Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7czq Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T03:35:44.776Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Trends in spelling standards, 1978–2004: A South Australian study

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 October 2015

Peter Westwood  and
Kerry Bissaker
Peter Westwood
Affiliation:
University of Hong Kong
Kerry Bissaker*
Affiliation:
Flinders University of South Australia
*
Beco da Perola, Caesar Fortune Tower 2 Flat 9k, Taipa, Macau E-mail: [email protected]
Get access

Abstract

This paper reports information from three separate large-scale surveys of students' spelling achievement in South Australian schools. The data were collected over a period of twenty-six years. Changes in spelling standards are discussed, with particular reference to the possible impaa that changes in teaching methods may have on children's spelling ability. The instrument used for testing was the South Australian Spelling Test (SAST).

Keywords

SpellingSpelling testsSpelling achievementLiteracy testingAustralia
Type
Research Article
Information
The Educational and Developmental Psychologist , Volume 22 , Issue 1 , 2005 , pp. 65 - 76
Copyright
Copyright © Australian Psychological Society 2005

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Commonwealth of Australia (1997). Literacy standards in Australia. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service.Google Scholar
Davies, A. & Ritchie, D. (1996). Teaching Handwriting, Reading and Spelling Skills (THRASS).London: Harper Collins.Google Scholar
de Lemos, M. (2005). Nelson’s inquiry into reading instruction. Learning Difficulties Australia Bulletin, 37, 1, 6.Google Scholar
Department of Education and Children’s Services (SA) (1995). Explicit teaching for early literacy learning. The Cornerstones Project: Study Guide, Readings and Resource Folio. Adelaide: DECS.Google Scholar
Freppon, P.A. & Dahl, K. (1998). Balanced instruction: Insights and considerations. Reading Research Quarterly, 33, 2, 240–251.Google Scholar
Goodman, K.S. (1989). Whole language is whole: A responseto Heymsfeld. Educational Leadership, 46, 6, 69–70.Google Scholar
Hoffman, J.V. & McCarthey, S.J. (2000). Our principles and our practices. In Hoffman, J.V. Baumann, J. & Afflerbach, P. Balancing principles for teaching elementary reading (pp.11–58). Mahwah NJ: Erlbaum.Google Scholar
House of Representatives Standing Committee on Employment Education and Training. (1992). The literacy challenge: Strategies for early intervention for literacy and learning for Australian children. Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service.Google Scholar
IRA (International Reading Association) (2002). Examining the evidence. Reading Today, 20, 1, 1–4.Google Scholar
Leech, G., Rayson, P. & Wilson, A. (2001). Word frequencies in written and spoken English. Harlow: Longman-Pearson Educational.Google Scholar
McIntyre, E. & Pressle, M. (1996). Balanced instruction: strategies and skills in whole language. Norwood, MA: Christopher-Gordon.Google Scholar
National Reading Panel (US) (2000). Teaching children to read: an evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction. Washington, DC: National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. http://www.nichd.nih.gov/publications/pubslist.cfm#RR Google Scholar
Peters, M.L. (1970). Success in spelling. Cambridge: Cambridge Institute of Education.Google Scholar
Pressley, M. (2002). Reading instruction that works: The case for balanced teaching (2nd ed.). New York: Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Reading Reform Foundation (2003). Newsletter 50, Spring Term, (online) http://www.rrf.org.uk. Google Scholar
Reading Reform Foundation (2005). The Australian Scene, (online) http://www.rrf.org.uk/the%20australian%20scene.htm Google Scholar
Schonell, FJ. (1958). The essentials of teaching and testing spelling. London: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Schonell, F.J, & Schonell, F.E. (1960). Diagnostic and attainment testing (4th ed.). Edinburgh: Oliver & Boyd.Google Scholar
Scibior, O. (1985). Leaning to spell. In Newman, J.M. (Ed.) Whole language theory in use. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.Google Scholar
Spencer, K. (2002). English spelling and its contribution to illiteracy: Word difficulty for common English words. Reading, Literacy and language, 36, 1,16–25.Google Scholar
Wang, M.C., Haertel, G.D. & Walberg, H.J. (1993). What helps students learn? Educational Leadership, 51, 4, 74–79.Google Scholar
Weaver, C. (1994). Understanding whole language: From principles to practice (2nd ed). Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann.Google Scholar
Westwood, RS. (1979). Helping children with spelling difficulties. Adelaide: Education Department of South Australia.Google Scholar
Westwood, P.S. (1994). Spelling achievement of students in Sout Australian Government Schools: 1978 and 1993. Report to the Minister for Education, Government of South Australia. Adelaide.Google Scholar
Westwood, P.S. (2005). Spelling: Approaches to teaching and assessment (2nd ed.). Melbourne: Australian Council for Educational Research.Google Scholar
Wilkinson, L. (1994). Letters to the Editor. The Advertiser Newspaper (Adelaide). 12 April 1994.Google Scholar