See how Star Phonics improves your reading assessment system by giving you the accurate insights you need to advance phonics instruction and ensure success for every student.
Star Phonics: In-Depth Phonics Assessment
Accurate insights from Star Phonics empower teachers to advance instruction and help students become strong, confident readers.
Phonics assessment designed to inform instruction
Technology-based and research-proven phonics assessment
Science of Reading research proves that mastering phonics skills is critical for students learning to read. Knowing how well students are developing phonics skills gives teachers the insight they need to guide phonics instruction in grades K–6+, and for students who are struggling at any grade level.
Comprehensive Phonics Assessment
Efficient assessment in minimal time
12
Categories
Categories
Number of critical, common phonics categories assessed
154
Skills
Phonics Skills
Specific phonics skills assessed within those categories
5
Minutes
Under 5 minutes
Time per student to administer a comprehensive phonics screener
Phonics assessment insights for growth, learning, and support
Administrators: Monitor instruction and resources
Track progress throughout the school year to evaluate resource allocation and determine where phonics instruction may need emphasis or acceleration.
Teachers: Actionable data for instruction
Plan targeted, appropriate instruction for the whole class, small groups, and individual students to meet the needs of all learners.
Families: Track phonics skill development
Understand the letter sounds and phonics patterns your child knows and is learning to help support their further development and growth.
How it works
How does Star Phonics work?
1
Screen
Assess the phonics skills of all students in grades K–6+, or any student struggling with reading, in just 2–3 minutes each.
2
Review
Immediate reports show you where to focus instruction by illustrating which phonics categories are secure and which need additional attention.
3
Instruct
Use the provided instructional insights to know where to intervene and what to teach at the student, group, class, and grade levels.
4
Diagnose
Administered in 2–5 minutes per student, quickly and efficiently identify specific phonics skills and letter sounds that require instruction.
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Meet Star Phonics
Streamline foundational literacy practice
Turn insight into action with the Star Phonics-Lalilo crosswalk. After Star Phonics identifies where students need additional phonics support, use our crosswalk to find aligned Lalilo lessons that target those specific skills.
- Targeted lessons focus primarily on a single phonics skill.
- Combined lessons address multiple related skills within the same phonics category.
A snapshot of the Star Phonics-Lalilo crosswalk
Explore what makes Star Phonics so effective
Phonics screener data you can use
Focused
Assesses the 12 most critical phonics categories with error-level analysis to ensure students have mastered phonics patterns they’ll need and use the most.
Efficient
With intuitive administration on any device, teachers can complete assessments in 2–5 minutes per student and get instant insights—with no need for manual data entry.
Aligned
Track student learning and grade-level instruction with reports customized to align with the scope and sequence of your phonics curriculum.
Instructional
Immediate, easy-to-read reports provide skill-level insights, patterns of error, and instructional focus that teachers and specialists can use to personalize instruction for students.
Phonics screening and diagnostic assessments
A closer look at our phonics assessment tool
Grounded in The Science of Reading, the Star Phonics suite of assessments includes both a screener and diagnostic tests to complement your universal screener, providing the in-depth critical insights into student acquisition of phonics skills.
Screener & Diagnostic
Administer remotely or in-person with no need for manual data entry. Use any combination of two devices: desktop computers, laptops, or tablets. Students can also test on smartphones.
Screener only
Screen 12 of the most critical phonics categories, ensuring students can decode the words they encounter when reading.
Diagnostic only
Get specific diagnostic information with error-level insights into which phonics skills need instruction and pinpoint exactly where a student is struggling.
Research, articles, and more
Recommended research and resources
Blog Post
Phonics assessment based on the Science of Reading
The creator of Star Phonics shares why she developed a technology-based phonics assessment and how it helps educators answer essential questions about reading instruction.
Checklist
Selecting a phonics assessment
Use this checklist to help you select a phonics assessment that provides valuable, actionable data to inform phonics instruction.
Video
Understand the conceptual framework for reading
Understand the conceptual framework for reading
Video
Development and research behind the assessment
Learn about the development process and research completed to demonstrate the reliability and concurrent validity of Star Phonics.
Approved by administrators and teachers globally
I recommend Star Phonics, which is based on years of research, because it is the best phonics screener and diagnostic assessment available. It provides valuable information about phonics skills essential for instruction, especially for those students struggling to read words, including students with dyslexia.
Dr. Louisa Moats, a leading author of LETRS, consultant, and literacy expert
The Star Phonics online assessment helped our teachers to quickly pinpoint the areas of weaknesses in phonics for their students. The easy-to-administer screener and diagnostic assessments are valuable tools for elementary teachers. The resulting data, presented in high-quality reports, assisted teachers in their decision making for their small group instruction in foundational literacy skills.
Amy Arnista, Elementary Curriculum Supervisor, Middletown Public Schools
Funding is available for Star Phonics
From federal and state funds to corporate grants, learn more about resources that can help with the purchase of our products and solutions.
Star Phonics is built for schools. We are COPPA, FERPA, and CSPC compliant
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) protects the privacy of student education records and allows parents and eligible students certain rights related to review, control and privacy of those records.
The Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) is a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Rule designed to provide parents control of personal information collected from their young children online.
The California Student Privacy Certification (CSPC) was originally developed to address the concerns of parents, educators and advocates specifically around California student data privacy legislation.
Want to learn more?
A Renaissance representative can provide you with a more detailed understanding of Star Phonics and help you decide if it’s the right tool for you and your students.