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.
 The development of the Phil-IRI is one
of the initiatives put in place in support of
the Every Child A Reader Program (ECARP).
 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.
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 Read words with initial Read words with long a, Read words with vowel
and u sounds in CVC consonant blends (l, r i, o and u sound (ending digraphs ai (pail), ay
pattern and and s blends) followed in e) one syllable and 2- (bay), ea (lead), ee
common sight words; by short vowel sounds, syllables. (seed; read words with
read 2-syllable words read words with initial vowel diphthongs oy
consisting of short e to u and final consonant (boy), oi (boil), ou (out)
sound (e. g.: basket, digraph ch and sh. and ow (bow); read
hotdog, sunset). some irregularly spelled
words (e.g. such as
enough, through,
beautiful).
 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.
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.
a. Group Reading Level
The Phil-IRI GST can be used to determine a whole class’ reading level.
b. Individual Reading Level
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.
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.
 Filipino English
(for Grade 3 to Grade 6 learners) (for Grade 4 to Grade 6 learners)

Type of Test Pre test Post test Pre test Post test

Phil-IRI Group Within the first or Within the first or

Screening Test second month of second month of
(GST) the school year the school year
Within January to Within January to
February of the February of the
school year school year
Individualized Phil- Within a month Within a month
IRI Assessment after the GST is after the GST is
(only for pupils administered administered
who did not pass
the GST)
 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.
 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. 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.
The Phil-IRI Group Screening Test (GST) is a silently-administered
test in both Filipino and English. Each tool is composed of a 20-
item comprehension test based on a set of leveled passages for
each grade level covering Grades 3 to 6 in Filipino and Grades 4
to 6 in English. The passages were written and selected based
on concept load, level of vocabulary used, sentence complexity,
nature of themes and cohesion.
In consideration of Abadzi’s (2014) recommendations on the
kind and size of font and spacing options in between letters
used in textbooks, the font features in Table 2 were followed in
the design of the tools.
The Phil-IRI Graded Passages (Sets A, B, C and D)
The Phil-IRI Graded Passages is an informal
individualized assessment tool used to record the
student’s performance in oral reading, silent reading
and/or listening comprehension.
The Phil-IRI Oral Reading Test is administered in order to:
identify the student’s miscues in oral reading; record the
number of words that a student reads per minute; and
find out how well a student understands the passage
read.
 Administered when the student is identified as
a nonreader. The purpose is to find out how well
a student understands the selection which will be
read by the test administrator. Then the test
administrator reads the multiple choice questions
and the student answers them orally.
 May be administered after the Oral Reading Test is
conducted to further check the student’s
comprehension skill. This is an optional activity.
a. Phil-IRI Forms for Group Screening Test
1) Phil-IRI Form 1A:
Talaan ng Pangkatang Pagtatasa ng Klase (PPK) sa Phil-IRI

2) Phil-IRI Form 1B:

Summary of the Phil-IRI Group Screening Test Class
Reading Record (CRR)
Phil-IRI Form 2: Talaan ng Paaralan sa Pagbabasa / School
Reading Profile (SRP)

This form presents a summary of a

school’s performance in the GST.
Furthermore, it shows the school’s
reading profile, which includes the
number of students who are reading
at their level (test scores ≥ 14 out of
20 items), and those who are in need
of further Phil-IRI administration (test
scores < 14). A sample of this form is
shown in Appendix C.
b. Phil-IRI Forms for Graded Passages
Phil-IRI Form 3A: Markahang Papel ng Panggradong
Lebel na Teksto / Phil-IRI Form 3B: Grade Level Passage
Rating Sheet

This form is the rating sheet with the passage to

be read
(either orally or silently by the student, or orally by the
teacher).
The teacher indicates the time spent by the student in
reading
the passage. Likewise, the student’s miscues are marked
and
summarized, and the comprehension responses are
recorded
in this form. This form will yield the speed and rate in
reading,
and the reading level for the passage in both word
reading and
comprehension. A sample of these forms are shown in
Appendix D1 and D2.
2) Phil-IRI Form 4: Talaan ng Indibidwal
na Pagbabasa / Individual Summary
Record (ISR)
This form summarizes the
performance and level of each
learner in word reading and
comprehension in all the
administered Phil-IRI. It also
indicates the oral reading behaviors
exhibited by the student.
 Individual Summary Record (ISR)
Talaan ng Indibidwal na Pagbabasa (TIP)
Name: Age: Grade/Section: School: Teacher:
English: Filipino:

Legend: Ind- Independent; Ins- Instructional; Frus- Frustration

Oral Reading Observation Checklist:
Talaan ng mga Puna Habang Nagbabasa
C. General Directions for Administration: The Four Stages

There are four stages in the administration of the Phil-IRI.

