Formative Assessments in Action: Turning Phonics Data Into Literacy Growth

The Challenge of Measuring Growth

You know better than anyone that no two students learn in the same way. Some breeze through new phonics patterns, while others need more time and support before a skill truly sticks. Yet measuring this kind of growth, especially in foundational reading skills, has never been simple.

Traditional assessments can feel like they take away from valuable instructional time, leaving you with less opportunity to focus on what matters most: teaching. At the same time, without a clear picture of student progress, it’s difficult to personalize instruction and ensure that each learner is getting exactly what they need.

This is where formative assessments come in. Formative assessments are ongoing checks of student understanding that provide you with timely insights into literacy development. Instead of waiting for an end-of-unit or end-of-year test, you can use these tools to monitor progress as it happens and make adjustments that lead to meaningful literacy growth.

This blog explores how formative assessments can strengthen phonics instruction. You’ll learn best practices for interpreting results and see strategies that help you translate data into action. You will also discover how Lexia supports this process, making it easier to gather, understand, and apply formative assessment insights without adding extra burden to your already full schedule.

What Are Formative Assessments in Phonics Instruction?

When you hear the word “assessment,” your first thought might be another test that takes time away from instruction. But formative assessments are not about high-stakes testing or lengthy evaluations. Think of them as ongoing tools you can use to check how your students are progressing in real time.

Instead of giving you a single snapshot at the end of a unit, formative assessments work alongside your instruction. As students practice phonics skills—whether blending sounds, decoding words, or building fluency—you get timely feedback on where they’re excelling and where they need more support.

Why does this matter? Because those prompt insights give you the power to act right away. Rather than waiting weeks or months for results, you can adjust your approach in the moment. Perhaps one group requires additional practice with vowels, while another is ready to progress to multisyllabic words. With formative assessments, you see those needs clearly.

And that is where differentiated instruction comes in. By using formative assessment data, you can tailor your teaching to meet each student where they are—whether that means providing targeted practice, offering scaffolded supports, or challenging advanced readers with more complex tasks. In other words, formative assessments help you make sure every student gets the right instruction at the right time.

Key Components of Effective Phonics Assessments

Not all assessments are created equal. If you are going to invest your time and energy into using data to guide instruction, the tools you choose need to deliver more than just numbers on a page. Effective phonics assessments share a few key features that make them practical and powerful for classroom use:

• Ongoing monitoring, not one-off testing: Growth in reading does not happen in a single moment, and your assessments should not either. The best tools provide continuous updates on student progress, allowing you to see trends over time rather than relying on a single snapshot.

• Immediate, actionable data: You do not need more reports gathering dust. You need clear insights you can put to use right away. Effective assessments translate student performance into next steps, helping you decide whether to reteach a concept, adjust pacing, or move students forward.

• Alignment to the science of reading: Strong assessments measure what matters most in literacy development: phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. When the focus is on these essential components, the data you gather connects directly to evidence-based instruction.

Research backs this up. For example, Lexia’s patented Assessment Without Testing® technology has been shown to strongly correlate with commonly used measures like MAP and SBAC, confirming that the insights you receive are not just convenient but valid indicators of student reading ability. That means the data you see is a reliable reflection of how your students are likely to perform on the assessments that matter for accountability—without the extra time spent testing.

Best Practices for Interpreting Assessment Data

Getting the data is only the first step. What you do with it is what makes the difference for your students. Effective use of formative assessment data is less about the numbers themselves and more about the story those numbers tell. Here are a few best practices to guide you:

• Look for patterns across groups, not just individuals. While one student’s progress matters, stepping back to see how a small group, or even your whole class, is performing can reveal where instruction needs to shift. If several students are struggling with the same phonics pattern, that is a signal to reteach or provide extra practice.

• Use predictor scores and benchmarks to set priorities. Not all skill gaps carry the same weight. Benchmarks help you identify which students are most at risk of falling behind so you can allocate your instructional time where it’s needed most.

• Translate data into small-group or one-on-one instruction. The goal of formative assessment is not just to confirm what you already know; it is to inform your next move. Organize groups based on specific skill needs, then provide targeted practice and support that meets each student right where they are.

By treating data as a tool for action rather than a static report, you can make sure every assessment moment moves your students closer to literacy success.

From Data to Action: Strategies to Tailor Instruction

Formative assessment data only makes a difference if it translates into the next steps you can use in your classroom. The good news is that you don’t need to reinvent your lessons—small, intentional moves can turn data into real growth for your students.

Here are a few ways to put your assessment insights into action:

• Create small-group interventions based on specific phonics skill gaps. If several students are struggling with blends or vowel teams, pull them together for targeted practice. Students get the support they need, while the rest of the class can stay on track.

• Adjust pacing when students are ready to move on. When the data shows mastery, you can confidently move students forward to the next skill. This keeps advanced readers challenged and ensures every learner continues to grow.

• Provide scaffolded practice for multilingual learners. Formative assessments help you see where language and literacy needs overlap. Programs like Lexia Core5® Reading are recognized by WIDA for meeting all 44 criteria under the WIDA PRIME V2 Correlation, which means you have built-in supports that align with English language development standards.

And here is the reassuring part: you don’t need to create new lessons from scratch. With Lexia, you get student-specific resources and reports that recommend exactly what to do next, whether that is reteaching a concept, providing additional offline practice, or grouping students differently. This saves you time and energy while ensuring every instructional decision is grounded in data.

How Lexia Can Help

Turning data into action is much easier when the assessment process is built right into daily learning. That’s the idea behind Lexia’s Assessment Without Testing. As your students work independently, the program automatically captures their progress and skill development—no separate test event required.

• Embedded assessment: Core5’s technology gathers performance data in real time, giving you a continuous picture of growth while your students practice reading skills.

• A true time-saver: Because the assessment happens within instruction, you spend less time testing and more time teaching. Your students get the benefit of uninterrupted learning, and you get the insights you need without adding to your testing schedule.

• Support for teachers: With myLexia® reports and action plans, you can see exactly where each student stands and what to do next. The platform highlights skill gaps, suggests targeted lessons, and helps you group students for small-group or one-on-one instruction, taking the guesswork out of differentiation.

• Evidence of impact: The results speak for themselves. In one large-scale study, the percentage of students working at or above grade level grew from 50% at the beginning of the year to 91% by the end of the year when Core5 was used with fidelity. That kind of growth shows how powerful embedded assessment can be when paired with evidence-based instruction.

With Lexia, formative assessment is not another task on your plate. It is a built-in support system that empowers you to make confident instructional decisions and help every student move forward.

Take the Next Step in Differentiated Instruction

You don’t have to wait until the end of the year—or even the end of a unit—to understand where your students stand. With the right formative assessment tools, you can see progress and adjust instruction before small gaps turn into larger struggles.

Lexia makes that process simpler and more effective. From embedded assessment to student-specific resources, you have what you need to deliver differentiated instruction that meets each learner where they are.

Talk to your administrator today about Lexia’s differentiated instruction solutions. 

Formative assessments should not be another burden. With the right tools, they become your pathway to unlocking literacy growth.