Reading Instruction Competence Assessment (RICA) Practice Test

Which type of sight words refers to words that appear frequently in texts?

1. Irregular spelling words

2. High-frequency words

3. Content-area words

4. Phonetic words

The correct answer is: High-frequency words

High-frequency words are those that appear often in a wide range of texts. They are foundational for reading fluency because they make up a substantial portion of written material. Recognizing these words automatically allows readers to focus on comprehension and engage more readily with the text since they won't need to pause to decode familiar, commonly used words. This category includes words such as "the," "and," "is," and "it," which do not conform strictly to phonetic decoding but are essential for building fluent reading skills. In contrast, irregular spelling words may include words with unpredictable spelling patterns that learners often struggle with but do not necessarily appear with high frequency. Content-area words relate to specific subjects, like science or history vocabulary, and are not necessarily high-frequency in general texts. Phonetic words refer to those that can be sounded out according to standard phonetic rules, which can be different from words recognized by frequency in reading contexts.