The Development of Spelling Skills

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to identify the types of misspellings made in student writing during the first eight years of school, to determine at what grade level these problems emerged, and to identify any developmental changes in the kinds of errors committed over the years. Among some of the important findings were the facts that the total number of spelling errors increases from the first grade through the fourth and then begins to decline. The deletion of letters is by far the major problem area, accounting for practically 40% of the errors throughout the eight years. Although the percentage of vowel deletions declines steadily, the percentage of consonant deletions, even though erratic, remains relatively high. The article concludes with an explanation of the results and ideas for future research.