Phonological Awareness and Phonics Instructional Rubric

October 2021

REL Midwest created this rubric in partnership with the Midwest Early Childhood Education Research Alliance and Springfield Public Schools in Illinois. School leaders can use the rubric to provide feedback to teachers about the implementation of recommended instructional practices in phonological awareness and phonics.

The rubric is designed to scaffold collaboration between school leaders and teachers and is not intended for use in formal teacher performance evaluations or as an accountability metric. Before classroom observations, school leaders can share the rubric with teachers to set expectations about instructional practices. During classroom observations, school leaders can use the rubric to measure the extent to which each teacher’s instruction is systematic, explicit, and data-driven. After the observation, school leaders can meet with teachers to discuss the ratings on the rubric and set goals for improvement.

All the recommended instructional practices in the rubric come from the What Works Clearinghouse practice guide Foundational Skills to Support Reading for Understanding in Kindergarten Through 3rd Grade (Recommendations 2 and 3). A panel of national experts—including both researchers and practitioners—developed this practice guide using a comprehensive review of findings from rigorous research.

Download the rubric: Phonological Awareness and Phonics Instructional Rubric
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