TEACHING LOW-ACHIEVING SPELLERS AT THEIR INSTRUCTIONAL-LEVEL

In this study we tested the notion of an instructional level in spelli ng. In September, we used curriculum-based pretests to identify 48 low -achieving spellers in 7 third-grade classrooms. 24 of the low-spellin g third graders (intervention group) were then taught for most of the year in a second-grade spelling book. The other 24 low spellers (compa rison group) were taught for the full year in a third-grade spelling b ook. Results showed that the intervention group scored higher than the comparison group on the second-grade posttest (75% to 64%), scored al most as high on the third-grade curriculum-based posttest (47% to 50%) , and scored higher on the third-grade transfer test (47% to 36%). We explain the posttest results in terms of instructional level theory an d then discuss implications for classroom practice.