Literacy Assessments

Free Literacy Assessments (Curated List)

Parents and teachers often ask me for free, reliable literacy assessments. This page is a carefully curated, classroom-tested collection of no-cost tools covering phonemic awareness through comprehension. I’ve organized them by skill area to make it easy to find what you need quickly. Many assessments overlap by design—that’s a strength, not a flaw.

All assessments listed are freely provided by publishers and educational organizations for educational use.

This page contains no affiliate links. All assessments are shared for educational reference only.

Please alert me to broken links, errors, or suggestions for additions. Thank you! judithearaujo@gmail.com

Table of Contents

1. Phonological & Phonemic Awareness
2. Reading Readiness & Phonics
3. Sight Words
4. Determining Reading Level
5. Reading Rate & Fluency
6. Spelling
7. Reading Comprehension & State Assessments

1. Phonological & Phonemic Awareness

Best for identifying early reading risk and intervention needs

• PAST (Phonological Awareness Screening Test)—Comprehensive diagnostic tool with clear skill progression. The PAST assessment overview video is very helpful.

• Heggerty Assessments – Phonemic awareness screening and progress monitoring (free with signup)

• QPAS (Quick Phonological Awareness Screening)—Fast universal screener

2. Reading Readiness & Phonics

Foundational decoding and print concepts

• Concepts of Print Assessment—Identifies early literacy gaps

• Heggerty Letter Names & Sounds – Letter identification and sound knowledge

• DIBELS 8 – Benchmark and progress monitoring (K–8). In terms of “reading readiness and phonics,” DIBELS 8 assesses phoneme segmentation, letter naming fluency, and nonsense word fluency with a score for correct letter sounds and words read correctly. Here are the DIBELS 8th Edition Benchmark Goals. The DIBELS 8 is easy to administer. For more information, please visit your grade level link, where I explain more about the tests and benchmarks: Kindergarten and Grade 1, and Grades 2 and 3.

• Pennington Phonics Assessments—Consonant Sounds Assessment and Vowel Sounds Phonics Assessment—In both cases, students identify the correct nonsense word.

3. Sight Words

Automatic word recognition

• Informal Inventory—Assess the students on the various Dolch lists. Keep track of progress.

• Botel Word Lists – Measures sight word recognition from pre-primer through grade 4
  • Timed (5 seconds per word)
  • Mastery defined at 70% accuracy

4. Determining Reading Level

Instructional and independent reading placement

• San Diego Quick Assessment – Word list-based placement

• Running Records – Fluency, accuracy, and comprehension tracking

• Morrison–McCall Spelling Scale – Public-domain spelling-based level estimate

• Pennington Pets Fluency Assessment (Grades 4+) – The passage is uniquely designed with a “pyramid” structure, consisting of seven paragraphs, each increasing in complexity from a first-grade to a seventh-grade reading level. This gradual increase allows students to build confidence as they progress through the passage. It determines the independent reading level.

• UFLI Placement Test—If you plan to teach with UFLI, this placement test is helpful.

• CORE Phonics Survey—Excellent companion to UFLI; pinpoints exact instructional starting point for UFLI, as well.

CORE Survey Mastery Guidelines

Grade	Expected Mastery
K	Skills 1–7
Grade 1	Skills 1–12
Grade 2	Skills 1–14 (ideally 15–16)
Grade 3+	All 16 skills

5. Reading Rate & Fluency

Measures speed, accuracy, and oral reading fluency

• DIBELS 8 Oral Reading Fluency – Grades 1–8. Here are the DIBELS 8th Edition Benchmark Goals.

• Free Reading Test – Online fluency tool

• ReadingSoft Speed Reading Test—This is a fun one for an adult.

• Scholar Within Reading Rate by Grade—This site provides fluency passages.

• UFLI Fluency by Unit—These unit assessments start when the child finishes UFLI Lesson 41.

• ACE Test—Online reading rate assessment in which students read a passage, answer comprehension questions, and receive their reading rate instantly. According to the ACE website:

 

• Words Per Minute Tests for Grades 5 and Up – You can find many free WPM tests online to measure rate and accuracy.

• Spreeder (Free Version) –I use the free Spreeder with my elementary students as part of fluency practice. The free app works perfectly—you don’t need to purchase the upgraded version.

How to use Spreeder to assess reading rate for kids:

1. Copy/paste a text (Jennings Test Passages work great)

2. Hit SPREED!

3. Enter the target WCPM. See the norms chart.

4. Adjust font size in the settings

5. Hit save and play

6. Have the child read silently

7. Ask for a retell to check comprehension

 

6. Spelling

Diagnostic spelling inventories

• Informal Spelling Inventory

• Primary Spelling Inventory (K–2)

• Pennington Heart Word Assessment—Identifies orthographic mapping needs. It starts on page 4. Students must identify the words spelled correctly.

7. Reading Comprehension & State Assessments

Sentence-level through standardized test practice

• DIBELS MAZE – Grades 2–8. MAZE is a 3-minute timed comprehension measure.

• Pioneer Valley Reading Level Assessment – Ideal for remote or in-person assessment. Combines word reading, running records, and comprehension

• Jennings Informal Reading Assessment – Uses leveled reading passages and comprehension questions to assess understanding and determine reading level.

• State Testing (MCAS and Other Standardized Assessments)

  State standardized tests, such as the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS), are designed to measure students’ mastery of grade-level academic standards. These assessments help identify areas of strength and opportunities for growth and guide instruction to better meet student needs.

State of Massachusetts

MCAS 2023 Grade 3 and Up

MCAS 2022 Grade 3 and Up

MCAS 2021 Grade 3 and Up

MCAS 2016 Grade 3 and up

MCAS 2006 Grades 3 and up

MCAS 2005 Grade 3 p. 6-35 /Grade 4 p. 38-68

MCAS 2004 Grade 3 p. 7-30 / Grade 4 p. 33-63

MCAS 2003 Grade 3 p. 8-28 / Grade 4 p. 32-57

MCAS 2002 Grade 4 p. 53-78

Click here for computer-based tests!

State of Maryland 

Here are links to their paper-and-pencil standardized tests from grades 3 to 10.

Smarter Balanced

Practice tests from various states.

Grade 2

California Standards Test—Grade 2 Language Arts

Tennessee Grade 2 Assessment –  Language Arts Item Sampler

Grade 3

Florida ELA Reading – Grade 3 Practice Test Questions

Louisiana English Language Arts Practice Test Grade 3

Texas Grade 3 Reading Assessment

Grade 4

Florida ELA Reading—Grade 4 Practice Test Questions

Louisiana English Language Arts Practice Test Grade 4

Texas Grade 4 Reading Assessment

Texas Grade 4 Writing Assessment

Grade 5

Florida ELA Reading—Grade 5 Practice Test Questions

Louisiana English Language Arts Practice Test Grade 5

Texas Grade 5 Reading Assessment

 

Why This Page Exists

This list reflects assessments I’ve used, reviewed, or recommended over years of reading instruction. Everything here is free, practical, and instructionally meaningful.

This page was last updated on January 2, 2026.