pat" and "tap" indicates difficulty with phoneme
manipulation, specifically phoneme sequencing and reversal, which falls under
phonological awareness.
4. Which term refers to the study of the sound system of a language and the
rules governing sound combinations?
A. Morphology
B. Syntax
C. Phonology
D. Orthography
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Phonology is the study of the sound system of a language, including
the rules for combining and using phonemes. It is a foundational component of
MSLE instruction.
5. A "phoneme" is defined as:
A. The smallest unit of meaning in a language
B. The smallest unit of sound that distinguishes meaning in a language
C. A written letter or group of letters representing a sound
D. A word part that carries meaning
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound in a language that can change
the meaning of a word (e.g., /b/ vs /p/ in "bat" vs "pat").
,6. Which prominent name is associated with research on phonological
awareness?
A. Jean Piaget
B. Lev Vygotsky
C. Isabelle Liberman
D. Noam Chomsky
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Isabelle Liberman's research established phonological awareness as
foundational to reading development.
7. What characterizes scientifically based research?
A. Observational data only
B. Case studies
C. Short-term studies
D. Replicated and longitudinal studies
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Scientifically based research must be replicable, systematic, and often
longitudinal to establish reliability and validity.
8. What percentage of students with specific learning disabilities receiving
special education services have a deficit in reading?
A. 30–40%
B. 50–60%
C. 70–80%
D. 90–95%
Correct Answer: C
, Rationale: Approximately 70–80% of students with specific learning disabilities
have a deficit in reading, making it the most common area of learning disability.
9. Which instructional method did Mr. Smart use to teach syllable division?
A. Whole language approach
B. Multisensory structured language education
C. Balanced literacy
D. Sight word memorization
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Syllable division is a key component of multisensory structured
language education (MSLE), which teaches students to systematically break words
into syllables for decoding.
10. Which item is true about a linguistics-based beginning reading approach?
A. Memorizing whole words
B. Guessing words from context
C. Learning to recognize word families (bat, cat, hat)
D. Emphasizing pictures over text
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Linguistics-based instruction emphasizes patterns in language, such as
word families, to support decoding and spelling.
11. How can the communication about Melissa's reading skills be improved?
A. Melissa reads at a low second-grade level
B. Melissa refuses to attempt decoding
C. Melissa does not like reading aloud
D. Melissa can understand 2nd grade level text that is read to her. However, she
Q&A | EXPLANATIONS
1. Which factors interrelate to affect overall reading comprehension
achievement?
A. Vocabulary and fluency
B. Sight word recognition and spelling
C. Language comprehension and decoding
D. Motivation and background knowledge
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: According to the Simple View of Reading, reading comprehension is the
product of language comprehension and decoding (RC = D × LC). Weakness in
either component negatively impacts overall comprehension.
2. What steps should an academic language therapist take if a local school
district requests records of a former student?
A. Release records immediately upon request
B. Release records only if the student has dyslexia
C. Request approval from the school administrator
D. Receive written consent from the adult student, or from the parent or legal
guardian of the minor student
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Educational and therapeutic records are protected by confidentiality
laws. Written consent is required before records can be released.
3. A student confuses "pat" and "tap." Which skill is likely weak?
,A. Morphological awareness
B. Phonological awareness
C. Syntactic awareness
D. Semantic awareness
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Confusing "pat" and "tap" indicates difficulty with phoneme
manipulation, specifically phoneme sequencing and reversal, which falls under
phonological awareness.
4. Which term refers to the study of the sound system of a language and the
rules governing sound combinations?
A. Morphology
B. Syntax
C. Phonology
D. Orthography
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Phonology is the study of the sound system of a language, including
the rules for combining and using phonemes. It is a foundational component of
MSLE instruction.
5. A "phoneme" is defined as:
A. The smallest unit of meaning in a language
B. The smallest unit of sound that distinguishes meaning in a language
C. A written letter or group of letters representing a sound
D. A word part that carries meaning
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound in a language that can change
the meaning of a word (e.g., /b/ vs /p/ in "bat" vs "pat").
,6. Which prominent name is associated with research on phonological
awareness?
A. Jean Piaget
B. Lev Vygotsky
C. Isabelle Liberman
D. Noam Chomsky
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Isabelle Liberman's research established phonological awareness as
foundational to reading development.
7. What characterizes scientifically based research?
A. Observational data only
B. Case studies
C. Short-term studies
D. Replicated and longitudinal studies
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: Scientifically based research must be replicable, systematic, and often
longitudinal to establish reliability and validity.
8. What percentage of students with specific learning disabilities receiving
special education services have a deficit in reading?
A. 30–40%
B. 50–60%
C. 70–80%
D. 90–95%
Correct Answer: C
, Rationale: Approximately 70–80% of students with specific learning disabilities
have a deficit in reading, making it the most common area of learning disability.
9. Which instructional method did Mr. Smart use to teach syllable division?
A. Whole language approach
B. Multisensory structured language education
C. Balanced literacy
D. Sight word memorization
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Syllable division is a key component of multisensory structured
language education (MSLE), which teaches students to systematically break words
into syllables for decoding.
10. Which item is true about a linguistics-based beginning reading approach?
A. Memorizing whole words
B. Guessing words from context
C. Learning to recognize word families (bat, cat, hat)
D. Emphasizing pictures over text
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Linguistics-based instruction emphasizes patterns in language, such as
word families, to support decoding and spelling.
11. How can the communication about Melissa's reading skills be improved?
A. Melissa reads at a low second-grade level
B. Melissa refuses to attempt decoding
C. Melissa does not like reading aloud
D. Melissa can understand 2nd grade level text that is read to her. However, she
