Phoneme Segmenting Alignment with the Common Core Foundational Skills

In 2006, the easyCBM reading assessment system was developed to support the progress monitoring of phoneme segmenting, letter names and sounds recognition, word reading, passage reading fluency, and comprehension skill development in elementary schools. More recently, the Common Core Standards in English Language Arts have been introduced as a framework for outlining grade-level achievement expectations, to guide reading instruction and assessment across the United States. The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which the easyCBM Phoneme Segmenting assessment contains items aligned with the Common Core Standards. Alignment analyses focused on expectations stated in Standard Two, Foundational Skills, for kindergarten and first grade. One hundred and sixty-nine words from the Phoneme Segmenting assessment were reviewed, comprising 98.2% of the unique words on the kindergarten assessment, and 100% of the unique words on the first grade assessment. Study results indicated that kindergarten Phoneme Segmenting items were weakly or not aligned with any of the Standard Two expectations. First grade Phoneme Segmenting items were strongly aligned with one Standard Two expectation (i.e., segmenting single-syllable words), but weakly or not aligned with the others. Reviewer errors and specific test item issues found were also discussed. 1 Phoneme Segmenting Alignment