A Case Against Spelling Tests

Are spelling tests actually helping kids become better spellers? 🤔 Spoiler alert: They’re not! In this episode of Dyslexia Decoded with Teacher Maggie, we’re diving into the research behind why traditional spelling tests are ineffective—especially for dyslexic learners—and what we should be doing instead.

I share my own struggles with spelling tests, why memorizing words for a test doesn’t translate to real-world spelling skills, and how the brain actually learns to spell. Plus, I’ll walk you through practical, science-backed strategies that make spelling stick—without the frustration!

🎧 Tune in for:

✅ Why spelling tests fail (and the research to prove it!)

✅ My personal story of studying way too hard for tests that didn’t help

✅ The StrongMinds Method for teaching spelling the right way

✅ Actionable tips for parents to make spelling fun and effective

✅ A FREE phonics rules guide to help your child master spelling patterns!

💾 Grab your free Phonics Rules Guide here: subscribepage.io/TSD8qM

Let’s rethink how we teach spelling and empower kids to become confident, capable spellers! Don’t forget to subscribe and share this episode with a fellow parent or teacher! 🎙️✏️ #DyslexiaDecoded #SpellingWithoutStress

Thank you for listening to Dyslexia Decoded! Remember, every journey begins with a single step, and progress always beats perfection.

Subscribe so you never miss an episode, and if you found this story inspiring, please share it with someone who might need to hear it.

