Spelling error analysis performed on 27 dyslexic fourth to eighth graders and 27 normal second graders revealed no significant differences in phonetic accuracy, level of maturity, or incidence of serial order confusion. Findings did not support prevailing approaches characterizing dyslexic students as phonetically inaccurate spellers. (CL)

Investigates the differences in spelling error features among learning disabled and normal students across four grade levels of spelling achievement. Finds support for the theory of developmental word knowledge and for the position that learning disabled and normally achieving children acquire aspects of orthography in similar progressions. (RS)

Intended to provide a knowledge base for intervention and remediation, this report summarizes what is currently known about patterns of children's reading and spelling substitution errors, with an emphasis on specific examples of the kinds of mistakes actually made by students. Following an introduction, preface, and preparatory quotes, the report…

In a replication of an earlier study, the spellings produced by 47 learning disabled (LD) students (ages 7 to 11 years) were classified in terms of a hierarchy of spelling strategies presumed to result in conventional spelling. The developmental trends for the spelling strategies used by the LD Ss were compared to the trends previously observed…

An investigation of spelling proficiency at the grade four level (N=174) revealed (1) pronounced gender differences favoring females, (2) program differences for two grade four spelling programs, (3) standardized test differences, (4) psychometric inconsistencies between grade equivalent and standard scores, and (5) a distinct error pattern for…

Comparison of spelling errors of two groups of diagnosed learning disabled college students with a control group of fifth graders revealed different developmental scores, with spelling-only impaired LD students clearly discriminable from fifth graders. It was recommended that errors be examined for their information value. (CL)

Shows how error pattern analysis can be helpful with children learning to spell. (FL)

Two studies involved 21 reading disabled elementary students grouped as either dysphonetics (characterized by nonphonetic spelling errors) or dyseidetic readers (characterized by spelling words according to sound rather than appearance). Cognitive strategy differences were noted in visual sequential memory. Findings emphasized the importance of an…

Ten dyslexic boys and 10 matched controls were asked to draw a person and write a composition. The two groups are compared on time spent on tasks, number of words written, and proportions of spelling and grammatical errors. (SJL)

Examines whether dual-route models of spelling account for the misspellings of Spanish children of different educational levels. Finds that second graders relied heavily on phonological mediation, whereas eighth graders seemed to use a lexical strategy, and fourth-grade children showed an intermediate pattern. Finds support for dual-route spelling…

Describes a technique for use in detecting and correcting spelling difficulties. (FL)

Notes the existence of a collection of computer-readable files containing misspellings of English words, which is now available to researchers from the Oxford Text Archive in England. Describes the content of the collection. (FL)

Two studies of children learning to read (one before the introduction of phonics instruction, the other while phonics instruction was being given) found that error-target similarity increased with reading attainment. This suggests that while reading aloud, considerable knowledge of spelling develops independently of explicit use of phonics. (CMG)

This paper analyzes a typical school spelling task in terms of an information processing model of spelling performance. Based on principles embodied in a computer simulation program previously reported (SPEL by Simon and Simon) the model proposed here has been expanded to try to account for many more kinds of student error than were possible with…