Assessing students for spelling intervention before beginning spelling intervention is essential. Students with disabilities have varied skills in spelling. For some, they are able to read words that are far more challenging than they can spell. For others, their abilities in decoding and encoding are closely matched.

I like to begin with a simple assessment.

  1. Create a list of spelling rules that you feel are appropriate for the grade(s) you teach.
  2. Find sounds or words that address the spelling rules from step one.
  3. Ask students to spell words through a traditional style spelling test.
  4. Review the results and identify areas of strength and weakness.