Glossary · Fluency and assessment
What is a phonics survey?
Definition
A phonics survey is an untimed check of which phonics patterns a student can read, pattern by pattern, used to decide where to start teaching.
A screener tells you a student is behind. A survey tells you what to teach. It moves through the sequence in order, from short vowels to digraphs, blends, silent e, vowel teams and beyond, usually with real and made-up words for each pattern.
You stop when the student starts missing several words in a row. The first pattern they miss reliably is usually the starting point for teaching.
Surveys are worth repeating every couple of months. They show which patterns have moved from missed to known and confirm that the placement still fits. Untimed is the point: you're checking knowledge of the code, not speed.
In a lesson
A third grader reads every short-vowel and digraph word correctly, misses half the silent e words, and misses most vowel teams. Teaching starts at silent e.
Why does this matter for the record?
Record the first pattern missed and the date. That single line is a better placement record than a total score.
Rate each skill as you teach it
Needs support, Developing, Secure. The rating schedules the review and builds the report.