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 K-3 Grade
rd
Phonics Assessment
Discover the phonics skills your K-3 learner(s) need to work on with this
phonics assessment.
With seventeen phonics skills/tasks, you’ll be able to pinpoint what your
learner(s) know or do not know yet, so you can find right where you need to
begin your instruction!
If you teach older readers, download our free Upper Grade Phonics Assessment.

p. 3 Notes About this Assessment – Please carefully read these

notes BEFORE you administer this assessment.
p. 4 Administrator Pages (print one copy per learner)
p. 10 Student Pages (print once and laminate to reuse)
p. 16 More Phonics Resources for You

Terms of Use: This resource was created for you to use at home with your
child(ren) or with multiple children in your classroom/tutoring setting. Please
do not share this file between classrooms, sell, host, reproduce, giveaway, or
store on any other site (including a blog, Facebook, 4Shared, Dropbox, Amazon
Inspire, etc.). Thank you!
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 Notes About this Assessment
• This phonics assessment is to be administered one learner at a time.
• It works best if you wait at least four weeks in between assessing the student using the same
word list. This keeps the assessment fresh and more accurate.
• This assessment is only a snap-shot of your learners’ abilities. You will want to observe
learners as they read and write to get a better picture of what they understand.
• Task 1-2: Mastery is 6/6 for rows 1-3, but mastery of Task 1 is not necessary to begin
working on Task 2.
• Task 3: Mastery of all letter sounds is not necessary to start working on Task 4. For example,
if learners only know the first row, they can be taught to blend the sounds to read many CVC
words. Continue working on letter sounds as you move on to blending sounds.
• If a learner only makes the long vowel sound for a vowel, ask, “Is there another sound you
know for that vowel?” Check off these letters when the learner is able make their short vowel
sound.
• If a learner only makes the soft sound for c (/s/) and g (/j/), ask, “Is there another sound
you know for that letter?” Check off these letters when the learner is able make the hard c
(/k/) and hard g (/g/) sounds.
• Task 4: Struggling to blend two sounds together can hinder blending the three sounds in
CVC words. If a learner gets 0-5 correct, spend more time instructing how to blend two
sounds. If a learner gets more than 5 correct, continue working on this skill as you move to
CVC words.
• Task 5-17: Mastery is 4/5 correct for each row. If a learner misses TWO OR MORE words
for a particular phonics skill, this is where you should begin instruction.
• If a learner is struggling with the nonsense words on row 2, give further instructions: “The
words on the second row are not real words. We call them ‘silly’ or ‘nonsense’ words. Do not
try to make them sound like real words.”
• Each time you assess a learner, it may be helpful to use a different colored pen. Check marks
and “dates completed” can be written in the new color each time. This way, you can quickly
see when the learner has mastered certain skills. (See Figure 1 below.)
• Student Pages: Encourage learners to use a cover sheet to reveal only the line of words that
the student needs to read, as seen below in Figure 2. www.thisreadingmama.com

Figure 1 Figure 2
Administrator Pages
Note: Print ONE copy for each learner.

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 K – 3rd Grade Phonics Assessment
www.thisreadingmama.com

Student’s Name
1. Uppercase Letter Names date completed
Prompt: “Name the uppercase letters on each row.”

B L R D I M /6

S T C A N F /6

P H G O W E /6

U Y K J V Z /6

X Q
*Even if many uppercase letters are not known, do not
/2 wait to integrate lowercase letters into instruction.

2. Lowercase Letter Names date completed

Prompt: “Name the lowercase letters on each row.”

a t m s f c /6

n p i r d h /6

g o l b w e /6

u j v y k q /6

z x
*If letter names are unknown, keep working on them with
/2 learners as you begin to integrate letter sounds (Task 3).

page 1
 K–3rd Grade Phonics Assessment
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3. Letter Sounds date completed:

Prompt: “Make the SOUND of the letters on each row.”

a t m s f c /6

n p i r d h /6

g o l b w e /6

u j v y k q /6

z x
*Do not wait for learners to know all their letter sounds to
/2 begin working on blending sounds. Integrate known and
unknown letter sounds into your blending instruction.

