A Comparison of Daily and Weekly Testing on Student Spelling Performance

This study compares the system of presenting ail spelling words at the beginning of the week and testing at the end of the week with a system of presenting a portion of the words each day and daily testing. Academic performance of 13 fourth-grade students in a combination fourth- and fifth-grade classroom was measured by recording scores on weekly spelling tests. The results reveal a significant increase in spelling performance on the weekly tests when students receive a portion of their spelling words each day. Questionnaires given to the students and parents indicate that they felt a positive change in both effort and academic achievement when the students were distributed and tested daily on a portion of the words.