Knowledge and Skills Statement
Use a checklist or a rubric that includes high-frequency words and spelling patterns the class has been taught. Students should not be penalized for words with patterns that have not been taught.
While spelling tests and dictation are easy to score, analyzing writing samples for spelling requires a rubric.
Sample rubric:
Mastery—80%+ of the words are spelled correctly
Approaching—60–79% of the words are spelled correctly
Intervention Needed—59% or less of the words are spelled correctly
Research
Bear, D. R. & Templeton, S. (1998). Explorations in developmental spelling: Foundations for learning and teaching phonics, spelling, and vocabulary. The Reading Teacher, 52(3), 222–242. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/20202044
Summary: Bear and Templeton address two broad questions in this article: What is our understanding of spelling development and how does this understanding fit within a broader model of literacy development? And what are the implications of the developmental model for spelling instruction and word study?