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StepsWeb Phonics Check
StepsWeb Phonics Check

 

Colourful Phonics mat and cards for children

Why do phonics matter?

Phonics are essential for learning to read.

Phonics is the relationship between letters and the sounds they represent. It’s a foundational skill that allows learners to decode written language - in other words, to read. 

Phonics play a vital role in structured literacy, an approach backed by decades of research into how people learn to read. When phonics is taught well, and assessed effectively, it becomes a powerful tool for identifying gaps early and providing targeted support.

 

Happy teacher helping student with phonic support

What is a phonics check?

A phonics check is an informal assessment used to analyse a student’s understanding of phonics and identify students who need extra help.

New Zealand, Australia, and the United Kingdom all have a Phonics Screening Check. In most cases, this is designed to be used after 20 weeks of school, and again at the end of Year 1.

These phonics checks are largely paper-based. Each check is administered and marked individually by a teacher. Results then show areas needing more reinforcement.

How do traditional phonics checks work?

Students are shown a booklet with a series of non-words, which are presented as the names of friendly aliens. Students are asked to read out each name. This is marked by the teacher.

Non-words are used so that a student’s decoding ability can be judged, rather than their memory for known words.

 

Why is the StepsWeb Phonics Check a game-changer?

We understand how busy educators' schedules are. The StepsWeb Phonics Check uses the same principles as traditional checks, but it is completed and marked online, meaning the whole class can be tested online together, rather than tested and marked individually. 

Unlike the paper-based phonics checks, the StepsWeb Phonics Check is in two parts - one focusing on encoding, and the other on decoding. This allows you to identify and address specific difficulties.

 

 

Designed for real classrooms with the following benefits:

Saves you valuable time

Being able to test the whole class at once saves you time having to test and mark each student individually.

Designed to be intuitive and engaging for young learners

We have designed the test to be intuitive with interactive instructions, and engaging with fun - but not overly distracting - aliens.

Accurate and instant results

The sounds have been recorded in a controlled environment to accurately represent the phonic sounds. The check does not rely on the teacher’s interpretation of what the student has said, leaving less room for human error. Any errors that are made are instantly recorded for teachers to see after the test.

Allows more in-depth analysis on specific difficulties

By focusing on encoding and decoding skills separately, the StepsWeb Phonics Check provides more details on what is causing specific difficulties.

Less admin and more targeted teaching

Rather than having to mark and collate the results of each student individually, their results are automatically recorded and collated online, so you can receive a comprehensive overview of every student without filling out piles of paperwork. This frees up your time and gives you direction so you can focus on effective targeted teaching.

Watch our video on using the Phonics Check

 

Can be taken individually or assigned to the whole class

 

Headphones are required for this Check

Has two-parts: Encoding and Decoding

Demonstration available in Student Simulator

Encoding Check

Students hear each alien’s name and then spell it using the phonic patterns available on the screen.

They can click to hear the alien’s name as many times as they like.

Decoding Check

Students see the alien’s name appear on screen. They will then hear four versions of the alien’s spoken name. They have to choose which version matches the name they see on screen. 

Once again, they can click the buttons to hear each versions as often as they like.

Practice makes perfect

Each Check has an interactive Practice Check on the Student Simulator. Do this together with your students first, so they understand what is required.

Important: Be sure to use the Practice Check in the Student Simulator, not the actual assessment. This ensures students are shown different words than those used in the real test.

 

What's involved

Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of what’s involved. The process is the same if you are a parent assessing your child but you will log into your Home account, rather than an Educator account.

What's involved

Here’s a step-by-step breakdown of what’s involved. The process is the same if you are a parent assessing your child but you will log into your Home account, rather than an Educator account.

Set the first Check
As this test is designed for six year olds, we recommend administering the two parts of the Check on different days.
Using your Educator account, you can assign each Check to the whole class at once. Go ahead and set the first check.
The next time they log in, they will start the Check. But first, they will need the hands-on practice.
Demonstrate the Check with the class
Using the Student Simulator, you can access a practice version of the Phonics Check which works in the same way as the online Check but uses different words. 
We recommend you do this before having them log into their accounts, as this ensures your students are confident about what to do for the real test, without impacting genuine results.
 
Administer the Check
Once you are confident your students know what they are doing, have your students log into their StepsWeb accounts and they will automatically start the Check you have set.
The beginning of the Check will walk them through what they have to do, so ensure your students are engaged and listening. 
Headphones for each student will be required.
 
Repeat for the second Check
Set and demonstrate the second Check on a different day. Repeat the previous steps of setting the Check from your Educator account, and then using the Student Simulator to demonstrate the Check with the class. Then get each student to log in and do the second Check.
While the two Checks are similar, it is critical to demonstrate both Checks with the class first, as they function differently.
Instant results
Don’t forget to head to your Educator account once your students have completed both checks to see the results. 
You will see an accuracy percentage for both the Encoding and Decoding Check for each student. You can also click ‘View Results’ to see exactly which patterns cause difficulty.

What we recommend:

1. Administer the two Checks on different days

Due to the age of the students, we recommend you administer the Checks on different days. 

2. Practice the Check together first

There is a Practice Check for each part in the Student Simulator, using different words than they will be tested on. We highly recommend you go through the Practice Check together with the class to ensure your students are confident when taking the Check on their own, and have an understanding of how it works.

3. Recruit the help of teacher aides

While not strictly necessary, it is useful to have a teacher aide available to help students with understanding instructions.

4. Watch our video on how to use the Phonics Check

We have created a video which walks you through each of these points and more. We highly recommend you watch through the video before administering the Check.

 

Instant results - no marking required!

Once your students have completed both parts of the Phonics Check, you can go to your Educator account to see a comprehensive overview of their results.

You will see an accuracy percentage for each student on both the Encoding and Decoding Checks. Click ‘View Results’ to see exactly which phonic patterns cause difficulty and the errors which have been made for each student.

Tip for parents and caregivers:

It is okay for you to help clarify the Phonics Check instructions - but make sure you are not influencing your child’s actual answer.

Allow them to make mistakes or the results won’t be accurate.

Remember, the purpose of this Check is to identify what they know and what they don’t know.

Measure your student's reading fluency

The StepsWeb Visual Recognition Test measures how many milliseconds it takes a reader to visually recognise a word.

Learn more about this world-first test which was developed in conjunction with Auckland University.

Structured literacy progression

The StepsWeb Course follows a structured, research-based progression that develops the underlying processing skills at the same time as developing literacy knowledge. 

Workbooks that align

Foundation Level and struggling learners benefit the most from using StepsWeb workbooks alongside the online Course.

Focusing on handwriting, phonological awareness, spelling, reading comprehension, grammar points and writing.

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Email: info@stepsweb.com

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