ESTA-L® 


ESTA-L® is an early literacy screening platform that has been developed by the Association of Independent Schools of NSW, to assist teachers to map students’ phonological and phonemic awareness and phonics skills. These constrained skills are fundamental to ensuring all children learn to read, particularly students in Kindergarten to Year 2.

The Association of Independent Schools of NSW will be discontinuing use of and support for ESTA-L® at the close of 2023. 

As we move away from using ESTA-L®, here are some suggestions for possible alternatives to support you in screening your students’ phonemic awareness and phonics skills. Throughout your transition away from ESTA-L®, AISNSW will continue to assist you with any queries you may have. 

Universal screeners that include measures of phonemic awareness and phonics 

The list below outlines some alternative assessments that include screening measures for phonemic awareness and/or phonics skills. Please note that this list of screening assessments is not exhaustive. Inclusion in this platform is not an endorsement by the Association of Independent Schools of NSW. It is advised that schools consider their own context and requirements before selecting external assessment tools and programs.  



Assessment
 


Areas Assessed
 

Details 

Acadience Reading
Phonemic awareness 
Phonics 

Online or paper-based  
Free download of materials 
Fee for online platform with Acadience Learning Online 

CUBED Dynamic 
Decoding Measures 
Phonemic Awareness 
Phonics 

Online or paper-based  
Free download of materials 
Fee for online platform CUBED Insight 

DIBELS 8th Edition
Phonemic awareness 
Phonics 

Online or paper-based  
Free download of materials 
Fee for online platform with Amplify 

Phonological Awareness Screening Test (PAST) 
Phonemic Awareness 

Free download of materials 

Year 1 Phonics Screener 
Phonics 

Online or paper-based  
Free, 7-minute assessment 


For all queries related to ESTA-L® please email esta-l@aisnsw.edu.au. 

Supporting Resources

For schools accessing ESTA-L®
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