Reading Assessment Programme

FFT’s Reading Assessment Programme is an easy‑to‑use literacy online assessment platform designed to help schools gain a clear and reliable picture of pupils’ reading development. The programme brings together a range of reading assessments, including phonics, decoding, reading fluency and reading age assessment tests, to support pupils across the primary phase and older learners working at a primary reading level.

The platform provides simple, insightful assessment for reading level information, helping teachers understand each pupil’s reading level and plan next steps with confidence.

Which skills does the FFT Reading Assessment Programme Assess?

Assessments are provided for a wide range of phonic providers. FFT’s Success for All Phonics Programme follows a Letters and Sounds sequence and is therefore suitable for Letters and Sounds schools whose specific SSP is not listed in the assessment menu. There is also a bespoke phonics assessment for students in KS2/3 with phonics gaps.

The assessments are designed to check pupils’ key reading skills, including GPC knowledge, blending, segmenting, decoding, reading fluency and comprehension. Each assessment focuses on the skills most appropriate for the pupil and the purpose of the test, ensuring that teachers receive a clear and reliable reading assessment tailored to individual needs.

What phonics assessments do you provide?

Assessments are provided for a wide range of phonic providers. FFT’s Success for All Phonics Programme follows a Letters and Sounds sequence and is therefore suitable for Letters and Sounds schools whose specific SSP is not listed in the assessment menu. There is also a bespoke phonics assessment for students in KS2/3 with phonics gaps.

What is the FFT Reading Test?

For students secure in their phonics, RAP provides the FFT Reading Test - a personalised, adaptive assessment that allows you to assess pupils on their decoding and fluency abilities with standardised scores and reading ages provided. It can be used for baselining and screening older pupils for reading interventions, as well as a summative assessment to track reading progress and impact of interventions/teaching.

How often you use the FFT reading assessment depends on the type of assessment, its purpose and the needs of your class or individual pupils.

For phonics, teachers typically use the assessment once per half‑term to check recent GPC acquisition and track early reading level development. Pupils in KS2 and older learners working at a primary reading level usually complete a reading assessment once per term, alongside baseline and end‑of‑year checks.

Assessments can also be used before and after interventions, or during an intervention cycle, to monitor progress and measure impact on decoding and reading fluency.

There is no limit to how often you can use RAP assessments — schools are free to run an assessment for reading level whenever it supports teaching and helps build an accurate picture of pupil progress.

RAP provides a range of instant, easy to interpret reports that allow you to quickly analyse data. Reports allow you to view data at year group, class and pupil level against the different reading skills assessed.

Emphasis is placed on GPC knowledge, decoding and fluency.

Analysis of the reports will inform whole class/year group trends and teaching gaps which will feed into teaching plans. Additionally, the reports will identify pupils who require additional phonics or reading intervention, such as FFT’s Tutoring with the Lightning Squad.

RAP also provides Word Correct Per Minute (WCPM) Scores, Standardised Scores, Reading Attainment Levels and Reading Fluency Ages for most assessments.

If your school already subscribes to FFT Success for All Phonics or FFT Tutoring with the Lightning Squad, you automatically have access to our Reading Assessment Programme as part of your subscription — completely free of charge.

If you’re not currently subscribed to either programme, you can purchase a FFT Reading Assessment Programme subscription on its own to access the full suite of FFT reading assessment tools, including phonics, decoding and reading fluency assessments.

Yes. FFT's Reading Assessment Programme is the dedicated reading assessment tool for schools using FFT Success for All Phonics, providing clear and reliable data on pupils’ phonics, decoding and reading fluency.

FFT Reading Assessment Programme also includes key reports and reading‑level insights that help inform planning and content use in FFT Tutoring with the Lightning Squad, ensuring that pupils receive targeted support based on accurate assessment for reading level information.