The Express Steps materials partially meet the expectations for alignment to research-based practices and standards for foundational skills instruction. 

The materials include a defined scope and sequence for letter recognition and instructions on explicit letter formation. The materials include a scope and sequence hyperlinked to the lessons within the Teacher Planner. On the Teacher’s Platform, Steps 1-5, Phonological Awareness, there is a Phonological/Phonemic Awareness Map containing a phonological awareness scope and sequence for the Daily Dos. Materials do not contain a clear, evidence-based explanation for the expected sequence of phonemic awareness skills. Phonemic awareness skills do not align consistently with the phonics focus for the week. While there is no complete sequence of phonemic awareness tied to the phonics scope and sequence, phonics lessons generally begin with phoneme instruction and link the grapheme. The materials include limited systematic and explicit instruction in phonemic awareness. Most lessons include some instruction but primarily student practice with limited explicit instruction. The materials provide regular and systematic assessment opportunities over the course of the year in phonemic awareness, providing check-ups, formal assessments, and sound fluency assessments.

The materials do not contain elements of instruction that are based on the three-cueing system for teaching decoding. The materials provide a scope and sequence of phonics skills; however, an evidence-based explanation for the order of the phonics sequence is absent. The materials contain opportunities for systematic teaching of phonics; however, the lessons do not consistently provide explicit instruction. The materials include blending and segmenting, but routines are inconsistent or defined for the teacher. The use of dictation is inconsistent across materials, and no consistent routine is explicitly modeled. The materials provide guidance in the modification section of the lesson plan but do not provide guidance for corrective feedback. Materials provide decodable texts aligned to the phonics focus of each week of instruction. Materials include formal assessments, Check-Ups, and Practice Pages for teachers to use in collecting ongoing data about students’ progress in phonics.

The materials include systematic and explicit instruction of high-frequency words. Lessons include teacher modeling of the spelling and reading of high-frequency words, which includes connecting phonemes to graphemes. The materials include student practice for identifying and reading high-frequency words in isolation and context; however, students have limited opportunities to write high-frequency words in tasks. The materials include limited explicit instruction in word analysis.

The materials include frequent opportunities for explicit, systematic instruction in automaticity and accuracy using phonics books and decodable texts. Students have multiple practice opportunities for reading fluency through a variety of reading activities. The materials do not include formal assessments; limited informal assessment opportunities are provided to assess students’ reading fluency.