High Frequency Word Evaluation
Website Updated For The 2023-2024 School Year
What is the High Frequency Word Evaluation?
The High Frequency Word Evaluation is an assessment that takes inventory of your child's knowledge of the 125 most frequently used words in our language.
How the test is administered:
Students will be shown words from the list and asked to read them by sight. Students will NOT need to write the words but will need to be able to say them without sounding them out.
In years previous, this has been a promotion standard for Houston ISD for first grade. While we have not received official word at this time as to whether this will remain a promotion standard this year, we are encouraging all of our families to continue to study these words. High-frequency words provide the building blocks for children's reading success. Learning to recognize these words quickly and automatically is an important step in becoming a fluent reader. When we receive official word from our curriculum department we will update this section.
In the past there have been three opportunities to pass this promotion requirement. Students who do not meet the 80% passing requirement in November, will take it again in February and for a third time in May if needed. (Exact dates to be determined by HISD.)
Administration 1- November 2023
Administration 2- February 2023
Administration 3- May 2023
**Again- as we learn more from our curriculum department, we will pass along this information to you asap. Thank you for you patience.
Flashcards
We have provided you with the flashcards that HISD used this school year (2022-2023). Occasionally, the reading department adjusts the word list slightly. However, most of the words remain the same as the list is based on the Fry sight word research. The Fry sight words are the most common words used in English.
Other Important Notes:
- There are 125 words on the list. The students are not tested on all 125 words. They will be tested on only 75 of the words but we are not given access to this list until the day of your child’s assessment.
- Why is the list we sent home color coded? This is primarily a management system for us. The 125 words given to us by the district were organized into these six groups based on both phonetic patterns and frequency within texts. The purple words are the easiest, and they get progressively harder as the work up to the red words. As your child is learning the words, focus on one color group at a time, until mastery is achieved. Then you can progress to the next color. It is also a good idea to review the words occasionally once mastered.
- While we couldn't make color copies for everyone, we have provided a printable pdf of our flashcards. You just need to print, cut and start practicing. If you'd like them color coded you can use colored paper or simply lightly color the pages with a crayon or colored pencil.
- We also are including a fun and simple game that can be played at home and helps to learn the sight words. The game is called “Roll-Say-Keep” and a PDF version of the game is below. You may want to put this game in a page protector or a Press-N-Seal bag to protect it as you play. It would also be a great idea to keep the High Frequency Words in a Press-N-Seal bag or other container so that they are not lost.