First Formal Spelling Test

Today I gave Sparkle her first formal spelling test. I started spelling with her last semester using "Spell to Write and Read," and did spelling quizzes with her. However, I decided to start this semester by giving her a formal spelling test, using the first diagnostic test in the back of the book. This spelling test is a carefully picked list of spelling words listed in increasing difficulty. By identifying the total number of words correct and the first incorrect word, the spelling test produces a "spelling grade level" and a spelling "mastery level" for how well the child spells.

Here is a picture of Sparkle's test.


The big gray block is where Sparkle wrote her name and the date. The pencil is her writing. The blue ink is my corrections and how she scored on the test. I think that this test is a reasonable example of her handwriting. The first word that she missed, and the only time in the test that she used the eraser was the word "blue." The first time she wrote it, she wrote "blew" then commented that although it sounded the same as "blue" it had a different meaning - what the wind does, not the color. She then erased the "w" and tried replacing it with a "u," but that still didn't look right to her. She was stuck on that word for a while and I felt bad that I wasn't allowed to tell her how to spell the word. The next word that she misspelled was "within" which surprised me. She knows how to spell "with" and "in" but I think that she was flustered because she missed "blue" and plus, this was a lot of writing for her young hands. After the word "body" I stopped the test because I was pretty sure that she couldn't get the next word and she was tired.
According to some reviews that I've read, this spelling test is a big easy, but I still think that Sparkle did a good job. Oh, and I did bribe Sparkle when doing the test. I told her that I'd give her a chocolate chip for every word that she spelled correctly as long as she shared with her sister.

The results of this test make me think that I want to try a less time intensive spelling curriculum with her.