Grades overlap massively in spelling: on average 20.8% of pupils reach or exceed the median of the next grade above¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 1910 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Distribution curves of spelling scores by grade show extreme overlap: on average 20.8 per cent of pupils in any grade reach or exceed the median of the next grade above, and 6.2 per cent reach or exceed the median of the second grade above. → Starch 1910

Evidence¶

Starch 1910¶

Starch, D. (1910). The Measurement of Efficiency in Spelling, and the Overlapping of Grades in Combined Measurements of Reading, Writing and Spelling. The Journal of Educational Psychology. https://eric.ed.gov/?q=The+Measurement+of+Efficiency+in+Spelling

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Analysis of grade distributions from the spelling tests, presented in the curves of Figure 2. The author highlights that two pupils in the second grade can spell as well as two pupils in the eighth grade, illustrating the range of capacities within grades.

"we find that on the average 20.8 per cent, of the pupils in any given grade reach or exceed the median of the next grade above it, and 6.2 per cent, reach or exceed the median of the second grade above it."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Combining reading, writing and spelling scores still leaves immense grade overlap: on average 33.2% of pupils reach the next grade's range and 35.3% fall below their own grade's range — related
• Standard spelling scores for grades 1–8 derived from 2500 pupils rise from 10 in grade 1 to 85 in grade 8 — related
• Prior spelling test lists (Ayres, Buckingham) are too easy for better pupils, with more than half of eighth-graders spelling all Buckingham list words correctly — related
• Two 100-word dictionary-sampled spelling lists administered to the same pupil yield scores agreeing within a mean variation of 2.2 points — related
• Group averages are misleading when applied to individual pupils because of extensive overlapping in weight and height across grades — related
• Corrected measures of overlapping show 33 per cent correct classification rather than the 17 per cent previously reported, and 19.5 per cent rather than 33 per cent exceeding or falling short of the adjacent grade's median — related