at what age do most children achieve adult level of spelling? (question for teachers)

[SharpPencil]

My dds are aged 11 and 13. both are bright, good readers and above average at writing. however, their spelling is not always as accurate as i would've imagined it would be, given their competence in other areas (no signs of dyslexia, btw).

so...my question is if, you are going to be an adult with good spelling, at what age is this evident? at what age would you expect to cease seeing year on year improvements with spelling, and be deemed to have attained your 'adult' level'?

obviously, if one studies the etymology of words etc I imagine spelling could improve at quite an advanced age. but in general, which school year would you say that spelling is as a good as it's going to get?
TIA

I am an English teacher and would say, on average, Year 10.

But students who want to improve their spelling can carry on working and improving right up to the end of Year 13.

If the conservatives win next month then the new styles of GCSE and A Level for all subjects will carry some marks for quality of written English which will mean non-English teachers paying attention to spelling, etc. and students having a reason to pay more attention to accuracy in this area.

From a non secondary teacher perspective I felt like I didn't gain adult spelling capabilities until i was in my second year of university!

I'm not a teacher, but our 13 year old DD has embarrassingly been able to spell better than us for a year or so (DH has a degree and I used to be a legal secretary, so you'd think we're a fair standard)!! She's at a comp in second set for English.

Spelling can improve all one's life. I don't really "get" the OP.

By the age of 12 many children have what is regarded as 'adult' spelling ability. It depends on what they struggle with. If they have problems with everyday words that are regular and they have been taught, using phonics, then I'd be concerned and thinking about mild dyslexia. If they struggle with unusual words where most of us would need to check the spelling then that's not an issue and is normal.

Where I come from (EU country) it is generally expected that perfect spelling should be in place by the end of primary school.

But then spelling is actively taught and practiced throughout primary school (as is grammar) so that helps.

thanks very much, Happy. Of course, i realise that many children are excellent spellers by 12, but i am interested in general patterns rather than anecdotal stuff, iyswim :) (but thanks for the anecdotal posts, none the less!)

Bonsior, what's not to 'get'? One might ask the same question about reading fluency too. one can test for reading and spelling 'ages', so I'm interested in the typical point at which children's progress with spelling stops getting measured by these childhood levels, i guess. (without very specific instruction in this area). sure, for some it is age 12-13 or younger, but does a typical 13-16 yo experience improving spelling as part of their academic development?

shayne, the thing with the english language is that we have a much more complex alphabetic code than, say, spanish which i understand has a very simple sound/ symbol correspondence...so i do't think one can compare at all, unless english is the first language.