DIAGNOSTIC SPELLING TEST

This diagnostic spelling test is designed to be used as a diagnostic tool to assist class teachers in ascertaining individual student’s spelling needs and to inform class spelling programs.

This test should be administered in the first two weeks of school and a diagnostic overview developed.

At the end of the year the test will again be administered and individual’s progress can be monitored. This will also form part of the school’s performance measurement. This will not apply to students who know all of the concepts.

Use your professional judgement in deciding how much of the test is given at one time. Generally all students should do the entire test. Some Year 3 students may complete the test successfully, and there may be some children in the upper grades that have difficulty with the early phonological concepts.

The philosophy underpinning this test is that children will be taught at the developmentally appropriate level and not at the age appropriate level. However for classroom management children should be grouped according to their spelling needs and explicitly taught the appropriate concepts, with the teacher being guided by the year level expectations in the school spelling policy.

1

TEACHER SHEET LIST ONE

SHORT VOWELS

1. map2. get3. sit4. not5. but

CONSONANT BLENDS

6. clap7. grab8. skin9. small10. spot11. stem12. swim

INITIAL DIGRAPHS

13. chat14. shop15. thin16. whip17. queen

FINAL SAME LETTER BLENDS

18. sniff19. hill20. miss

Look at that map.Did you get paid?The baby can sit on the chair.He was not very tall.She was old but healthy.

We clap to the music.Did he grab the boy before he fell?I eat the apple’s skin.She ate a small meal.The dog has a spot over eye.The stem of the flower is in the water.I can swim well.

We like to chat.The shop was open.Spaghetti is thin.The ringmaster had a whip.The Queen lives in London.

The dog will sniff the track.They ran up the hill.You can miss a turn.

2

TEACHER SHEET LIST TWO

FINAL CONSONANT BLENDS

1. left2. help3. jump4. hand5. just6. cold7. bank8. risk

FINAL DIGRAPHS

9. lunch10. sack11. bang12. catch13. fish

INITIAL 3 LETTER BLENDS

14. scrap15. split16. string17. sprint18. three19. shrub20. square.

Right is the opposite of left.We can help each other.They jump up and down.My hand is on the wall.It is just 3 o’clock.The weather was cold.Go to the bank for more money.The risk of an accident was high.

We have lunch at 12:45.The man carried a sack.The gun went bang.Try to catch the ball.I like fish and chips.

The dog ate the scrap of meat.Split the apple in two please.We used the string to tie the parcel.Can you sprint along the track?There are three boys in my family.The shrub grew near the house.A square is a four sided shape.

3

TEACHER SHEET LIST THREE

LONG VOWELS (LETTER NAME)

1. make

2. rain

3. day

4. these

5. seat

6. feed

7. sunny

8. he

9. nine

10. night

11. pie

12. my

13. ice

14. home

15. boat

16. blow

17. no

18. tune

19. few

20. unit

We can make a cake.

The rain is heavy.

One day I will be a teenager.

These bananas are ripe.

The seat is under the tree.

My job is to feed the dog.

The weather is sunny.

He is working hard.

It is nine o’clock.

At night the dogs bark.

I like apple pie.

My father plays with me.

You can skate on ice.

At home we help our parents.

The boat was on the lake.

I can blow out the candles.

My answer is, “No”.

The recorder tune was beautiful.

A few people left the room.

We stayed in a unit at the beach.

4

STUDENT RESPONSE SHEET

NAME DATE

5

LIST ONE

SHORT VOWELS

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

CONSONANT BLENDS

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

INITIAL DIGRAPHS

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

FINAL SAME LETTER BLENDS

18.

19.

20.

Score

20

LIST TWO

FINAL CONSONANT BLENDS

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

FINAL DIGRAPHS

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

3. LETTER BLENDS

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

Score

20

LIST THREE

LONG VOWELS

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

Score

20

6

ANSWER SHEET

LIST ONE

SHORT VOWELS

1. a

2. e

3. i

4. o

5. u

CONSONANT BLENDS

6. cl

7. gr

8. sk

9. sm

10. sp

11. st

12. sw

INITIAL DIGRAPHS

13. ch

14. sh

15. th

16. wh

17. qu

FINAL SAME LETTER BLENDS

18. ff

19. ll

20. ss

LIST TWO

FINAL CONSONANT BLENDS

1. ft

2. lp

3. mp

4. nd

5. st

6. ld

7. nk

8. sk

FINAL DIGRAPHS

9. ch

10. ck

11. ng

12. tch

13. sh

LETTER BLENDS

14. scr

15. spl

16. str

17. spr

18. thr

19. shr

20. squ

LIST THREE

LONG VOWELS

1. a-e

2. ai

3. ay

4. e-e

5. ea

6. ee

7. y

8. e

9. i-e

10. igh

11. ie

12. y

13. i

14. o-e

15. oa

16. ow

17. o

18. u-e

19. ew

20. u

7

TEACHER SHEET

LIST FOUR

LONG VOWELS

1. pool2. flew3. soup4. start5. person6. third7. hurt8. worm9. earth10. north11. draw12. caught13. door14. four15. boil16. enjoy17. cow18. out

SHORT VOWEL

19. book

DEAD VOWEL

20. water

We swam in the pool.The bird flew out of its nest.I like tomato soup.The race is ready to start.The only person in the room was you.You are third in line.He fell over and hurt his knee.The worm lived in the garden.We live on planet Earth.We travelled North to Townsville.Will you draw a picture for me?She caught the ball.Open the door, please.There are four weeks in a month.Boil the water on the stove.They enjoy playing basketball.The cow was milked.Cut out this picture.

