Wgu D668 Elementary Literacy Curriculum Pa & Oa Study
Guide Performance Assessment And Objective Assessment
Questions And Correct Answers Plus Rationales| Instant
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This assessment evaluates graduate-level mastery of the theoretical, cognitive, and instructional foundations of
elementary literacy development, including the Simple View of Reading, Scarborough's Rope, phonological and
orthographic development, the Science of Reading evidence base, and curriculum decision-making aligned to
WGU D668 competencies and current ILA/CAEP standards. It contains 93 multiple-choice questions, each with
four distractors and a fully worked rationale that explains why the keyed answer is correct. Content is organized
into 12 focused sections: Foundations of Literacy Instruction and Literacy Development, Phonological and
Phonemic Awareness, Phonics and Word Recognition (including Decoding and Spelling), Fluency (Accuracy,
Rate, and Prosody), Vocabulary Development and Word Knowledge, Reading Comprehension and Comprehension
Strategies, Text Complexity, Genre, and Literary/Informational Text Analysis, Writing Process, Composition, and
Written Expression, Assessment, Data Analysis, and Response to Intervention in Literacy, Differentiation, Diverse
Learners, and Culturally Responsive Literacy Instruction, Motivation, Engagement, and Creating a Literate
Environment, Professional Knowledge, Standards, and Curriculum Planning in Elementary Literacy. Targeted
learning outcomes include: Analyze and apply cognitive models of reading development (Simple View,
Scarborough's Rope, Ehri's phases) to instructional planning.; Differentiate phonological, phonemic,
orthographic, and morphological development and select evidence-based instructional responses.; Evaluate
Section 1: Foundations of Literacy Instruction and Literacy Development (Questions 1-9)
1 A curriculum team claims a program 'builds comprehension' but devotes
90% of time to decoding drills. Which framework best diagnoses this
misalignment?
A) Scarborough's Reading Rope, because word recognition and language
comprehension strands must both be developed
B) Bloom's taxonomy, because comprehension is the highest cognitive tier
C) Vygotsky's zone of proximal development, because decoding is below
grade level
D) Maslow's hierarchy, because foundational needs must precede
comprehension
Answer: A
Rationale: Scarborough's Rope specifies that skilled reading requires
interwoven development of word recognition and language comprehension
strands; overemphasis on one strand misaligns the curriculum. Bloom,
Vygotsky, and Maslow do not model reading component interdependence.
,2 Which pattern of assessment data most strongly suggests a specific
word-reading (dyslexia-risk) profile rather than a language-comprehension
weakness?
A) Strong oral narrative retell with weak pseudoword decoding and phoneme
blending
B) Weak vocabulary and syntax with accurate decoding of unfamiliar words
C) Strong decoding and strong listening comprehension with weak
motivation
D) Average all subtests with occasional fluency hesitations on long texts
Answer: A
Rationale: Dyslexia-risk profiles show dissociations with intact oral language
but impaired phonological and decoding skills, consistent with the Simple
View's word-recognition component. Option B describes a
comprehension/language weakness, C is not a decoding deficit, and D is
unremarkable.
3 According to Ehri's phases, which instructional focus best matches a speller
who writes 'PLAD' for 'played' and 'FOT' for 'float'?
A) Within-word pattern and syllable-juncture instruction, including vowel
teams and r-controlled patterns
B) Alphabet-letter naming and letter-sound correspondence for single
consonants
C) Morphological instruction on inflectional suffixes and derivational roots
D) Fluency-oriented repeated reading of connected decodable text
Answer: A
Rationale: These spellings reflect the within-word pattern/transitional phase,
where students represent some but not all vowel and syllable patterns;
instruction should target vowel teams and syllable patterns. Letter-name work
is earlier, morphology later, and fluency is not the primary need.
4 A district adopts a 'three-cueing' approach as its core word-identification
method. Which critique is most consistent with current Science of Reading
evidence?
A) It encourages guessing from context and pictures rather than orthographic
mapping of phoneme-grapheme correspondences
B) It overemphasizes phonemic awareness at the expense of comprehension
,C) It relies too heavily on morphological analysis for unfamiliar words
D) It provides insufficient fluency practice with connected text
Answer: A
Rationale: Three-cueing teaches students to use semantic and syntactic cues to
guess words, which undermines orthographic mapping and explicit phonics-the
central critique in Science of Reading research. The other options
mischaracterize the approach.
5 Which statement most accurately distinguishes phonological awareness from
phonemic awareness?
