Assessment Tools

Quick Phonics Screener Third Edition provides...

• Two assessments, based on the same continuum of phonics skills, that work together to evaluate decoding and encoding.
• Time-saving strategy: screen groups of students with QSS to determine which students should be assessed individually with QPS.
• Three forms of each assessment for monitoring progress from fall to winter to spring.
• Student scenario examples for each assessment to help interpret results.
• Convenient summary score sheets for each assessment to use for RTI documentation.

Teachers use Quick Phonics Screener and Quick Spelling Survey to...

• Easily assess students, kindergarten through adult.
• Quickly measure phonics skills of individual students (decoding) or spelling skills of an individual or group (encoding).
• Assess selected skill sets to confirm mastery of specific phonics skills.
• Document changes in student performance throughout the school year.
• Efficiently communicate student results with colleagues and parents.
• Utilize assessment data to make instructional decisions.

The third edition of QPS includes both Quick Phonics Screener and the new Quick Spelling Survey. Quick Phonics Screener (QPS) is an informal phonics assessment that can be used to diagnose a student’s strengths and instructional needs in phonics and decoding skills. Quick Spelling Survey (QSS) is a spelling assessment that a teacher can administer to an individual student, a small group of students with similar skill levels, or a whole class.

Administering QSS before QPS can save significant assessment time. A teacher can use QSS to screen a group or a whole class of students to determine which students should be given QPS (a one-to-one assessment) and on which skill set the assessment should begin.

Both QPS and QSS have three forms of the assessment items and a summary score sheet, so teachers are able to monitor students’ progress at three different times across the school year. Results from QSS can supplement and expand the information that is obtained from the administration of QPS by providing information about students’ encoding and spelling skills—to help a teacher determine if students have learned and can apply phonics patterns in their spelling.

The words used in QPS and QSS follow the same continuum of phonics skills. The assessment items are organized into 13 skill sets that are arranged in order from least to most difficult, beginning with letter names and letter sounds and continuing up through four-syllable words.

For both QPS and QSS, the teacher estimates an appropriate skill set to start the assessment. (Or for QPS, the teacher may refer to QSS results to determine a starting skill set.) When assessing an individual student, the student continues through subsequent skill sets until unable to correctly read (QPS) or spell (QSS) at least half of the items. When administering QSS to a small group or to a whole class, the teacher predetermines the skill set for ending the assessment. Using guidelines from the examiner's manual, the teacher scores each assessment and interprets the results to plan appropriate instruction for the student.

Quick Phonics Screener (QPS) includes an assessment overview card, the examiner's manual, and the assessment book.

Assessment overview card

Use this two-sided assessment overview card (QPS on one side and QSS on the other side) as a reference during the administration of each assessment or for a quick review of the steps.

Examiner’s manual includes:

• Purpose and rationale for QPS and QSS.
• Instructions for administering, scoring, and using the results for the QPS and QSS.
• Reproducible masters of examiner scoring sheets (QPS), student response forms (QSS), and a summary score sheet for each assessment.
• A pronunciation guide with the correct pronunciation of assessment items.
• Examples provided for:
  • QPS examiner score sheet
  • QSS student response forms
  • QSS scoring guidelines
  • QPS and QSS summary score sheets
• A bibliography of related resources.

Assessment book

This durable, spiral-bound book has three alternate forms of the QPS and the QSS for progress monitoring in the fall, winter, and spring of the school year.

• Quick Phonics Screener Sample