How might progress in acquiring phonics skills be monitored?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

Progress in phonics should be continually monitored to make sure that students clearly understand skills being taught. Since phonics skills build on each other, students do not progress until they have mastered the current level (getting 80 percent or more of the items correct). Two instruments can be used to monitor phonics skills:
• The Phonics Inventory determines knowledge of single-syllable phonics and helps place the students in the appropriate level of instruction. The 50-word set is divided into 10-word segments which test for short-vowels, clusters, long vowels, r-vowel, and other vowel patterns. Once students understand at least 8 out of 10, they are instructed on the next level.
• The Progress Monitoring Chart measures the actual performance of students throughout the school year. Phonics instruction is divided into 10 units, with each unit being represented by 5 words. If first-graders can read 40 to 45 of the 50 words by the end of the school year, they have mastered basic single-syllable phonics. Phonics can also be monitored informally through observations of students and by analyzing results of word lists tests, IRIs, and running records.