TEXES Science of Teaching Reading Practice Test

Which statement is NOT true regarding phonological processing skills?

1. Students with dyslexia often lack phonological awareness

2. Phonological awareness strongly predicts early reading acquisition

3. Phonological awareness involves the relationship between phonemes and graphemes

4. Phonemic awareness aids in learning to read and spell

The correct answer is: Phonological awareness involves the relationship between phonemes and graphemes

Phonological processing skills are foundational for reading development, and the correct choice highlights a misunderstanding of the concept of phonological awareness. Phonological awareness refers to the ability to recognize and manipulate sounds at various levels, such as words, syllables, and individual phonemes. However, the relationship between phonemes and graphemes—where phonemes are the individual sounds in spoken words and graphemes are the letters or combinations of letters representing those sounds—falls under a broader category known as phonics, which is a separate but related skill set that builds on phonological awareness. In early reading instruction, while phonological awareness helps students understand sounds within words, the explicit connection to graphemes is part of learning to read and spell (phonics). Thus, saying that phonological awareness directly involves the relationship between phonemes and graphemes misrepresents the nature of phonological processing. Instead, phonological awareness is primarily concerned with the recognition and manipulation of sounds rather than the written representation of those sounds. The other statements are accurate regarding the role of phonological processing skills: students with dyslexia typically show difficulties in phonological awareness, this skill is a strong predictor of early reading success, and phonemic awareness specifically does support both reading