The Spelling Ability Test was updated on 28/08/2020 - see revised teachers notes below.
View previous teachers notes.
Technical requirements
To take the Spelling Ability Test each student will need a computer with headphones and an internet connection. We advise supervising the student during the test to get an accurate result.
The Spelling Ability Test is used to:
Method of testing
The Spelling Ability Test is a series of words randomly drawn from three lists. It starts at a medium difficulty level and depending on the answers, will either get progressively more difficult or easier. Each word relates to a particular Spellzone unit, with at least two words representing every unit.
Spelling Ability Test Results
Results of the test are given in two ways:
NOTES: The test will give a general indication of spelling ability though the test is not intended to give an indication of spelling age.
How to turn Spelling Ability Test ON and OFF?
The default for NEW student logins is ON.
The Spelling Ability Tests for each student can be turned ON and OFF at any time by teachers and administrators in the admin area. Teachers, Administrators and single users can turn it on for their own login in ‘My details’
How long does the test take?
There are 110 questions in the full test however most students will answer less than 50 depending on their current level. This means that the test in most cases should take less than five minutes.
How often is the test taken?
Students cannot take the Spelling Ability Test at any time they feel like it. They can only access the test:
If the test is abandoned without being completed the student can continue later from the last point reached.
The Course Pathway
The Spelling Ability Test and the Course Pathway are linked.
If a student has a Course Pathway and the auto testing is disabled, then the Course Pathway is removed. All previous test results are retained in the student's results but a Course Pathway is not visible to the student until the auto-testing is re-activated.
If all words relating to a particular unit are answered correctly then the unit will not be included as part of the Course Pathway.
On the first attempt of the Spelling Ability Test some sections of the Spelling Course will be assigned instead of individual units. For example, instead of assigning the student two units out of units 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, they will instead be instead assigned this whole section. This also applies to Units 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 3 and 5. This is so that initially the student gets a broader overview and studies related topics rather than studying isolated units. When a student retakes the test however, they will be assigned individual units based on their answers.
If students are being assigned units repeatedly this might indicate an issue. It may indicate that the student is rushing through the units, is distracted or that further intervention is needed. We firstly recommend checking the students results to see if they are completing 'Learn the words' word list activities and also checking the results of the course tests. If they are not completing many word list activities you should advise the student to complete more of these activities to learn the words. If this doesn't resolve the issue, we would advise observing the student while they are completing a unit to better understand what is happening.
"Spellzone really is an incredibly simple, engaging and cost effective resource - it makes a big difference to literacy levels."
Millthorpe School, York
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