

HN: Were spelling tests worthwhile? - RevRal

I was helping my nephew with his weekly spelling test, and I began to reminisce my years of spelling tests. Not only were they stressful, but I would proceed to forget how to spell the words within a week.<p>These days, are spelling tests at all important?
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raffi
I'd say yes, they are. Learning a language is tough and there are many wacky
rules and exceptions to learn. Many things (irregular verbs and their
different forms) can only be learned through memorization.

The current methods for detecting and correcting errors are not perfect and
still require the author to have good command of the language they're writing
in.

I write spell checkers for a living.

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RevRal
I'm still new here, so thank you for taking the time to respond.

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RevRal
We have spell checkers in everything now. Even my instant messenger has one. I
asked someone this question and their response was "what if there is no
electricity." I don't see how that's valid unless there is an immanent
Malthusian catastrophe.

This seems to be a case of "if it doesn't work, do it harder." I don't see the
point in being a hardass about it. What percent of people actually care their
spelling? And the people who care if their writing is taken seriously will
always put effort into correct spelling.

The time I spent memorizing spelling words could have been better spent
learning why they're spelt the way they are.

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evgen
> What percent of people actually care their spelling?

Perhaps the same percentage that care their grammar and proofreading?

> The time I spent memorizing spelling words could have been better spent
> learning why they're spelt the way they are.

Knowing proper spelling is important if only to assist in word and term
recognition when reading. What is far more useful is knowing _why_ words are
spelled in a particular fashion and to know the history of the word and its
roots. Not only does etymology help you know how to spell a word, it assists
in selecting to proper word or term to get your point across in the most
efficient and least ambiguous manner possible.

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RevRal
> _Perhaps the same percentage that care their grammar and proofreading?_

I have an excuse though. This is my fourth day on the colemak keyboard layout,
so every word I type is extremely painful. That particular error came from
shortening the sentence from "What percent of people actually care about how
they come across?" I accidentally edited out the about. Anything that has to
do with typing right now is frustrating.

> _Knowing proper spelling is important if only to assist in word and term
> recognition when reading. What is far more useful is knowing _why_ words are
> spelled in a particular fashion and to know the history of the word and its
> roots. Not only does etymology help you know how to spell a word, it assists
> in selecting to proper word or term to get your point across in the most
> efficient and least ambiguous manner possible._

Yes. You said it better than I did.

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nedwin
Definitely important - not just for teaching kids how to spell (which is still
important, despite word processors and spell checkers) but also extending
their vocabulary.

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RevRal
_...also extending their vocabulary._

My brain completely skipped that when I started thinking about this.

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sp332
What other incentive would teachers have to teach kids to spell?

