RICA Literacy Assessment and Diagnosis 2

Question 1

A teacher wants to assess a student's phonemic awareness skills. Which task would be MOST appropriate?

Accepted Answer

Asking the student to segment the word 'cat' into its individual sounds (/k/-/æ/-/t/)

Answer

Asking the student to read a list of decodable words

Answer

Asking the student to identify rhyming words in a picture book

Answer

Asking the student to spell five words from memory

Question 2

Which assessment data would BEST help a teacher determine if a student's poor comprehension is primarily a decoding problem or a language comprehension problem?

Accepted Answer

Comparing the student's oral reading fluency score with their listening comprehension score

Answer

Reviewing the student's writing portfolio

Answer

Administering a spelling assessment

Answer

Observing the student during independent reading time

Question 3

A student reads 65 words per minute with 92% accuracy in a grade 2 passage. Based on typical fluency benchmarks, this student likely:

Accepted Answer

Falls below grade-level expectations and may need additional fluency support

Answer

Exceeds grade-level expectations for reading fluency

Answer

Is exactly at grade level for second grade

Answer

Should be tested for a learning disability immediately

Question 4

What is a 'cloze procedure' and what does it assess?

Accepted Answer

A reading assessment where words are deleted from a text and students supply the missing words, assessing comprehension and contextual language skills

Answer

A fluency measure where students read aloud while being timed

Answer

A phonics test using nonsense words to measure decoding

Answer

A writing prompt used to assess narrative composition

Question 5

According to RICA assessment principles, what is the difference between 'reliability' and 'validity' in reading assessments?

Accepted Answer

Reliability means the test produces consistent results; validity means it measures what it claims to measure

Answer

Reliability means the test is easy to administer; validity means it covers all grade standards

Answer

Reliability means the test is norm-referenced; validity means it is criterion-referenced

Answer

Reliability and validity are interchangeable terms in assessment

Question 6

A teacher uses portfolio assessment to document a student's literacy growth. What is the PRIMARY advantage of this approach?

Accepted Answer

It captures a rich, longitudinal picture of growth through collected work samples over time

Answer

It provides a single standardized score for reporting

Answer

It is faster to administer than standardized tests

Answer

It eliminates the need for any other type of assessment