The Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI) is an initiative of the Bureau of Learning Delivery, Department of Education (DepEd) that directly addresses its thrust to make every Filipino child a reader. It is anchored on the flagship program of the Department: “Every Child A Reader Program,” which aims to make every Filipino child a reader and a writer at his/her grade level.
The Phil-IRI is an informal reading inventory composed of graded passages designed to determine the individual student’s performance in oral reading, silent reading and listening comprehension. These three types of assessments aim to find the student’s independent, instructional and frustration levels. The data from these measures could be used to design or adjust classroom, small group or individualized instruction to fit the students’ needs and abilities. The Phil-IRI is not the sole assessment tool that provides the holistic reading performance of the students; it only provides an approximation of the students’ abilities and could be used in combination with other reliable tools of assessment. The data shall also serve as one of the bases in planning, designing/redesigning the reading programs or activities in the school to improve the overall school reading performance.
The entire set or package of Phil-IRI materials consists of: 1) Manual of Administration, 2) Group Screening Test in Filipino (GST) from Grades III-VI, 3) Group Screening Test in English from Grades IV to VI, 4) Graded Passages from Grade II to VII (Sets A, B, C, D) in English and Grades I to VI in Filipino (Sets A, B, C, D) and, 5) Forms for recording purposes both in English and Filipino.
It is important for the teachers to study the manual and be oriented on the proper administration of the 2018 Phil-IRI.
Table of Contents
ESSENTIAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE PHIL-IRI
What is the Phil-IRI?
The Philippine Informal Reading Inventory (Phil-IRI) was created to provide classroom teachers a tool for measuring and describing reading performance. It is an assessment tool composed of graded passages designed to determine a student’s reading level. It is important to note that the Phil-IRI only provides an approximation of the learner’s abilities and may be used in combination with other reliable tools of assessment.
Why was the Phil-IRI developed?
The development of the Phil-IRI is one of the initiatives put in place in support of the Every Child A Reader Program (ECARP). Before teachers can design and provide appropriate reading instruction for their students, they should be armed with information about their students’ current reading levels and abilities. This diagnostic approach to describing how children read embraces inclusionary principles that emphasize the need for education that is learner-oriented, responsive and culturally sensitive. The Phil-IRI is one of the diagnostic tools that teachers can use to determine students’ abilities and needs in reading.
What adjustments were made in the Phil-IRI selections?
The Revised Phil-IRI was prepared in early 2013, prior to the introduction of the K-12 Curriculum. The readability level of the selections for oral and silent reading were based on the old English and Filipino curricula and were validated to pupils who were products of these old curricula; they were taught to read in Filipino and in English starting in Grade 1.
Under the K-12 curriculum, the pupils are introduced to Reading in Filipino during the first semester of Grade 2 while Reading in English is introduced during the second semester.
For example, the curriculum in Phonics and Word Recognition for Grade 2 English during the second semester is reading short e, a and i words in consonant-vowel-consonant pattern. By Grade 3, the curricular offering under word recognition is as follows:
| First Quarter | Second Quarter | Third Quarter | Fourth Quarter |
| Read words with short o and u sounds in CVC pattern and common sight words; read 2-syllable words consisting of short e to u sound (e. g.: basket, hotdog, sunset). | Read words with initial consonant blends (l, r and s blends) followed by short vowel sounds, read words with initial and final consonant digraph ch and sh. | Read words with long a, i, o and u sound (ending in e) one syllable and 2-syllables. | Read words with vowel digraphs ai (pail), ay (bay), ea (lead), ee (seed; read words with vowel diphthongs oy (boy), oi (boil), ou (out) and ow (bow); read some irregularly spelled words (e.g. such as enough, through, beautiful). |
Aside from adjusting the readability level of the Phil-IRI selections based on the present curriculum, the Phil-IRI constructed in 2013 was revalidated to the present group of learners in 2016 to give a better assurance that the readability levels of the selections are appropriate for the grade levels for which they are assigned. Nineteen schools, each representing a particular Mother Tongue, were chosen for the revalidation. Phil-IRI Filipino was administered to Grade 3 and 4 pupils while Phil-IRI English was administered to Grade 4 and 5 pupils. The MTB-MLE coordinator/Master teacher/the subject teacher in Filipino and English/ the class adviser who had a training in ELLN conducted the revalidation.
The result of the examination of the literacy curriculum in both English and Filipino as well as the revalidation were the bases for adjusting the Phil-IRI selections both in the Screening Test and the Pretest and Posttest.
What can Phil-IRI tell the teachers?
The Phil-IRI Group Screening Test (GST) can tell teachers whether students are reading at, above, or below their grade levels. The individually administered Phil-IRI Graded Passages can be used to assess students’ Oral Reading, Silent Reading Comprehension and/or Listening Comprehension levels.
