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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.

Screen

Measure understanding of the 12 most critical phonics categories.

Diagnose

Diagnose 154 target skills and intervene knowing exactly where a student is struggling.

Analyze

Know which patterns to teach individuals, small groups, classes, and grades.

Instruct

Align results to the scope and sequence of your reading curriculum to gauge progress and needs.

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.

Learn more about Star Phonics assessments

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Meet Star Phonics

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.

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.
Click to view the full crosswalk
Star Phonics and Lalilo Crosswalk image

A snapshot of the Star Phonics-Lalilo crosswalk

Explore what makes Star Phonics so effective

Phonics screener data you can use

Star Phonics Screener Student Tile

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.

Star Phonics Teacher and Student chart

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.

Star phonics diagnostic recommendations

Aligned

Track student learning and grade-level instruction with reports customized to align with the scope and sequence of your phonics curriculum.

Star Phonics Diagnostic student report screenshot

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.

phonics curriculum bar chart

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

Screener only

Screen 12 of the most critical phonics categories, ensuring students can decode the words they encounter when reading.

Star Phonics Diagnostic only screenshot 3

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

Girl at computer window

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.

Read the blog

Checklist

Selecting a phonics assessment

Use this checklist to help you select a phonics assessment that provides valuable, actionable data to inform phonics instruction.

Use the checklist (PDF, 43.7 KB)
Star Phonics framework screenshot

Video

Understand the conceptual framework for reading

Understand the conceptual framework for reading

Watch the video (3:003)
Star Phonics Development research cardbox

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.

Watch the video (3:33)

Learn more about how The Science of Reading empowers student growth

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

FERP logo

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.

COPPA logo

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.

CSPC logo

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.

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