A Factor Analytic Study of the Ability to Spell

Allen, Doris V.; Ager, Joel W.

doi:10.1177/001316446502500117

Cited by 17 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…Because proofreading or error recognition items are used in most standardized spelling tests (Shores & Yee, 1973), several investigators have examined the relationship between multiple-choice proofreading spelling tests and their dictation counterparts involving written spellings as responses. Allen and Ager (1965) found factor analytic evidence suggesting that spelling ability is a unitary skill and reported high intercorrelations among four methods of testing spelling, one of which was proofreading. Allred (1984), comparing a proofreading spelling test with a dictation spelling test, reported correlations ranging from .63 to .85.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Proofreading on Spelling: How Reading Misspelled and Correctly Spelled Words Affects Spelling Accuracy

Bradley

King

1992

Journal of Reading Behavior

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The effects of proofreading on the spelling accuracy of fifth-grade students were studied by having them read and detect errors in text containing misspelled words. The treatment involved an error detection task requiring a decision as to whether an underlined stimulus word embedded in a sentence was correctly spelled or misspelled. Serving as their own controls, the students were exposed to three spelling exposure frequency conditions during the proofreading treatment: (a) four exposures to a misspelling, (b) two exposures to a misspelling and two exposures to the correct spelling, and (c) four exposures to the correct spelling. The students proofread two types of spelling words in terms of sound-spelling correspondence; half were predictable and half were unpredictable. The major finding was that exposure to correctly spelled words did improve spelling accuracy for immediate and delayed posttests. Exposure to misspelled words did not significantly affect the spelling accuracy of the sample as a whole, but the accuracy of a few outliers was substantially impaired. Unpredictable words were found more difficult to spell than predictable words. No interaction was found between spelling ability and spelling accuracy improvement as the result of proofreading correctly spelled words; poor spellers improved as much as average and good spellers. Goodman (1984) has suggested that people read texts for a variety of purposes, and that with the exception of some forms of ritualistic reading, all forms of reading involve an attempt by the reader to make sense of the text. Proofreading is a form of reading that is typically associated with either the revision process of writing or spelling assessment and instruction. Although proofreading for spelling errors in a 413

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confidence: 99%

Effects of Proofreading on Spelling: How Reading Misspelled and Correctly Spelled Words Affects Spelling Accuracy

Bradley

King

1992

Journal of Reading Behavior

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“…Further, the importance of spelling instruction and learning has been shown through a factor-analytic study by Allen and Ager (1965), who found that &dquo;spelling is an independent skill and should receive specific attention and instruction in the school curriculum [p. 159 . & d q u o ;Yee, Shores, and Baker (1972, in press) recently proposed a highly involved program of research and development to implement a modern spelling program.…”

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confidence: 99%

Spelling Achievement Tests: What Is Available and Needed?

Shores¹,

Yee²

1973

J Spec Educ

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“…Studies from English-speaking countries have consistently reported high correlations between spelling skills and performance in proofreading tasks from elementary to secondary school (Allen & Ager, 1965;Allred, 1984;Croft, 1982;Freyberg, 1970;Frisbie & Cantor, 1995;Westwood, 1999). The two available studies from German-speaking countries, both of which focus on secondary-school children, yielded similar results (Lenhart et al, 2019;Schneider et al, 2014).…”

Section: Research Rationale and Hypothesesmentioning

confidence: 81%

“…Nearly a century ago, Guiler (1929) compared different types of spelling test methods, for example, a multiple-choice test with one correctly spelled version out of four different incorrect spellings of a word. A factor analysis by Allen and Ager (1965) found no difference between tasks measuring the active and passive component of spelling, that is, scores obtained in both tasks were highly correlated and loaded on a single factor. Freyberg (1970) compared three different spelling tasks (free writing, dictation, and error detection multiplechoice tests) for secondary-school students from New Zealand.…”

Section: Measurement Of Spelling Competencies and Validity Of Edtsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spelling Error Detection

Endlich

Richter

Marx

et al. 2020

Zeitschrift für Entwicklungspsychologie und Pädagogische Psycho

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Abstract. The ability to spell words correctly is a key competence for educational and professional achievement. Economical procedures are essential to identifying children with spelling problems as early as possible. Given the strong evidence showing that reading and spelling are based on the same orthographic knowledge, error-detection tasks (EDTs) could be considered such an economical procedure. Although EDTs are widely used in English-speaking countries, the few studies in German-speaking countries investigated only pupils in secondary school. The present study investigated N = 1,513 children in elementary school. We predicted spelling competencies (measured by dictation or gap-fill dictation) based on an EDT via linear regression. Error-detection abilities significantly predicted spelling competencies ( R² between .509 and .679), indicating a strong connection. Predictive values in identifying children with poor spelling abilities with an EDT proved to be sufficient. Error detection for the assessment of spelling skills is therefore a valid instrument for transparent languages as well.

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A Factor Analytic Study of the Ability to Spell

Cited by 17 publications

References 1 publication

Effects of Proofreading on Spelling: How Reading Misspelled and Correctly Spelled Words Affects Spelling Accuracy

Effects of Proofreading on Spelling: How Reading Misspelled and Correctly Spelled Words Affects Spelling Accuracy

Spelling Achievement Tests: What Is Available and Needed?

Spelling Error Detection

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