Are spelling tests a good way to learn spellings?

[Niecie]

I ask as due to an administrative cock-up on the handover from infants to junior schools, I have just realised that my 7 yo DS is doing exactly the same spelling tests as he was doing this time last year. I have only just realised and having dug out his spelling book from last year it seems he is 25 weeks behind where he should be and is effectively repeating the same spellings as did this time last year. No wonder he is getting 10 out of 10 at home without practice and 9 or 10 out of 10 in class.

I have just been to see his teacher whose excuse was that he doesn't spell the words properly in his written work so it doesn't matter. I pointed out that he is not learning anything new or moving on and practising words he already knows is not helping with that.

She said there wasn't a higher group he could join as they didn't tie in with where he should be.

I thought I had seen on here that there was research to suggest that the ability to do spelling tests bears little relation to the ability of the child to spell properly in written work. Is that true?

It is true, Niecie, that there is a lot of research to suggest that spelling tests have little impact on a child's everyday spelling accuracy- and your DS seems to be a good example of this.

Repeating the words in more tests is not going to help him

Holding a child back because there is no higher group to move into is ridiculous and unethical.Do you know what level he's working at in literacy? He shuold be given spelling appropriate for this level, if indeed he shuold be given them at all, which is debatable.

If you want to kick up more fuss, you could ask what strategies she is employing to help your child transfer his skills to his everyday work. Also, you could ask why she thinks he is not applying them- is he rushing? is he forgetting? does she give him a chance once he's written to go back and check his work for spelling errors?- he may be rushing to get his ideas down, and then not being given an opp to redraft.

The fact that he's getting exactly the same spelling tests this year also suggests that they might be using some kind of scheme... you could ask if this is the case, and/ or also ask to see the policy.

But, imo, I would be less inclined to worry about getting your child to do harder tests, and more inclined to help him find a way of applying them to his work. But, of course, it's up to you!
Hope this helps.
Good luck.

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In my experience (primary teacher), spelling tests do not support a child's written work. Children learn to spell words in isolation for a particular spelling test, but it rarely transfers over into written work.

I hate sending home spelling lists and have long campaigned against it in schools where I've worked.

My dd2 aged 4.7 has just brought her first set of spellings home for homework to be learnt for a test next Friday I ask you.....bloody ridiculous!

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At DS's school the spelling tests are based on words they have been doing in their phonics lessons - which in turn they do written work practicising using them - so they all tie in together.

Don't know whether DS1 has improved his spelling with tests or not - as it was only discovered at the end of last term that hes probably in a lower group than he should be for spellings and phonics so he's been moved up this term - time will tell if we notice a difference - although he has brought home a much harder reading book today so hopefully it'll start challenging him a little more.

Thanks everybody. Some interesting points. I am going to see the Head I think - not just about the spellings but the fact that the teacher still doesn't seem to have any idea what DS's ability. I shall refer to some of the things you said and try and sound like I know what I am talking about.

Other children in the class seem to have similar troubles although not to the extent of DS.

I am not particularly bothered whether he does the harder spelling tests or not but if he has to do tests I rather he didn't keep repeating the same ones - there really is no point in that.

DS is in Yr 3 and has the reading age of a 9.5 yr old so he is gone beyond phonics work as such. The scheme the juniors are using now is based on the one they started in the infants (just introduced this in the juniors last term) so the first 400 spellings, starting in Yr1 are the 400 keywords and then I am not sure how they get the words to test. The children work through the sheets and their starting point depended on their reading ability initially. Even back then DS was held back half a term as he has bad handwriting (he's dyspraxic) not because he couldn't read or spell.

Lucycat - 4.7 is way too young for spellings. DS didn't start them until Yr 1. Surely half the class are still struggling to read let alone spell.