4. Blending Two Sounds date completed:

Prompt: “Blend the two sounds together. Be sure to make the short a sound.”

sa_ ma_ fa_ na_ ra_ /5

ta_ pa _ ca _ da_ ha_ /5

5. CVC Words date completed:

Prompt: “Read each word. The first row has real words. The second row has silly words.”

hat gum peg top hit /5

fip ret gan bup zop /5

page 2
 K–3rd Grade Phonics Assessment
www.thisreadingmama.com

6. Words with Digraphs date completed:

Prompt: “Read each word. The first row has real words. The second row has silly words.”

chin neck thud bath shop /5

whid zash gock thip chud /5

7. Words with Beginning Clusters date completed:

Prompt: “Read each word. The first row has real words. The second row has silly words.”

step clad frog plum drip /5

blon sweb glup frim snat /5

8. Words with Ending Clusters date completed:

Prompt: “Read each word. The first row has real words. The second row has silly words.”

list jump pant mask nest /5

dunt pilk selp zast cond /5

9. Words with Welded or Glued Sounds date completed:

Prompt: “Read each word. The first row has real words. The second row has silly words.”

song bank hang rink lung /5

lonk hing nunk zang fing /5

page 3
 K–3rd Grade Phonics Assessment
www.thisreadingmama.com

10. Words with Digraphs and Clusters date completed:

Prompt: “Read each word. The first row has real words. The second row has silly words.”

stump check brush swish plant /5

trift grash plest thunt slock /5

11. CVCe Words date completed:

Prompt: “Read each word. The first row has real words. The second row has silly words.”

doze ripe eve fame mute /5

zite cobe nupe veke lape /5

12. R -Influenced Words date completed:

Prompt: “Read each word. The first row has real words. The second row has silly words.”

surf bird fork herd yarn /5

zord curn parn sirk derm /5

13. Words with Common Long Vowel Teams date completed:

Prompt: “Read each word. The first row has real words. The second row has silly words.”

meat grain soak teeth bloom /5

snoof loat veet chait thean /5

page 4
 K–3rd Grade Phonics Assessment
www.thisreadingmama.com

14. Words with Less Common Long Vowel Teams date completed:

Prompt: “Read each word. The first row has real words. The second row has silly words.”

suit blue flow high tray /5

glay drow pight coe snew /5

15. Words with Other Vowel Teams & Diphthongs date completed:

Prompt: “Read each word. The first row has real words. The second row has silly words.”

point gown foot haul sound /5

smoy bown cloug voink blaw /5

16. Closed Syllable Words date completed:

Prompt: “Read each word. The first row has real words. The second row has silly words.”

magnet sudden insect attic cobweb /5

zublit votten ricnic melmet pactus /5

17. Open Syllable Words date completed:

Prompt: “Read each word. The first row has real words. The second row has silly words.”

bison humid raven robot veto /5

fabit tefix dizen tuden potem /5

page 5
 Student Pages
Note: Print and laminate ONE of each page
so you can reuse for different learners.

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 K-3 Phonics Assessment, Student Page 1
1.

B L R D I M
S T C A N F
P H G O W E
U Y K J V Z
X Q
2./3.

a t m s f c
n p i r d h
g o l b w e
u j v y k q
z x
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 K-3 Phonics Assessment, Student Page 2
4.

sa_ ma_ fa_ na_ ra_

ta_ pa_ ca_ da_ ha_

5.

hat gum peg top hit

fip ret gan bup zop

6.

chin neck thud bath shop

whid zash gock thip chud

7.

step clad frog plum drip

blon sweb glup frim snat

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 K-3 Phonics Assessment, Student Page 3
8.

list jump pant mask nest

dunt pilk selp zast cond

9.

song bank hang rink lung

lonk hing nunk zang fing

10.

stump check brush swish plant

trift grash plest thunt slock

11.

doze ripe eve fame mute

zite cobe nupe veke lape

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 K-3 Phonics Assessment, Student Page 4
12.

surf bird fork herd yarn

zord curn parn sirk derm

13.

meat grain soak teeth bloom

snoof loat veet chait thean

14.

suit blue flow high tray

glay drow pight coe snew

15.

point gown foot haul sound

smoy bown cloug voink blaw

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 K-3 Phonics Assessment, Student Page 5

16.

magnet sudden insect attic cobweb

zublit votten ricnic melmet pactus

17.

bison humid raven robot veto

fabit tefix dizen tuden potem

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 You’ll Also Like…
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https://thisreadingmama.com/printable-phonics-activities/

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