A) Phonological awareness is the umbrella skill including syllables,
onsets/rimes, and phonemes; phonemic awareness is the phoneme-level
subset
B) Phonemic awareness includes syllable segmentation, while phonological
awareness is limited to individual sounds
C) Phonological awareness applies only to reading, whereas phonemic
awareness applies only to spelling
D) They are synonymous terms used interchangeably in all current literacy
frameworks
Answer: A
Rationale: Phonological awareness is the broader metalinguistic awareness of
sound structures (syllables, onsets/rimes, phonemes); phonemic awareness is
the most granular phoneme-level subset. The other options invert, misapply, or
conflate the terms.
6 A first-grade team wants to allocate Tier 1 instructional time. Which
allocation best reflects NRP and subsequent Science of Reading evidence for
foundational reading?
A) Daily explicit phonemic awareness and systematic phonics, plus fluency,
vocabulary, and comprehension instruction
B) Weekly phonics review with the remainder devoted to independent reading
C) Daily whole-language immersion with incidental phonics as needed
D) Daily comprehension strategy practice with phonics only for struggling
readers
Answer: A
Rationale: The NRP and subsequent research support daily explicit, systematic
, instruction across phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and
comprehension. The other options omit or de-emphasize essential components
or delay phonics for at-risk students.
7 Which scenario best illustrates the orthographic mapping process described
by Ehri?
A) A reader bonds phonemes to graphemes in a word and stores it for instant
retrieval
B) A reader uses picture cues to identify an unfamiliar word in a storybook
C) A reader skips an unknown word and returns to it after finishing the
sentence
D) A reader memorizes a word list by repeated visual exposure without sound
analysis
Answer: A
Rationale: Orthographic mapping is the process by which readers bond
phonemes to graphemes to form sight-word memory for instant retrieval.
Picture cues, skipping, and rote visual memorization do not constitute
orthographic mapping.
8 A curriculum claims alignment with the Simple View of Reading. Which
evidence would most strongly confirm that alignment?
A) Separate, explicit instruction in word recognition and language
comprehension with both measured
B) A single composite reading score used to place all students in one program
C) Emphasis on motivation and engagement as the primary reading outcome
D) Instruction focused on fluency as the sole indicator of reading proficiency
Answer: A
Rationale: The Simple View holds that reading comprehension is the product of
word recognition and language comprehension; aligned curricula teach and
assess both components explicitly. Composite scores, motivation-only, and
fluency-only approaches do not reflect the model.
9 Which instructional sequence best reflects the developmental progression
from phonological to orthographic and morphological knowledge?
A) Rhyme and syllable awareness, then phoneme blending/segmenting, then
letter-sound mapping, then syllable patterns, then morphemes
Guide Performance Assessment And Objective Assessment
Questions And Correct Answers Plus Rationales| Instant
Download
This assessment evaluates graduate-level mastery of the theoretical, cognitive, and instructional foundations of
elementary literacy development, including the Simple View of Reading, Scarborough's Rope, phonological and
orthographic development, the Science of Reading evidence base, and curriculum decision-making aligned to
WGU D668 competencies and current ILA/CAEP standards. It contains 93 multiple-choice questions, each with
four distractors and a fully worked rationale that explains why the keyed answer is correct. Content is organized
into 12 focused sections: Foundations of Literacy Instruction and Literacy Development, Phonological and
Phonemic Awareness, Phonics and Word Recognition (including Decoding and Spelling), Fluency (Accuracy,
Rate, and Prosody), Vocabulary Development and Word Knowledge, Reading Comprehension and Comprehension
Strategies, Text Complexity, Genre, and Literary/Informational Text Analysis, Writing Process, Composition, and
Written Expression, Assessment, Data Analysis, and Response to Intervention in Literacy, Differentiation, Diverse
Learners, and Culturally Responsive Literacy Instruction, Motivation, Engagement, and Creating a Literate
Environment, Professional Knowledge, Standards, and Curriculum Planning in Elementary Literacy. Targeted
learning outcomes include: Analyze and apply cognitive models of reading development (Simple View,
Scarborough's Rope, Ehri's phases) to instructional planning.; Differentiate phonological, phonemic,
orthographic, and morphological development and select evidence-based instructional responses.; Evaluate
Section 1: Foundations of Literacy Instruction and Literacy Development (Questions 1-9)
1 A curriculum team claims a program 'builds comprehension' but devotes
90% of time to decoding drills. Which framework best diagnoses this
misalignment?
A) Scarborough's Reading Rope, because word recognition and language
comprehension strands must both be developed
B) Bloom's taxonomy, because comprehension is the highest cognitive tier
C) Vygotsky's zone of proximal development, because decoding is below
grade level
D) Maslow's hierarchy, because foundational needs must precede
comprehension
Answer: A
Rationale: Scarborough's Rope specifies that skilled reading requires
interwoven development of word recognition and language comprehension
strands; overemphasis on one strand misaligns the curriculum. Bloom,
Vygotsky, and Maslow do not model reading component interdependence.
