earlyREADING
earlyReading is an assessment of essential early reading skills such as concepts of print, phonemic awareness, phonics, and fluency. It is available in both English and Spanish. Although earlyReading is typically administered in grades PreK-1, it may be used for screening up through grade 3 and for frequent progress monitoring at any grade.
The Subtests
The earlyReading English assessment includes a total of 13 subtests. There are 11 subtests for earlyReading Spanish. However, not all of them are used at the same time. Some of the subtests are used only for screening and others for progress monitoring.
| Subtest | Skills Measured | Available in Spanish? |
|---|---|---|
| Concepts of Print | Page orientation, left to right word order, etc. |  |
| Onset Sounds | Phonemic awareness | |
| Letter Names | Alphabetic principle (Phonics) | |
| Letter Sounds | Alphabetic principle (Phonics) | |
| Word Rhyming | Phonemic awareness | |
| Word Blending | Phonemic awareness | |
| Word Segmenting | Phonemic awareness | |
| Sight Word Reading-50 | Fluency | |
| Sight Word Reading-150 | Fluency | |
| Decodable Words | Alphabetic principle (Phonics) | |
| Nonsense Words | Alphabetic principle (Phonics) |  |
| Sentence Reading | Fluency | |
| Oral Repetition | Phonemic awareness | |
| Syllable Reading | Alphabetic Principle (Phonics) | |
FastBridge recommends a composite of four specific subtests to be given per benchmark period. The composite varies from fall, winter, or spring, per grade level to best match reading skill development and reliably assess risk.
The remaining assessments may be used as needed to further evaluate skill deficits. Results help identify student risk while informing instruction.
earlyReading is the grade K-1 assessment companion to CBMReading (grades 1-8).
Screening
earlyReading is used to universally screen all students up to five times per year, with additional assessments available for progress monitoring. Benchmark standards (i.e., “cut scores” or “targets”) are built into the system to assist in determining which students are at risk for academic failure, on target for success, or may need enrichment instruction.
Reports provide profiles of students’ strengths and areas of difficulty relating to literacy and can provide useful information to plan instruction.
Progress Monitoring
earlyReading is uniquely designed to accommodate quick, easy, and flexible monitoring on a frequent basis. Progress monitoring data help teachers evaluate instructional effects and determine if differentiated instruction or interventions are effective.
Administration
earlyReading assessments are individually administered. The teacher (or other staff) mark student responses electronically as the student completes the brief assessment. Paper-and-pencil versions are also available. Performance data are reported instantly and stored in the database for longitudinal analysis.