When used to assess oral reading skills, the Phil-IRI may be used to describe decoding and word recognition, fluency and comprehension. The student’s performance in decoding (the ability to read isolated words using phonics knowledge) and word recognition (the ability to automatically identify words on sight) is measured through a Reading Miscue Inventory (Phil-IRI Form 3A and 3B: Grade Level Passage Rating Sheet). The child is asked to read a passage and each word read incorrectly is noted and marked. In terms of fluency (the ability to read with speed, accuracy and prosody), the time taken by the child to read a passage is recorded and the number of words that he/she can read per minute is computed. Furthermore, a qualitative description of the child’s manner of reading is described via a checklist. Finally, test taker’s comprehension skills (the ability to create meaning) may be gauged by having the child answer five to eight questions of varying difficulty based on the graded passage after it has been read.
When used to assess Silent Reading Comprehension, Phil-IRI may be used to describe reading speed and comprehension. The student’s reading speed is measured by recording the time it takes the child to read each passage completely. Silent reading comprehension is measured by asking the student to answer five to eight questions of varying difficulty after a passage has been read.
When used to assess listening comprehension, the Phil-IRI may be used by having the student listen to the passages as they are read by the test administrator and answer five to eight questions of varying difficulty about each passage.
For all three types of individual assessments (oral reading comprehension, listening comprehension and silent reading comprehension), the aim is to find the learner’s independent, instructional and frustration levels, so that teachers know what level of reading materials the student can read and understand well, as well as what level of reading materials the student is not ready for.
Since the Phil-IRI is administered at the start and at the end of the school year, it can also tell teachers about the growth and changes in students’ reading skills and levels.
What are flexible ways to use Phil-IRI?
The Phil-IRI may be used to:
a. Group Reading Level
The Phil-IRI GST can be used to determine a whole class’ reading level, and identify particular students who may need more assistance in performing reading tasks.
b. Individual Reading Level
The individually administered Phil-IRI Graded Passages can be used to determine a student’s independent, instructional and frustration levels for three types of literacy tasks: Oral Reading, Silent Reading, and Listening Comprehension.
c. Monitor Growth and Response to Intervention
Pretest and Posttest results of the Phil-IRI can be compared to monitor growth in students’ reading skills, as well as determine the efficacy of the program or reading interventions conducted by the school and/or classroom teachers.
d. Describe Reading Behaviors
The recording of the student’s oral reading behaviors during the conduct of the individually administered Phil-IRI Graded Passages can help the teacher describe a student’s reading performance and behavior. It specifies the number of words read per minute, the cues used for identifying or recognizing words, manner of reading, etc. Types of miscues as well as types of comprehension questions answered correctly can also be analyzed by the teacher to help him/her design appropriate reading lessons or interventions.
Who needs to take the Phil-IRI?
All students in Grades 3 to 6 will undergo the Phil-IRI Group Screening Test (GST) in Filipino, while students in Grades 4 to 6 will undergo the GST in English. Students identified to be performing below level of expectation (those with a total Raw Score below 14 in the Phil-IRI GST) should undergo further assessment through the individually administered Phil-IRI graded passages.
When should the Phil-IRI be administered?
The following table below shows the administration schedule of Group Screening Test and the Individualized Phil-IRI assessments. Group assessments must be conducted within class time while Individual assessments may be conducted outside class hours.
How long does it take to administer the Phil-IRI?
The administration of the Phil-IRI GST for a whole class takes approximately 30 minutes. The time it takes to administer the Phil-IRI Graded Passages would vary for each student.
Who can administer the Phil-IRI?
All Filipino subject teachers for Grades 3 to 6 and English subject teachers for Grades 4 to 6 can administer the Phil-IRI Group Screening Tests in their respective classes. ELLN-trained teachers can administer the Phil-IRI Graded Passages to individual students who need further assessment.The region and/or division can also conduct training programs to teachers on the conduct of the Phil-IRI. Teachers who will administer the Phil-IRI should read the manual thoroughly and prepare all the necessary materials and forms prior to the scheduled date of test administration.
How do we get a copy of the Phil-IRI materials?
The Phil-IRI materials will be uploaded to the Learning Resource Management Development System (LRMDS) portal of the DepEd website which can be downloaded by the teachers, school heads and education supervisors. Schools are advised to use the MOOE funds for the reproduction and distribution of the materials to teachers.
Download 2018 Phil-IRI Manual
Download 2018 Phil-IRI ManualREAD:
How is reading assessed throughout the year to measure students’ growing and changing needs?
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positronium (Mariano)
Thank you sir for sharing the latest Phi IRI Manual and memo.