Arkansas Foundations of Reading Test (FORT) 2026 - Free FORT Practice Questions and Study Guide

The emergent stage is indeed the correct choice because it is during this early phase of literacy development that children start to gain a foundational understanding of print concepts, such as recognizing that words are made up of letters and that texts carry meaning. During this stage, children engage with books and print in various ways, including pretending to read or re-telling stories they have heard, which helps them build awareness of the structure and function of written language.

In contrast, the fluency stage, which follows the emergent stage, focuses on the rapid and efficient reading of texts, building on previously developed print concepts. The phonemic awareness stage specifically targets the ability to recognize and manipulate sounds in spoken language, which is crucial for later reading but does not directly address the concepts of print. The proficient reading stage is characterized by strong comprehension and reading skills but occurs after the foundational concepts of print have already been established in the earlier stages.