CALT Certified Academic Language
Therapist Exam Actual Exam 2026/2027 |
Comprehensive Study Guide & Practice Test
WITH CORRECT ANSWERS AND IN-DEPTH
RATIONALES 2026!
Section I: Foundations of Language & Literacy (Questions 1-30)
This section assesses knowledge of phonological awareness, phonetics, morphology,
semantics, and syntax.
1. Which phonemic awareness skill is considered the most advanced and predictive of
reading success?
A) Blending onset and rime
B) Isolating the initial sound
C) Phoneme deletion and substitution
D) Rhyme recognition
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Phoneme manipulation (deleting, adding, or substituting phonemes) requires
the highest level of phonological working memory and is the strongest predictor of
decoding proficiency. Rhyming and isolating are early developing skills.
2. The word "graph" contains:
A) 3 graphemes and 4 phonemes
B) 4 graphemes and 4 phonemes
C) 5 graphemes and 4 phonemes
D) 4 graphemes and 3 phonemes
,Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Graphemes are written letters (g-r-a-ph = 4). Phonemes are sounds. /g/ /r/
/a/ /f/ = 4 phonemes. The digraph "ph" represents one sound /f/.
3. A student reads "haven" as "have-en." This error suggests difficulty with:
A) Closed syllables
B) R-controlled vowels
C) Vowel-consonant-e (Magic e) patterns
D) Consonant digraphs
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The student failed to recognize that the 'e' at the end of "have" is silent and
signifies a long 'a' sound for the vowel 'a' when broken into a VCe pattern.
4. Which of the following is a bound morpheme?
A) Tree
B) Cat
C) Pre-
D) Jump
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: A bound morpheme cannot stand alone as a word (e.g., prefixes and
suffixes). "Pre-" must be attached to a base word (pre-heat). A, B, and D are free
morphemes.
5. The 'schwa' sound is best described as:
A) A stressed vowel sound
B) An unstressed, lax vowel sound
C) The short 'e' sound
,D) A consonant blend
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The schwa (ə) is the most common vowel sound in English and occurs in
unstressed syllables (e.g., the 'a' in "about" or the 'e' in "pencil").
6. What is the term for two or more consonants that appear together in a word and
retain their individual sounds?
A) Digraph
B) Trigraph
C) Blend (Cluster)
D) Diphthong
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Blends (e.g., "bl," "str," "nt") retain individual sounds. Digraphs (sh, ch) make
one new sound. Diphthongs are gliding vowel sounds (oi, ou).
7. Which of the following words contains a soft 'g' sound?
A) Goat
B) Gift
C) Gym
D) Glue
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The soft 'g' sound (/j/) typically occurs when 'g' is followed by e, i, or y (gym,
giant, gem).
8. The word "unbelievable" contains how many morphemes?
A) 3
B) 4
, C) 5
D) 6
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Morphemes: Un- (prefix) + believe (base) + -able (suffix). That is 3, however,
"un-" and "-able" are bound. Some curricula count "believe" as 1, but if we split "believe"
into "be" + "lieve" it would be 5. In standard multisensory instruction, we count: Un +
believe + able = 3. Correction to answer: Let's use a clear one.
Revised Q: How many morphemes in "recycled"?
A) 1, B) 2, C) 3, D) 4. Answer: C (Re- + cycle + -ed).
9. What is the part of speech of the word "quickly" in the sentence: "She ran quickly"?
A) Adjective
B) Noun
C) Verb
D) Adverb
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: "Quickly" modifies the verb "ran," describing how the action was performed.
Adverbs often end in -ly.
10. Phonological awareness differs from phonics in that phonological awareness is:
A) Visual
B) Sound-based without letters
C) Focused on spelling rules
D) A written language skill
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Phonological awareness is an auditory/oral skill; it does not involve print.
Phonics involves the connection between sounds and letters (grapheme-phoneme
correspondence).
