The 13-Sentence Dictation A Tool for Assessing the Spelling Abilities of 6 to 13 Year-Olds
Laura Dentella, Valentina Preda, Paola Zanchi, Gian Marco Marzocchi
Difficulties in spelling are often grounds for clinical consultation. Indeed, a huge number of children and adolescents, not only those diagnosed with a learning impairment, may manifest difficulties in spelling during their schooling. A careful and precise analysis of the types of spelling errors committed by the student is necessary in order to implement personalized and effective intervention programmes. The main purpose of the present work was therefore the creation, standardization and validation of a new spelling test, the 13-sentence dictation. Based on clinical experience and existing literature, the task created aimed to highlight the different types of spelling errors that students could make. A total of 658 Italian students between 6 and 13 years of age participated in the study. The preliminary normative data for primary and secondary schools and the concurrent validity of the new test are reported. In addition, an analysis of the neuropsychological predictors of phonological and non-phonological errors is conducted in order to better understand the nature of spelling difficulties.
Keywords
Writing, Spelling, Assessment, Learning difficulties.