,2 Which pattern of assessment data most strongly suggests a specific
word-reading (dyslexia-risk) profile rather than a language-comprehension
weakness?
A) Strong oral narrative retell with weak pseudoword decoding and phoneme
blending
B) Weak vocabulary and syntax with accurate decoding of unfamiliar words
C) Strong decoding and strong listening comprehension with weak
motivation
D) Average all subtests with occasional fluency hesitations on long texts
Answer: A
Rationale: Dyslexia-risk profiles show dissociations with intact oral language
but impaired phonological and decoding skills, consistent with the Simple
View's word-recognition component. Option B describes a
comprehension/language weakness, C is not a decoding deficit, and D is
unremarkable.
3 According to Ehri's phases, which instructional focus best matches a speller
who writes 'PLAD' for 'played' and 'FOT' for 'float'?
A) Within-word pattern and syllable-juncture instruction, including vowel
teams and r-controlled patterns
B) Alphabet-letter naming and letter-sound correspondence for single
consonants
C) Morphological instruction on inflectional suffixes and derivational roots
D) Fluency-oriented repeated reading of connected decodable text
Answer: A
Rationale: These spellings reflect the within-word pattern/transitional phase,
where students represent some but not all vowel and syllable patterns;
instruction should target vowel teams and syllable patterns. Letter-name work
is earlier, morphology later, and fluency is not the primary need.
4 A district adopts a 'three-cueing' approach as its core word-identification
method. Which critique is most consistent with current Science of Reading
evidence?
A) It encourages guessing from context and pictures rather than orthographic
mapping of phoneme-grapheme correspondences
B) It overemphasizes phonemic awareness at the expense of comprehension
,C) It relies too heavily on morphological analysis for unfamiliar words
D) It provides insufficient fluency practice with connected text
Answer: A
Rationale: Three-cueing teaches students to use semantic and syntactic cues to
guess words, which undermines orthographic mapping and explicit phonics-the
central critique in Science of Reading research. The other options
mischaracterize the approach.
5 Which statement most accurately distinguishes phonological awareness from
phonemic awareness?
A) Phonological awareness is the umbrella skill including syllables,
onsets/rimes, and phonemes; phonemic awareness is the phoneme-level
subset
B) Phonemic awareness includes syllable segmentation, while phonological
awareness is limited to individual sounds
C) Phonological awareness applies only to reading, whereas phonemic
awareness applies only to spelling
D) They are synonymous terms used interchangeably in all current literacy
frameworks
Answer: A
Rationale: Phonological awareness is the broader metalinguistic awareness of
sound structures (syllables, onsets/rimes, phonemes); phonemic awareness is
the most granular phoneme-level subset. The other options invert, misapply, or
conflate the terms.
6 A first-grade team wants to allocate Tier 1 instructional time. Which
allocation best reflects NRP and subsequent Science of Reading evidence for
foundational reading?
A) Daily explicit phonemic awareness and systematic phonics, plus fluency,
vocabulary, and comprehension instruction
B) Weekly phonics review with the remainder devoted to independent reading
C) Daily whole-language immersion with incidental phonics as needed
D) Daily comprehension strategy practice with phonics only for struggling
readers
Answer: A
Rationale: The NRP and subsequent research support daily explicit, systematic
, instruction across phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and
comprehension. The other options omit or de-emphasize essential components
or delay phonics for at-risk students.
7 Which scenario best illustrates the orthographic mapping process described
by Ehri?
A) A reader bonds phonemes to graphemes in a word and stores it for instant
retrieval
B) A reader uses picture cues to identify an unfamiliar word in a storybook
C) A reader skips an unknown word and returns to it after finishing the
sentence
D) A reader memorizes a word list by repeated visual exposure without sound
analysis
Answer: A
Rationale: Orthographic mapping is the process by which readers bond
phonemes to graphemes to form sight-word memory for instant retrieval.
Picture cues, skipping, and rote visual memorization do not constitute
orthographic mapping.
8 A curriculum claims alignment with the Simple View of Reading. Which
evidence would most strongly confirm that alignment?
A) Separate, explicit instruction in word recognition and language
comprehension with both measured
B) A single composite reading score used to place all students in one program
C) Emphasis on motivation and engagement as the primary reading outcome
D) Instruction focused on fluency as the sole indicator of reading proficiency
Answer: A
Rationale: The Simple View holds that reading comprehension is the product of
word recognition and language comprehension; aligned curricula teach and
assess both components explicitly. Composite scores, motivation-only, and
fluency-only approaches do not reflect the model.
9 Which instructional sequence best reflects the developmental progression
from phonological to orthographic and morphological knowledge?
A) Rhyme and syllable awareness, then phoneme blending/segmenting, then
letter-sound mapping, then syllable patterns, then morphemes
