The DRA Word Analysis test is administered at least every six months to students in kindergarten and first grade. The test is also administered to students in grades one to five who are reading below grade level.
The DRA word analysis test is designed for teachers to be able to assess a student's individual reading ability. In kindergarten and early first grade, the test evaluates phonics skills and phonological awareness. In grades one to five, the test analyzes below-grade-level readers' word analysis skills.
The DRA Word analysis tests structural analysis, phonics, letter and word recognition, metalanguage and phonological awareness. Physical materials included with the Word Analysis kit include a spiral-bound stimulus book, spiral-bound-teacher guide and a training CD. Test administrators must provide counters or coins for portions of the Word Analysis test.
The DRA Word Analysis includes 40 tasks organized into five strands, or skill areas. The test includes a wide range of tasks to assess students' reading ability, including: rhyming, alliteration, segmentation, phonetic awareness, letter naming, word list reading, spelling, decoding, structural analysis and substitutions/analogies.