Literacy Classification

Literacy classifications are stages of literacy development associated with Scaled Scores (SS). These stages are an easy way to monitor student progress.

Emergent Reader (300–674)

• Early Emergent Reader (300–487): Student is beginning to understand that printed text has meaning. He or she is learning that reading involves printed words and sentences, and that print flows from left to right and from the top to the bottom of the page. The student is also beginning to identify colors, shapes, numbers, and letters.
• Late Emergent Reader (488–674): Student can identify most of the letters of the alphabet and can match most of the letters to their sounds. He or she is beginning to read picture books and familiar words around their home. Through repeated reading of favorite books with an adult, students at this stage are building their vocabularies, listening skills, and understandings of print.

Transitional Reader (675–774)

• Early Transitional Reader (675–724): Student has mastered alphabet skills and letter-sound relationships. The student can identify many beginning and ending consonant sounds and long and short vowel sounds.
• Late Transitional Reader (725–774): Student is probably able to blend sounds and word parts to read simple words. The student is likely using a variety of strategies to figure out words, such as pictures, story patterns, and phonics.

Probable Reader (775–900): Student is becoming proficient at recognizing many words, both in and out of context. He or she spends less time identifying and sounding out words and more time understanding what he or she has read. Probable readers can start to blend sounds and word parts to read words and sentences more quickly, smoothly, and independently.

The cutoff scores are based on the relationship between scaled scores and proficiency in literacy domains and skills. During test development, data showed that students with scaled scores of 675 and higher also achieved skill scores above 80 in five sets of skills critical to beginning reading. Students with scaled scores of 775 and higher achieved skill scores above 70 in all literacy domains.