Stage 1: Initial Screening Using the Phil-IRI Group Screening Test

Stage 2: Administration of the Phil-IRI Graded Passages (Pre-test)

Stage 3: Provision of Specialized Instruction/Intervention

Stage 4: Administration of the Phil-IRI Graded Passages (Post Test)

For SY 2018-2019, the Phil-IRI Group Screening Test (GST) in Filipino must be
administered to Grade 3 to 6 students while the GST in English must be administered
to the Grade 4 to 6 students on the first month of the school year. It is a 20-item
multiple choice test that the test takers must accomplish within 30 minutes. This
should be administered during class time. By the end of July, the learner must have
completed 2 tests (1 in English; 1 in Filipino).

Upon completion of the administration of the GST, the Class Reading Reports are
submitted to the Principal. These contain a summary of the students who performed
equal or above and below the cut-off score. Refer to Appendix B1, Form 1A: Talaan ng
Pangkatang Pagtatasa ng Klase (PPK) sa Phil-IRI for Filipino or Appendix B2, Form 1B:
Class Reading Report (CRR) for English.
Step 1: Determine the Starting Point of Graded Passages.
The first passage that the child should be asked to read aloud
must depend on the child’s raw score in the GST.
a. If the child’s raw score in the GST is 0-7, he/she must be
given a passage that is 3 grade levels below his current level.
b. If the child’s raw score in the GST is 8-13, he/she must be
given a passage that is 2 grades below his current level.

To illustrate, if Pedro, a 5th grader, garnered a Raw Score of

6/20 in the Filipino GST, the first selection that he must be
asked to read should be at 2nd grade level. Once the first
selection to be read has been identified, the test administrator
is ready for Step 2.
Step 2: For each passage, compute scores in Word Reading and
Comprehension to identify student’s Reading Levels (pages 21-
29 details the procedures for computing the Word Reading and
Comprehension scores).
Using these graded passages, the test administrator must find
the student’s independent, instructional and frustration levels.
Awareness of a child’s reading levels can help the teacher
identify materials that are suitable for developing the learner’s
reading skills.
STAGE 2a:
After administering the Oral Reading Test, if there is a need to describe the
performance of the child when the reading task is lifted (i.e. especially when the
students have been identified to be non-readers), the Listening Comprehension Test
may be administered. The process of finding the independent, instructional and
frustration levels are the same except that the passages are no longer read by the
student and instead are read by the test administrator. After each selection has been
listened to, the test administrator reads the multiple choice questions that the
students must respond to orally.
STAGE 2b:
After administering the Listening Comprehension Test, if there
is a need to describe the performance of the child when doing
the reading task on his/her own, the Silent Reading
Comprehension Test may be administered. The process of
finding the independent, instructional and frustration levels are
the same except that the time it takes for the student to finish
reading each passage is recorded by the test administrator.
After each selection has been read, the test administrator
reads the multiple choice questions that the students must
respond to orally.
STAGE 3: Provision of Specialized Instruction/Reading Intervention
Once all the data describing the child’s reading performance has been gathered, the
teacher may use this information to design an intervention program (i.e. remedial
reading pro
(see Appendix H for a full discussion of the Handbook on Suggested Intervention)gram)
or adjust classroom instruction.
STAGE 4: Administration of the Phil-IRI Graded Passages
(Posttest)
After receiving specialized instruction, the students will be re-
assessed using the Phil-IRI Posttest Forms. The Phil-IRI Posttests
have a total of 4 parallel sets (SETS A-D) that the test-
administrator can choose from. Using these graded passages,
the test administrator must again identify the student’s
independent, instructional and frustration levels. The posttest
results may be compared with the pre-test results.