CPM: What guidance is there on scoring syllabication? If a student claps the right amount of syllables for a word, but says the wrong number of syllables, is the item marked correct or incorrect? For example: /cow/ /boy/ - claps twice but says "3"
- Thao.Yoder
Answer
In the Syllabication sub-measure, children are asked to demonstrate knowledge of how words can be broken down into syllables. The purpose of this task is to determine the word parts in a word. Teachers should use syllable counting methods that are consistent with their classroom instruction (e.g., clapping, moving blocks, counters, tapping, etc.). Students should receive a correct mark if they can accurately identify the appropriate number of syllables.
Teachers should feel free to adapt the specific procedure to methods that have been used in their classrooms. For instance, another perfectly acceptable way to evaluate this skill is by asking children to “move a block for each part of the word you hear” while some classroom teachers ask children to provide a number to indicate the syllable count.
The purpose of this task is to determine the word parts the student hears in a word, as it is a phonological processing task. Responses should be marked correct if students are able to identify syllables by breaking down the word into word parts.