Wisconsin FORT (Foundations of Reading) Practice Test

What defines Pre-phonemic Spelling stage?

1. Correct spelling of high-frequency words

2. Early understanding of the alphabetic principle

3. Use of letters to represent sounds but without a clear phoneme-grapheme correspondence

4. Few if any letters used and little to no phonemic correspondence

The correct answer is: Use of letters to represent sounds but without a clear phoneme-grapheme correspondence

The Pre-phonemic Spelling stage is characterized by the use of letters to represent sounds without a clear phoneme-grapheme correspondence. This means that students in this stage are beginning to understand that letters represent sounds in speech but may not consistently apply this knowledge in their spelling. They may use letters arbitrarily or based on visual cues rather than following specific sound-letter correspondences. This stage is an important early step in learning to spell, as it shows an emerging awareness of the connection between spoken language and written symbols. Option A, correct spelling of high-frequency words, is not indicative of the Pre-phonemic Spelling stage, as students at this stage are not expected to consistently spell high-frequency words correctly. Option B, early understanding of the alphabetic principle, is important but goes beyond the Pre-phonemic Spelling stage, which is more focused on the initial attempts to represent sounds with letters. Option D, few if any letters used and little to no phonemic correspondence, does not accurately describe the Pre-phonemic Spelling stage, as students at this stage typically do use letters to represent sounds, even if the correspondences are not consistent or accurate.