A Case Against Spelling Tests

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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. 💚

Episode Transcript

(00:11):
Hey there, friends! Welcome backto Dyslexia Decoded with Teacher
Maggie, where we challenge theway we think about learning,
especially for our incredibledyslexic thinkers.
Today, I'm tackling a topic thatmight make some teachers and
parents do a double take.
Spelling tests are a completewaste of time.

(00:33):
I know, I know.
Spelling tests are practically achildhood rite of passage.
But what if I told you thatresearch and real life
experience shows that they don'tactually help kids become better
spellers?
In fact, for many kids,especially dyslexic learners,
they do more harm than good.

(00:54):
Can you imagine taking a testwith 20 words every week and
maybe getting three or fourright?
after studying all week long,every single night, putting way
too much time into memorizingthe spelling of a list of words,
still to fail that Friday?
It doesn't feel good.
And they make accommodationslike, Oh, well then, okay, they

(01:16):
could do 10 words instead of 20.
Or maybe if we could just dofive words.
How does it feel that everyonein the class knows that you're
only doing five words whilethey're doing 20?
and it's still not helping yourstudent 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 aboutwhy spelling tests don't work.

(01:39):
What will actually help yourchild learn to spell and simple
practical ways to build spellingconfidence at home.
So growing up, school was hard.
I mean, I regularly call ittraumatizing.
But my parents, bless them,wanted to help in any way they

(02:01):
could.
They knew I struggled, but backthen, they didn't know I had
dyslexia, or even what dyslexiawas, or what to look for.
So, they thought, hey, let'shelp Marguerite pass those
spelling tests.
The deal is simple, if I got 100percent on my test, I get a
dollar.
And let me tell you, I wantedthat dollar.

(02:23):
I never earned very manydollars, but I worked really
hard.
I studied so hard, way harderthan the other kids.
I knew I was working harder thanthem.
I was writing the words over andover again.
I was laying awake in bed atnight, going over words in my
head, covering up the list andtrying to recall them.
And guess what?
Some weeks I nailed it.
I would get a perfect score onmy spelling test.

(02:44):
I felt like a rock star.
asked me to spell those samewords a week later in my actual
writing?
Gone.
Poof.
Like they never existed.
even now, I still doubt myselfwhen spelling certain words.
In some words, I just plaincan't spell.
Caesare, definitely, definitelynecessary.

(03:06):
I can't spell those words andthere are several others that
haunt me They just won't stickin my brain in the right order.
And I've accepted that, and I'mokay with it.
I'll just spell it wrong, ortake way too long looking it up,
because those are words thatspellcheck can't do.
Doesn't like how I spell them tothe point where I just can't
figure them out.

(03:27):
So, you know you're dyslexicwhen spell check can't help you.
So, let's look at the researchand why spelling tests don't
work.
Memorization does not equallearning.
Kids can cram words into theirshort term memory for Friday's
test and forget them by Monday.

(03:49):
this is dyslexic kids, ADHDkids, neurotypical kids.
They can cram them in theirheads.
Get an A, ace that test, right?
Feel really good about it.
But then by Monday, they'regone.
Spelling tests don't teachstrategies.
They test what kids canmemorize, not how they can think
about words.

(04:10):
Spelling in the real worldwriting.
Spelling is about patterns, notword lists.
Spelling makes way more sensewhen kids understand why words
are spelled the way they are.
For dyslexic learners whoalready struggle with rote
memorization, traditionalspelling tests are like trying

(04:30):
to build a house without afoundation.
It just doesn't hold up.
So what actually works?
Here's what we do differentlywith the Strong Minds Method.
Instead of memorizing lists, wedive into prefixes and suffixes.
Why hopping has two P's andhoping doesn't.

(04:52):
We look at the word roots, theetymology.
Knowing that SPECT means to see,helps with words like inspect
and inspector.
tricky sounds.
If a word ends in us, as thesuffix us, and the word is not
bonus, focus, hocus pocus.

(05:13):
It's probably an O U S, us, mostof the time.
Understanding the why behindspelling will finally make it
stick.
We use orthographic mapping.
This is how our brain reallylearns a spell, by etching.
I always explain it like etchingwords into a stone.

