9- Spelling Assessments
First Assessment: Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening - PALS
Source: http://pals.virginia.edu/
This assessment, developed in the University of Virginia by Marcia Invernizzi, Joanne Meier and Connie Juel focuses in three areas: Spelling, Letter-Sound knowledge and oral reading. The evaluations have different levels and are created for Pre-K, Kindergarten and 1st to 8th grade students. The spelling test for grades 1-8, for example, consists on a spelling inventory containing 28 words. These results are evaluated with other assessments, such as word recognition in isolation, thus providing a more complex view of the students’ progress and abilities.
The tests are administered on an individual or small group basis on spring and fall, and while there is not a set time for the tests, it is recommended to have them done within two weeks.
This test is adopted by public schools in Virginia, so test analysis is abundant and gathered on a regular basis. It is considered a criterion-referenced, formal assessment. Its reliability measures have been collected since 1997, which makes it a solid, reliable form of assessment.
Click here for a sample of K assessment material (spelling test on page 18).
Click here for a sample of 1st -8th grade assessment material (spelling test on page 6).
Click here_ for the PALS Technical Reference Guide
Second Assessment: Words their Way Spelling Inventories (WTW)
Source: http://www.pearsonschool.com/index.cfm?locator=PSZw84&PMDbSiteId=2781&PMDbSolutionId=6724&PMDbSubSolutionId=&PMDbCategoryId=3289&PMDbSubCategoryId=28139&PMDbSubjectAreaId=&PMDbProgramId=82341
This well-known inventory assesses the learner’s spelling skills, addressing four stages of development: Emergent, Latter Name-Alphabetic, Within Word Pattern and Syllables and Affixes. The test administrator will say the words to be spelled one by one, while students write them down on a paper. There are different levels of spelling inventories that are used as the basis for assessment, ranging from all-Elementary grades inventory (Elementary Spelling Inventory), one for K-3 grades (Primary Spelling Inventory) and one for 5-12 grades (Upper-Level Spelling Inventory).
This evaluation is designed to allow teachers to determine students’ placement, so WTW can be used as a pre-assessment, or later on as a formative or summative assessment. The assessment takes approximately 10 minutes, but the scoring of each student’s answers may take 15 to 20 minutes depending on the test scorer. The 2007 Center for Research in Educational Policy used test results from 10,902 students, and it states that the WTW inventories score results can be positively related with standardized tests in California and that the validity of each one of the three assessment levels were reliable tools for the evaluation of spelling.
Click here for the reliability and validity analysis.
Click here for a sample of the Elementary Spelling Inventory assessment.
Click here for a WTW assessment guide.
First Assessment: Phonological Awareness Literacy Screening - PALS
Source: http://pals.virginia.edu/
This assessment, developed in the University of Virginia by Marcia Invernizzi, Joanne Meier and Connie Juel focuses in three areas: Spelling, Letter-Sound knowledge and oral reading. The evaluations have different levels and are created for Pre-K, Kindergarten and 1st to 8th grade students. The spelling test for grades 1-8, for example, consists on a spelling inventory containing 28 words. These results are evaluated with other assessments, such as word recognition in isolation, thus providing a more complex view of the students’ progress and abilities.
The tests are administered on an individual or small group basis on spring and fall, and while there is not a set time for the tests, it is recommended to have them done within two weeks.
This test is adopted by public schools in Virginia, so test analysis is abundant and gathered on a regular basis. It is considered a criterion-referenced, formal assessment. Its reliability measures have been collected since 1997, which makes it a solid, reliable form of assessment.
Click here for a sample of K assessment material (spelling test on page 18).
Click here for a sample of 1st -8th grade assessment material (spelling test on page 6).
Click here_ for the PALS Technical Reference Guide
Second Assessment: Words their Way Spelling Inventories (WTW)
Source: http://www.pearsonschool.com/index.cfm?locator=PSZw84&PMDbSiteId=2781&PMDbSolutionId=6724&PMDbSubSolutionId=&PMDbCategoryId=3289&PMDbSubCategoryId=28139&PMDbSubjectAreaId=&PMDbProgramId=82341
This well-known inventory assesses the learner’s spelling skills, addressing four stages of development: Emergent, Latter Name-Alphabetic, Within Word Pattern and Syllables and Affixes. The test administrator will say the words to be spelled one by one, while students write them down on a paper. There are different levels of spelling inventories that are used as the basis for assessment, ranging from all-Elementary grades inventory (Elementary Spelling Inventory), one for K-3 grades (Primary Spelling Inventory) and one for 5-12 grades (Upper-Level Spelling Inventory).
This evaluation is designed to allow teachers to determine students’ placement, so WTW can be used as a pre-assessment, or later on as a formative or summative assessment. The assessment takes approximately 10 minutes, but the scoring of each student’s answers may take 15 to 20 minutes depending on the test scorer. The 2007 Center for Research in Educational Policy used test results from 10,902 students, and it states that the WTW inventories score results can be positively related with standardized tests in California and that the validity of each one of the three assessment levels were reliable tools for the evaluation of spelling.
Click here for the reliability and validity analysis.
Click here for a sample of the Elementary Spelling Inventory assessment.
Click here for a WTW assessment guide.