Until next time, stay strong, stay curious, and stay fearless. 💚

Transcript

0:11

Hey there, friends! Welcome back to Dyslexia Decoded with Teacher Maggie, where we challenge the way we think about learning, especially for our incredible dyslexic thinkers. Today, I'm tackling a topic that might make some teachers and parents do a double take. Spelling tests are a complete waste of time. I know, I know. Spelling tests are practically a childhood rite of passage. But what if I told you that research and real life experience shows that they don't actually help kids become better spellers? In fact, for many kids, especially dyslexic learners, they do more harm than good. Can you imagine taking a test with 20 words every week and maybe getting three or four right? after studying all week long, every single night, putting way too much time into memorizing the spelling of a list of words, still to fail that Friday? It doesn't feel good. And they make accommodations like, Oh, well then, okay, they could do 10 words instead of 20. Or maybe if we could just do five words. How does it feel that everyone in the class knows that you're only doing five words while they're doing 20? and it's still not helping your student become a better speller. So what is the point? What is the purpose? let's look more at this today. today we're going to talk about why spelling tests don't work. What will actually help your child learn to spell and simple practical ways to build spelling confidence at home. So growing up, school was hard. I mean, I regularly call it traumatizing. But my parents, bless them, wanted to help in any way they could. They knew I struggled, but back then, they didn't know I had dyslexia, or even what dyslexia was, or what to look for. So, they thought, hey, let's help Marguerite pass those spelling tests. The deal is simple, if I got 100 percent on my test, I get a dollar. And let me tell you, I wanted that dollar. I never earned very many dollars, but I worked really hard. I studied so hard, way harder than the other kids. I knew I was working harder than them. I was writing the words over and over again. I was laying awake in bed at night, going over words in my head, covering up the list and trying to recall them. And guess what? Some weeks I nailed it. I would get a perfect score on my spelling test. I felt like a rock star. asked me to spell those same words a week later in my actual writing? Gone. Poof. Like they never existed. even now, I still doubt myself when spelling certain words. In some words, I just plain can't spell. Caesare, definitely, definitely necessary. I can't spell those words and there are several others that haunt me They just won't stick in my brain in the right order. And I've accepted that, and I'm okay with it. I'll just spell it wrong, or take way too long looking it up, because those are words that spellcheck can't do. Doesn't like how I spell them to the point where I just can't figure them out. So, you know you're dyslexic when spell check can't help you. So, let's look at the research and why spelling tests don't work. Memorization does not equal learning. Kids can cram words into their short term memory for Friday's test and forget them by Monday. this is dyslexic kids, ADHD kids, neurotypical kids. They can cram them in their heads. Get an A, ace that test, right? Feel really good about it. But then by Monday, they're gone. Spelling tests don't teach strategies. They test what kids can memorize, not how they can think about words. Spelling in the real world writing. Spelling is about patterns, not word lists. Spelling makes way more sense when kids understand why words are spelled the way they are. For dyslexic learners who already struggle with rote memorization, traditional spelling tests are like trying to build a house without a foundation. It just doesn't hold up. So what actually works? Here's what we do differently with the Strong Minds Method. Instead of memorizing lists, we dive into prefixes and suffixes. Why hopping has two P's and hoping doesn't. We look at the word roots, the etymology. Knowing that SPECT means to see, helps with words like inspect and inspector. tricky sounds. If a word ends in us, as the suffix us, and the word is not bonus, focus, hocus pocus. It's probably an O U S, us, most of the time. Understanding the why behind spelling will finally make it stick. We use orthographic mapping. This is how our brain really learns a spell, by etching. I always explain it like etching words into a stone. And if you're carving onto a stone and you go over and over and over that carving, the more times you go over, The deeper the carving, the deeper it's ingrained. So going over and over words and the tricky parts of words can get them locked in our brain. So instead of memorizing full word lists, we focus on fewer words and the tricky parts and maybe words that share the same roots or the same prefix Breaking down our words into syllables. Can you hear the different syllables? Breaking the syllables down into different sounds. When a student is writing, if they can say the sound, while they write each phoneme, the phoneme is the sound within the word, they can see it, say it, hear it, do it, all at the same time. This is so powerful for building phonemic awareness and making things stick in their brain, like scratching deeper into that orthographic mapping. Sometimes, a fun trick is just saying the word. Like, mixed up words like Wednesday, Wed nes day. Instead of people, people. I learned from a Jim Carrey movie. Beautiful, have a B E A utiful day. Oh, beautiful, B E A U. So, we can write. Trace, write, then use. We will write the tricky part, trace it, write it again, using it immediately. If you allow them to make the mistake, but then show them where to go in and fix it. If you make a mistake and fix it, your brain learns better than if someone just tells you, Oh, this is how you spell the word. They're not going to remember but if they make a mistake, they listen to the sound that they had trouble with, they rewrite it, they say it while they write it, they then use it immediately in a sentence, it's going to stick so much better. That's kind of the StrongMinds method in a nutshell there. Actionable tips. So what can you do? If you're thinking, okay, so what do I do instead of spelling tests? Here are a few simple swaps. You can teach spelling in context. Instead of drilling words, teach spelling patterns during writing and reading. as a third grade teacher, we had our writing notebooks, and in the back of the notebook, they would have a dictionary. They would keep a list of words they actually use, write them there, and when they needed to find the word, they could just look. The more times they have to go look it up and write it out, it does get a little easier and easier to spell it right. Before I had them write it in their, dictionary in the back of their notebook, I would go over the strong lines method with them, breaking it into syllables, breaking it into sounds. Spelling it how they think it's spelled, making corrections, and then once they have it right, they can go write it in their dictionary. just making the words accessible to them, but the words they actually use and not drilling focus on the tricky parts. We're not memorizing the whole word. if you have a five syllable word and you're trying to memorize the letters in order, That takes a lot of brain space, but if you break it into syllables and into sounds, spell it how you think it's spelled, and you realize, oh, in this big old word, there's only one or two sounds that I made a mistake on that maybe weren't spelled the way they sound. I can remember one or two things, especially if I use it right away, it'll stick. You can use games to just make spelling fun. You use Scrabble, Bananagrams, Different word games, to encourage practice in a light, easy way. encourage real world writing. Let kids write out your grocery list. Write letters to family members. Thank you notes need to come back in style. They can keep a journal or a to do list. And make it multi sensory. Get creative with sand writing, letter tiles, movement based activities. As any type of input and practice is going to make a real difference. So I know that figuring out spelling strategies can feel overwhelming. I've put together a free phonics rules guide just for you, just for my listeners. It's a quick, easy reference for parents and teachers to understand the patterns behind spelling. You can grab it by heading down to the notes below and clicking the link. So friends, it's time to move past the old school spelling test and into real spelling instruction. If today's episode made you rethink how you approach spelling, share it with a fellow parent or teacher. And if you try one of these strategies, I'd love to hear about it. Send me a message or tag me on social media. Until next time, keep encouraging those amazing dyslexic minds. And remember, spelling is about understanding, not memorization. See you next week!