Arkansas Foundations of Reading Test (FORT)

At the emergent stage of reading, matching spoken words to printed words is a crucial skill that serves as a strong predictor of future reading success. This skill, often referred to as phonemic awareness, is the ability to understand and manipulate individual sounds in spoken words. Developing phonemic awareness helps children recognize the correspondence between sounds and letters, laying the foundation for decoding skills and overall reading proficiency. By identifying and manipulating the sounds in words, young readers can begin to understand the connection between spoken and written language, which is essential for successful reading acquisition.