Test Information Guide

Field 190: Foundations of Reading
Sample Multiple-Choice Questions

Expand All | Collapse All

Foundations of Reading Development

Objective 0001
Demonstrate knowledge of principles and evidence-based instructional practices for developing language and emergent literacy skills, including phonological and phonemic awareness, concepts of print, and the alphabetic principle.

1. Which of the following actions by kindergarten children demonstrates understanding of the alphabetic principle?

  1. reciting the alphabet song accurately and independently
  2. using knowledge of letter-sound correspondences to spell words phonetically when writing
  3. distinguishing consistently between similarly shaped letters
  4. recognizing and naming the letters of the alphabet on letter cards when the cards are presented out of order
Answer
Correct Response: B.
Objective 0002
Demonstrate knowledge of principles and evidence-based instructional practices for developing beginning reading skills, including phonics, high-frequency words, and spelling.

2. At the beginning of the school year, to help plan effective literacy instruction, a third-grade teacher analyzes students' spelling errors and categorizes them according to their most likely cause. The key the teacher uses to categorize spelling errors is shown below.

PA—The spelling error indicates difficulty in phonemic awareness skills.

Code—The spelling error indicates a code-based difficulty (i.e., mastery of specific phonics/morphemic element[s] and associated spelling pattern[s]).

According to the teacher's key, which student's spelling error is categorized correctly in the following table?

Student
Target Word
Student's Spelling
Most Likely Cause
1
flap
falp
Code
2
plane
playn
PA
3
feet
fet
Code
4
joking
jokeing
PA

  1. Student 1
  2. Student 2
  3. Student 3
  4. Student 4
Answer
Correct Response: C.
Objective 0003
Demonstrate knowledge of principles and evidence-based instructional practices for developing word analysis skills and strategies, including syllabication, structural or morphemic analysis, and orthographic skills.

3. A third-grade teacher guides students in analyzing the structure of words that contain common suffixes by using the chart below. During the lesson, the teacher focuses on deconstructing morphemically complex words as well as promoting students' ability to decode common suffixes automatically as a chunk. An excerpt from the teacher's chart is shown below.

Sentence from Text
Base Word
Suffix
Word Sum
Meaning of Word with Suffix
The cart they found in the shed was old,
but it was still usable.
use
-able
use + able → usable
able to be used

The teacher's actions best demonstrate understanding of which of the following concepts related to developing students' word analysis skills?

  1. the importance of emphasizing syllabication guidelines to help students decode multisyllable words independently
  2. the role of authentic text in providing opportunities to embed implicit spelling instruction in reading lessons
  3. the importance of combining decoding and meaning instruction when teaching morphemic analysis
  4. the role of orthographic knowledge in developing students' automaticity in reading and spelling multisyllable words
Answer
Correct Response: C.
Objective 0004
Demonstrate knowledge of principles and evidence-based instructional practices for developing reading fluency at all stages of reading development.

4. An upper-elementary school teacher can most effectively support students' fluent reading of disciplinary texts by teaching which of the following skills first?

  1. decoding content-specific words accurately
  2. using resources to look up the meaning of unfamiliar terminology
  3. reading content-area texts with prosody
  4. pausing frequently to pose comprehension-monitoring questions
Answer
Correct Response: A.

Development of Reading Comprehension

Objective 0005
Demonstrate knowledge of principles and evidence-based instructional practices for promoting academic language development, including vocabulary development.

5. Prior to beginning a new unit of study, a sixth-grade teacher asks students to rate how well they know various vocabulary words that will be essential to understanding the unit's content (i.e., know it well, just heard of it, or do not know it at all). The students also draft a definition in their own words for the unit vocabulary they think they already know. As the unit progresses, the teacher frequently prompts students to revisit their ratings and develop or revise their definitions for accuracy and clarity, based on the unit readings and class discussions. In addition to supporting students' depth of understanding and retention of the new words, this vocabulary self-assessment activity is also an effective technique for developing students':

  1. word consciousness.
  2. command of standard English grammar.
  3. etymological knowledge.
  4. structural analysis skills and strategies.
Answer
Correct Response: A.
Objective 0006
Demonstrate knowledge of principles and evidence-based instructional practices for promoting comprehension and analysis of literary texts.

6. A fourth-grade teacher is developing text-dependent questions to use during close reading of a complex literary text. The teacher could best help students identify the key ideas and details in the text by asking questions that prompt them to:

  1. think beyond the details that are explicitly stated in the text and draw inferences about the author's purpose.
  2. analyze the author's use of literary devices such as figurative language to symbolize important ideas in the text.
  3. connect the text's main ideas to those in other texts that are written by the same author or in the same genre.
  4. determine the text's theme and explain how the author uses specific details to support it.
Answer
Correct Response: D.
Objective 0007
Demonstrate knowledge of principles and evidence-based instructional practices for promoting comprehension and analysis of informational texts.

7. A third-grade teacher is concerned that some students do not support their oral or written responses to informational texts with key ideas and details from the text. The teacher could best address the students' identified need by providing explicit modeling of and guided practice with which of the following strategies?

  1. recognizing common text structures (e.g., comparison/contrast)
  2. annotating texts during reading
  3. identifying text features (e.g., captions, bold headings, glossary)
  4. using visualization during reading
Answer
Correct Response: B.

Reading Assessment and Instruction

Objective 0008
Apply knowledge of principles and evidence-based best practices for assessing reading development.

8. Scientific evidence suggests that while word-recognition skills are necessary for students to reach their full reading potential, other essential components of reading development should not be overlooked. Which of the following assessment practices by a primary-level elementary school teacher is best aligned with this evidence-based finding?

  1. including both code-based and meaning-based measures in universal screenings
  2. administering multiple measures of reading accuracy, such as word-pattern surveys and pseudoword assessments
  3. using grade-level passages for assessments of phonics and oral reading fluency
  4. administering assessments that measure students' structural analysis skills as well as their phonics skills
Answer
Correct Response: A.

9. At the beginning of the school year, a second-grade student is identified as at-risk on a universal screening of oral reading fluency with a grade-level passage. Which of the following steps would be most appropriate for the teacher to take next with this student?

  1. monitoring the student's oral reading fluency rate on a weekly basis and charting the student's progress
  2. engaging the student in activities designed to provide choral reading and echo reading practice on a regular basis
  3. referring the student to relevant specialists in the school for a comprehensive diagnostic battery for a specific learning disability
  4. conducting further assessments with the student in various subskills of fluent reading, such as word-reading accuracy
Answer
Correct Response: D.
Objective 0009
Apply knowledge of principles and evidence-based best practices of reading instruction.

10. A fifth-grade class includes several English learners whose primary language is Spanish. The teacher regularly points out Spanish cognates for key academic vocabulary, such as vocabulary frequently used in grade-level assessments and instruction (e.g., analyze—analizar, distinguish—distinguir, contrast—contrastar). The teacher's practice best demonstrates understanding of which of the following concepts related to supporting the reading development of English learners?

  1. promoting English learners' development of foundational literacy skills regardless of their grade level
  2. translating false cognates to prevent English learners from confusing the meanings of academic vocabulary
  3. facilitating English learners' transfer of language and literacy skills from the home language to English
  4. providing visual supports and concrete examples when introducing English learners to complex academic texts
Answer
Correct Response: C.