Invented Spelling and Reading Achievement

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if first graders, invented spelling and Marie Clay’s Concepts of Print test, used together and separately, are significant predictors of future reading achievement. The study also compared the prediction ability of an invented spelling stage to the prediction ability of the Concepts of Print test. The subjects of this study comprised 39 first graders from two classrooms in a rural Western New York school. During the month of September, invented spelling samples from the subjects’ journals were analyzed and categorized into stages. In addition, classroom teachers administered the Concepts of Print test to each subject. In May of the same year, the spring California Achievement Test was administered to each subject. A regression analysis and t test were used to evaluate how effective an invented spelling stage and Marie Clay's Concepts of test, used together and separately, are in predicting future reading achievement. The findings of the study indicate that an invented spelling stage can predict, slightly better than Marie Clay’s Concepts of Print test, a first graders future reading achievement. Invented spelling used in conjunct ion with Marie Clay's Concepts of Print test is a stronger predictor of reading achievement than using either tool separately.