Curriculum Based Measurement for Early Literacy

Letter Sound Test Scoring Procedures

 
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I. LETTERS PRONOUNCED CORRECTLY

a. Letters marked as correct are those that are pronounced correctly.
b. Vowels should be pronounced as the short vowel sound (apple, exit, it, octopus, up)
c. Self-corrections within 3 seconds are counted as correctly read sounds as long as the child has not moved on to the next letter sound. Mark s/c for self corrections.
d. For letter, "c" "g" either hard or soft sound is correct (candy/cent; good/giant). For letter x, accept /ks/ as in "box" and /z/ as in "xylophone". If the child says the letter name say, "sound?"

II. LETTERS MARKED AS INCORRECT

a. Cross out letters that are mispronounced or skipped. If possible, write the incorrect pronunciation next to the letter.
b. If a child says the letter's name after the examiner's "sound" prompt write the letter with a linguine over it and mark it as incorrect.

III. 3-SECOND RULE

If a student is struggling to sound a letter or hesitates for 3 seconds, the student is told the sound and it is counted as an error.

There may be instances when a child does not say any letter sounds at the beginning of the list. When this occurs, repeat the prompt "Begin" and point to the first letter. If the child doesn't begin then start your timer while providing the first sound. Record the first letter as an error.

IV. RE-READ RULE

If a child completes the letter-sound measure in less than one minute have them begin again. Say, "Begin Again."

V. PRONUNCIATION

The student is not penalized for different pronunciation due to dialect, articulation, or second language preference. For example, if the student consistently says "/th/" for "/s/" when making the "s" or "c" sound. This is a professional judgment and should be based o the student's responses and any prior knowledge of the student's speech patterns. Ask the child a word that contains the sound in question in order to determine whether that sound should be recorded as an error.
 
Compiled by Project AIM Staff, University of Maryland, 1999-2000