No Paper or Google Forms Spelling Tests

Ditch the Spelling Test

I’ve been asked how to turn off spell check (facepalm) for Google Forms to administer spelling tests. There are a few issues with this.

Do not fight technology, change what you do.

If spell check has made the spelling test obsolete, own it and let’s value spelling a different way. Same for math, calculators find the square roots of numbers. We literally stopped teaching students how to calculate square roots once technology made that manual skill obsolete.

“the assessment of spelling is crucial to the improvement of spelling.”

The other problem is that these tests are not effective. This article by the International Literacy Association calls for the the end of the traditional spelling test. [tweet]”The spelling test is a staple of classroom practice with little evidence it changes student spelling outcomes.”[/tweet]

Thus, a more useful assessment approach will seek to understand whether students can spell in authentic communicative tasks and which of the spelling knowledges they use successfully, and which they struggle with.

Link to Article

https://literacyworldwide.org/docs/default-source/where-we-stand/ila-teaching-and-assessing-spelling.pdf

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