Texas Primary Reading Instrument (TPRI) – Skills and Practice Questions

The TPRI has two main components:

• Screening:  This quick assessment identifies students at risk for reading difficulties by evaluating basic early literacy skills.
• Inventory:  A more comprehensive assessment, it examines a wider range of reading skills and helps guide instructional planning and identify students that might be at risk.

Refer to the charts below for the skills and time of year the student may be tested pending their grade level.

What Skills are on the TPRI?

1. Letter Sound refers to the ability of a student to recognize and accurately articulate the sounds linked to individual letters or combinations of letters.

2. Blending Onset-Rimes & Phonemes measures the ability to put together parts of a compound word or single sounds that make up a word.  “Listen to these word parts that I’m going to say one at a time.  Put the sounds together to make a whole word. /t/ /oo/ /th/” (Answer – “tooth”)

3. Word Reading evaluates students by having them read words, sentences, or passages aloud, assessing accuracy and fluency, including real words and non-words to gauge phonetic rule application and comprehension.

4. Phoneme Isolation measures a student’s ability to pinpoint specific sounds within words, such as identifying the second sound in the word “face” (/a/).

5. Book and Print Awareness assesses student’s understanding of print concepts, familiarity with book components (text, illustrations), and proper book handling, assessing foundational literacy skills and reading readiness.

6. Graphophonemic Knowledge assesses a student’s grasp of letter-sound associations, phonemic awareness, and word decoding/encoding proficiency, covering tasks like letter-sound correspondence, phonemic manipulation, and spelling.

7. Word Reading measures a student’s ability to read individual words accurately and fluently, evaluating their competence in recognizing and pronouncing words from a text or list.

8. Reading Accuracy assesses a student’s precision in reading a passage or text with minimal errors in pronunciation and word recognition, measuring their ability to decode and identify words correctly while reading.

9. Listening/Reading Comprehension evaluates a student’s capacity to comprehend and interpret written or spoken texts. It comprises questions or tasks related to a passage that assess comprehension, ranging from basic recall to more profound analysis.

What are some Practice Questions for TPRI Skills?

 Letter Sound

1. “What sound does the letter ‘B’ make?” /b/
2. “What sound do you hear at the beginning of the word ‘dog’?” /d/
3. “What sound do you hear at the end of the word ‘cat’?” /t/
4. “What sound do you hear in the middle of the word ‘pen’?” /e/
5. “Which letter makes the sound /k/ in the word ‘kite’?” K
6. “What is the sound of the letter ‘F’?” /f/
7. “What sound does the letter ‘A’ make in the word ‘cake’?” /ā/
8. “What sound does the letter ‘E’ make in the word ‘red’?” /ĕ/

Blending Onset-Rimes & Phonemes

1. Say: “Listen carefully. What word do you hear when I say /fr/ /og/?” frog
2. Say: “I’m going to say the sounds of a word. Listen and tell me the word. /c/ a/ /t/.” cat
3. Say: “Blend the sounds together to make a word. /st/ /ar/.” star
4. Say: “What word do you hear when I say /b/ /ea/ /ch/?” beach
5. Say: Combine the sounds to make a word. /tr/ /ain/.” train

Word Reading

1. Can you read these words?

they                       flag                     it                pain

2. Sound out this word, “cat.” /c/ /a/ /t/
3. This is a made-up word. Try to read it. Splunge
4. What is this word when you put the sounds together: “/m/ /a/  /ke/?” make
5. Read this word: “said.” said
6. Blend the sounds together to read this word: “sh – e – ll .” shell
7. Break this word into its parts and read it: “baseball.” b ase b all
8. In the sentence below, what is the word that means ‘a building for learning’? school

My mom and I drove home from school but dropped by the store to buy milk first.

Phoneme Isolation

1. What is the first sound you hear in the word “sun”? /s/
2. Which sound comes at the end of “cat”? /t/
3. What is the middle sound in “dog”? /o/
4. What is the last sound in “fish”? /sh/
5. Can you identify the initial sound in “tree”? /t/
6. Which sound is in the middle of “cake”? /a/
7. What is the first sound in “book”? /b/
8. Which sound is at the end of “rain”? /n/
9. What sound do you hear at the beginning of “mouse”? /m/

Book and Print Awareness (show a book to the student)

1. Where is the front of the book?
2. Where is the title of the book?
3. Point to the first word on this page.
4. Find a word on this page that starts with the letter “s.”
5. Can you identify the period at the end of this sentence? What does a period mean?

Graphophonemic Knowledge

1. Which letter makes the sound /b/ like in “ball”? b
2. When you see the letter “H,” what sound does it make? /h/
3. What letter represents the sound /k/ in “cat”? c
4. Which letter says /sh/ as in “shoe”? s and h (together they make the /sh/ sound)
5. Can you tell me which letter makes the /j/ sound like in “jump”? j
6. What letter makes the sound /m/ as in “mouse”? m
7. Which letter makes the /p/ sound in “pen”? p
8. What letter represents the /f/ sound in “fish”? f
9. Which letter makes the /w/ sound like in “whale”? w

Listening/Reading Comprehension

Say, “Read the story out loud to me. After you are done, I am going to ask you a series of questions about the story. It is ok if you would like to look back at the story you just read to answer the questions.”

The Lost Kitten

Once upon a time in a small town, there was a little kitten named Whiskers. Whiskers was the tiniest and the most curious kitten you’d ever meet. One sunny morning, while playing in the garden, Whiskers spotted a colorful butterfly dancing among the flowers. Entranced by the butterfly’s beauty, Whiskers followed it as it flitted from one flower to another.

The butterfly led Whiskers deep into the forest, where the trees grew tall, and the sunlight barely peeked through the leaves. It was an enchanting place, but Whiskers soon realized that he was lost. He couldn’t find his way back home. The once-bold little kitten was now scared and alone in the vast forest.

1. Who is the main character in the story? Whiskers the kitten
2. What did Whiskers follow into the forest? A colorful butterfly
3. Why did Whiskers become scared in the forest? He missed his home.
4. How did Whiskers end up in the forest? He was exploring the garden.
5. What do you think will happen next in the story? (The answer to this question can vary, as it requires students to make predictions.) An example of a possible answer could be, Whiskers may encounter other animals in the forest and find a way to get back home with their help.

How is the TPRI Scored?

The TPRI employs two distinct scoring categories to assess a student’s mastery or deficiency in evaluated concepts.

1. “Developed” (D) score signifies the student’s success in the task.
2. “Still developing” (SD) score indicates the student’s current lack of proficiency in the assessed skill or concept.

When students receive an SD score in the Screening Section, it’s important to conduct further evaluation to determine if they need extra reading support. The TPRI Inventory provides a more comprehensive assessment, allowing you to customize instruction to each student’s specific needs. Professional interpretation is essential for educational and intervention planning.

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