Over 25 per cent of college students cannot spell common words, and 50 per cent fail on words such as accommodate and rhythm¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r1 · q2
Currency · newest study 1911 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Careful tests at several colleges over three years found over 25 per cent of students unable to spell common words and 50 per cent failing on accommodate, occurrence, stationery, referred, and rhythm. → Foster 1911

Evidence¶

Foster 1911¶

Foster, W. T. (1911). The Spelling of College Students. The Journal of Educational Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0070538

q2 · i? · associational · r1

Careful spelling tests at several colleges conducted over the past three years, reported as aggregate percentages. The article states "over 25 per cent, of the students cannot spell such common words" and that 50 per cent failed on five other common words.

"over 25 per cent, of the students cannot spell such common words as licorice, existence, recommend, descendant, sieve, annulled, villain; 50 per cent, faild on accommodate, occurrence, stationery, referred, rhythm."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• College students who recalled any spelling rule averaged 85 per cent on the whole test versus 81 per cent for those who recalled none — related
• 76 per cent of spelling errors are attributed to the chaotic condition of English spelling's failure to represent speech — related
• The questionnaire method failed to reach the views of the laggard students themselves, with only about one in six replying — related
• No single rule was professed to be known by half the university students despite all having been taught the rules the previous winter — related
• The final-y rule showed a 3 per cent advantage in the university group but lost an equal amount with the academy students — related
• Carelessness accounts for 23 per cent of spelling errors in college students' written themes — related