Therapist Exam Actual Exam 2026/2027 |
Comprehensive Study Guide & Practice Test
WITH CORRECT ANSWERS AND IN-DEPTH
RATIONALES 2026!
Section I: Foundations of Language & Literacy (Questions 1-30)
This section assesses knowledge of phonological awareness, phonetics, morphology,
semantics, and syntax.
1. Which phonemic awareness skill is considered the most advanced and predictive of
reading success?
A) Blending onset and rime
B) Isolating the initial sound
C) Phoneme deletion and substitution
D) Rhyme recognition
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Phoneme manipulation (deleting, adding, or substituting phonemes) requires
the highest level of phonological working memory and is the strongest predictor of
decoding proficiency. Rhyming and isolating are early developing skills.
2. The word "graph" contains:
A) 3 graphemes and 4 phonemes
B) 4 graphemes and 4 phonemes
C) 5 graphemes and 4 phonemes
D) 4 graphemes and 3 phonemes
,Correct Answer: A
Rationale: Graphemes are written letters (g-r-a-ph = 4). Phonemes are sounds. /g/ /r/
/a/ /f/ = 4 phonemes. The digraph "ph" represents one sound /f/.
3. A student reads "haven" as "have-en." This error suggests difficulty with:
A) Closed syllables
B) R-controlled vowels
C) Vowel-consonant-e (Magic e) patterns
D) Consonant digraphs
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The student failed to recognize that the 'e' at the end of "have" is silent and
signifies a long 'a' sound for the vowel 'a' when broken into a VCe pattern.
4. Which of the following is a bound morpheme?
A) Tree
B) Cat
C) Pre-
D) Jump
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: A bound morpheme cannot stand alone as a word (e.g., prefixes and
suffixes). "Pre-" must be attached to a base word (pre-heat). A, B, and D are free
morphemes.
5. The 'schwa' sound is best described as:
A) A stressed vowel sound
B) An unstressed, lax vowel sound
C) The short 'e' sound
,D) A consonant blend
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: The schwa (ə) is the most common vowel sound in English and occurs in
unstressed syllables (e.g., the 'a' in "about" or the 'e' in "pencil").
6. What is the term for two or more consonants that appear together in a word and
retain their individual sounds?
A) Digraph
B) Trigraph
C) Blend (Cluster)
D) Diphthong
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Blends (e.g., "bl," "str," "nt") retain individual sounds. Digraphs (sh, ch) make
one new sound. Diphthongs are gliding vowel sounds (oi, ou).
7. Which of the following words contains a soft 'g' sound?
A) Goat
B) Gift
C) Gym
D) Glue
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: The soft 'g' sound (/j/) typically occurs when 'g' is followed by e, i, or y (gym,
giant, gem).
8. The word "unbelievable" contains how many morphemes?
A) 3
B) 4
, C) 5
D) 6
Correct Answer: C
Rationale: Morphemes: Un- (prefix) + believe (base) + -able (suffix). That is 3, however,
"un-" and "-able" are bound. Some curricula count "believe" as 1, but if we split "believe"
into "be" + "lieve" it would be 5. In standard multisensory instruction, we count: Un +
believe + able = 3. Correction to answer: Let's use a clear one.
Revised Q: How many morphemes in "recycled"?
A) 1, B) 2, C) 3, D) 4. Answer: C (Re- + cycle + -ed).
9. What is the part of speech of the word "quickly" in the sentence: "She ran quickly"?
A) Adjective
B) Noun
C) Verb
D) Adverb
Correct Answer: D
Rationale: "Quickly" modifies the verb "ran," describing how the action was performed.
Adverbs often end in -ly.
10. Phonological awareness differs from phonics in that phonological awareness is:
A) Visual
B) Sound-based without letters
C) Focused on spelling rules
D) A written language skill
Correct Answer: B
Rationale: Phonological awareness is an auditory/oral skill; it does not involve print.
Phonics involves the connection between sounds and letters (grapheme-phoneme
correspondence).
