top of page

A Science of Reading Quiz to Guide Your Literacy PD

  • Mar 17
  • 2 min read

Before planning literacy professional development, it helps to answer one question:


Where is your staff right now?


In many schools, educators aren’t all starting from the same place with the Science of Reading. Some feel completely confident with concepts like decoding and phoneme-grapheme pairs. Others are still sorting out how it differs from balanced literacy practices they’ve used for years.


Without clarity, PD can easily miss the mark: too basic for some teachers, too overwhelming for others.


A short SoR reflection quiz can solve that.



Why Start With a Science of Reading Self-Assessment?


When literacy conversations begin with assumptions of each teacher's current level of understanding, some teachers may end up bored - while others feel completely lost.


But when staff literacy conversations begin with reflection, everyone can move forward.


An anonymous Science of Reading survey gives teachers space to privately consider:

  • What still feels fuzzy

  • What concepts feel clear

  • Where they need more support


Responses are anonymous, allowing teachers to answer honestly instead of defensively.

And that honesty helps makes your professional learning far more targeted and relevant.



How to Use the Quiz in Your School


You can share the reflection quiz in several low-pressure ways:


Option 1: Email

Send the Google Form link directly to staff.


Option 2: Mailboxes

Place printed copies in teacher mailboxes for private completion.


Option 3: Faculty Meeting

Give staff 5 minutes to complete it at the beginning of a literacy discussion.


Keep it anonymous. The goal is insight, not evaluation.



What the Results Tell You


You might discover:

  • Teachers don't know how often students should practice as they teach

  • Teachers never learned the importance of key methods like articulation cues

  • Teachers aren't aware how much review is needed for new concepts to truly sink in


This helps you differentiate professional development, one of the hardest parts of leading a reading initiative.


Instead of one generalized training session, you can provide:

  • Foundational learning for those just getting started in SoR

  • Additional support for those already comfortable with the basics of SoR

  • Advanced conversations for those with solid SoR practice under their belt


All based on actual staff needs.



If Teachers Prefer Self-Checking


Some teams prefer to learn independently.


You can also share this version of the quiz, where teachers complete the questions independently, and check their own answers using an answer guide.


This works especially well in schools where staff want time to process before group discussion.



Small Step, Big Clarity


Literacy initiative don't fail because educators don’t care.


They fail when everyone is trying to move in the same direction without knowing where they’re starting from.


A short Science of Reading reflection quiz creates that starting point.


From there, conversations become clearer, professional development becomes more relevant, and instructional change becomes much easier to support.


If you'd like to discuss this further, we're here for you.



 
 
bottom of page