CALT Formal and Informal Assessment for Dyslexia 4

Question 1

A CALT uses curriculum-based measurement (CBM) oral reading fluency probes with a student. What is the PRIMARY purpose of this informal assessment technique?

Accepted Answer

To monitor progress and evaluate instructional effectiveness over time

Answer

CBM oral reading fluency probes are used as a progress-monitoring tool to evaluate whether instruction is working and to guide instructional decisions.

Question 2

When interpreting a student's score on the Comprehensive Test of Phonological Processing (CTOPP-2), a CALT notes a Core Phonological Index score of 72. What does this indicate?

Accepted Answer

Performance falls significantly below average, suggesting phonological processing deficits

Answer

A standard score of 72 falls approximately two standard deviations below the mean of 100, indicating significant below-average phonological processing.

Question 3

A CALT conducts an error analysis on a student's oral reading and notices consistent substitution of short vowel sounds (e.g., reading 'bit' as 'bet'). This pattern MOST likely reflects a deficit in:

Accepted Answer

Vowel discrimination and phoneme-grapheme correspondence for short vowels

Answer

Consistent short vowel substitution errors indicate a specific gap in the phoneme-grapheme correspondence knowledge for short vowel sounds.

Question 4

Which of the following BEST describes the role of a spelling inventory (e.g., Words Their Way Elementary Spelling Inventory) in dyslexia assessment?

Accepted Answer

It identifies the student's developmental spelling stage to guide word study instruction

Answer

Spelling inventories are informal tools that reveal a student's orthographic knowledge and developmental spelling stage, directly informing instructional planning.

Question 5

A CALT is evaluating a 4th-grade student for dyslexia. The student reads connected text at a 2nd-grade level but scores in the average range on listening comprehension. This discrepancy MOST strongly supports which conclusion?

Accepted Answer

The reading difficulty is likely specific to the decoding/print-access level rather than a comprehension language deficit

Answer

Average listening comprehension with significantly below-grade-level reading suggests the deficit is specific to decoding and print access, which is characteristic of dyslexia.

CALT - Certified Academic Language Therapist Practice Test

CALT - Certified Academic Language Therapist Practice Test

CALT Formal and Informal Assessment for Dyslexia 4