(05:36):
And if you're carving onto astone and you go over and over
and over that carving, the moretimes you go over, The deeper
the carving, the deeper it'singrained.
So going over and over words andthe tricky parts of words can
get them locked in our brain.
So instead of memorizing fullword lists, we focus on fewer
words and the tricky parts andmaybe words that share the same

(05:59):
roots or the same prefixBreaking down our words into
syllables.
Can you hear the differentsyllables?
Breaking the syllables down intodifferent sounds.
When a student is writing, ifthey can say the sound, while
they write each phoneme, thephoneme is the sound within the
word, they can see it, say it,hear it, do it, all at the same

(06:23):
time.
This is so powerful for buildingphonemic awareness and making
things stick in their brain,like scratching deeper into that
orthographic mapping.
Sometimes, a fun trick is justsaying the word.
Like, mixed up words likeWednesday, Wed nes day.
Instead of people, people.

(06:45):
I learned from a Jim Carreymovie.
Beautiful, have a B E A utifulday.
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 themistake, but then show them

(07:06):
where to go in and fix it.
If you make a mistake and fixit, your brain learns better
than if someone just tells you,Oh, this is how you spell the
word.
They're not going to rememberbut if they make a mistake, they
listen to the sound that theyhad trouble with, they rewrite
it, they say it while they writeit, they then use it immediately

(07:29):
in a sentence, it's going tostick so much better.
That's kind of the StrongMindsmethod in a nutshell there.
Actionable tips.
So what can you do?
If you're thinking, okay, sowhat do I do instead of spelling
tests?
Here are a few simple swaps.

(07:50):
You can teach spelling incontext.
Instead of drilling words, teachspelling patterns during writing
and reading.
as a third grade teacher, we hadour writing notebooks, and in
the back of the notebook, theywould have a dictionary.
They would keep a list of wordsthey actually use, write them
there, and when they needed tofind the word, they could just
look.
The more times they have to golook it up and write it out, it

(08:11):
does get a little easier andeasier to spell it right.
Before I had them write it intheir, dictionary in the back of
their notebook, I would go overthe strong lines method with
them, breaking it intosyllables, breaking it into
sounds.
Spelling it how they think it'sspelled, making corrections, and
then once they have it right,they can go write it in their
dictionary.

(08:32):
just making the words accessibleto them, but the words they
actually use and not drillingfocus on the tricky parts.
We're not memorizing the wholeword.
if you have a five syllable wordand you're trying to memorize
the letters in order, That takesa lot of brain space, but if you
break it into syllables and intosounds, spell it how you think
it's spelled, and you realize,oh, in this big old word,

(08:53):
there's only one or two soundsthat I made a mistake on that
maybe weren't spelled the waythey sound.
I can remember one or twothings, especially if I use it
right away, it'll stick.
You can use games to just makespelling fun.
You use Scrabble, Bananagrams,Different word games, to
encourage practice in a light,easy way.

(09:16):
encourage real world writing.
Let kids write out your grocerylist.
Write letters to family members.
Thank you notes need to comeback in style.
They can keep a journal or a todo list.
And make it multi sensory.
Get creative with sand writing,letter tiles, movement based
activities.

(09:36):
As any type of input andpractice is going to make a real
difference.
So I know that figuring outspelling strategies can feel
overwhelming.
I've put together a free phonicsrules guide just for you, just
for my listeners.
It's a quick, easy reference forparents and teachers to
understand the patterns behindspelling.

(09:58):
You can grab it by heading downto the notes below and clicking
the link.
So friends, it's time to movepast the old school spelling
test and into real spellinginstruction.
If today's episode made yourethink how you approach
spelling, share it with a fellowparent or teacher.

(10:20):
And if you try one of thesestrategies, I'd love to hear
about it.
Send me a message or tag me onsocial media.
Until next time, keepencouraging those amazing
dyslexic minds.
And remember, spelling is aboutunderstanding, not memorization.

(10:41):
See you next week!