The library book was interesting.

Could I have a drink of water?

8

TEACHER SHEET LIST FIVE

OUGH WORDS

1. fought2. rough

TCH WORDS

3. match

SOFT C AND G

4. city5. gem

SILENT LETTERS

6. comb7. scene8. hour9. knee10. Autumn11. receipt12. island13. listen14. sword15. queen16. daughter17. bicycle18. jungle19. ankle20. beautiful

The army fought against the invader.The ground is rough to walk on.

The football match was at our school.

The city of Mackay is in Queensland.A diamond is a gem.

Go and comb your hair.Look at the beautiful scene.The clock struck every hour.I like to sit on Grandpa’s knee.Leaves fall in Autumn.Did you get a receipt for the shopping?The island is off the coast.Listen to the beat of the music.The pen is mightier than the sword.The Queen lives in London.Mum has a daughter and a son.The bicycle was going too fast.Gorillas live in the jungle.I twisted my ankle.It is a beautiful day.

9

TEACHER SHEET

MORP HOLOGY

1. jumps

2. jumped

3. jumping

4. shopped

5. shopping

6. cries

7. cried

8. bites

9. biting

10. brushes

11. lunches

12. boxes

13. misses

14. buses

15. buzzes

16. wharf

17. halves

18. I’m

19. couldn’t

20. doesn’t

21. we’ll

22. we’ve

23. can’t

24. darker

25. darkest

She jumps up high.

The cow jumped over the moon.

They are jumping for joy.

We shopped for clothes.

I like shopping at Canalled.

He cries if he is hungry.

She cried when she fell over.

The boy bites the apple.

The dog is biting the bone.

The brushes were full of paint.

We ordered six lunches for the party.

The photos were stored in boxes.

She misses her brother who moved away.

The buses take us into town.

The bee buzzes in my ear.

Ships are tied up at the wharf.

Cut your apple in halves.

I’m twelve years old.

He couldn’t tie his shoelaces.

It doesn’t get dark until 6 o’clock.

We’ll all sing the National Anthem.

We’ve been growing beans.

I can’t understand Japanese.

The colour was darker than I expected.

It is the darkest room in the house.

10

STUDENT RESPONSE SHEET

NAME DATE

11

LIST FOUR

LONG VOWELS

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

SHORT VOWELS

19.

DEAD VOWELS

20.

Score

20

LIST FIVE

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

SILENT LETTERS

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

Score

20

ANSWER SHEET

12

LIST FOUR

LONG VOWELS

1. oo

2. ew

3. ou

4. ar

5. er

6. ir

7. ur

8. or

9. ear

10. or

11. aw

12. augh

13. oor

14. our

15. oi

16. oy

17. ow

19. ou

SHORT VOWEL

20. oo

DEAD VOWEL

21. er

LIST FIVE

OUGH WORDS

1. ough (says aw)2. ough (says uff)

TCH WORDS

3. tch

SOFT C AND G

4. c

5. g

SILENT LETTERS

6. b

7. c

8. h

9. k

10. n

11. p

12. s

13. t

14. w

15. u

16. gh

17. cle

18. gle

19. kle

20. eau

STUDENT RESPONSE SHEET

13

NAME DATE

MORPHOLOGY

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

11.

12.

13.

14.

15.

16.

17.

18.

19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

25.

Score

25

ANSWER SHEET

14

MORPHOLOGYThese are the parts of the word that should be correct.

1. Ending –s

2. Ending –ed

3. Ending –ing

4. Double final consonant before adding –ed

5. Double final consonant before adding –ing

6. Change ‘y’ to an ‘i’ before adding –es

7. Change ‘y’ to an ‘i’ before adding –ed

8. Word ending in final ‘e’

9. Drop final ‘e’ before adding-ing

10. ‘es’ endings – sh + es

11. ‘es’ ending – ch +es

12. ‘es’ ending – x + es

13. ‘es’ ending – ss + es

14. ‘es’ ending – s + es

15. ‘es’ ending – zz + es

16. ‘f’ ending

17. Change ‘f’ to ‘v’ and add es

18. Contractions

19. Contractions

20. Contractions

21. Contractions

22. Contractions

23. Contractions

24. –er endings

25. –est endings

15

DIAGNOSTIC SPELLING TEST

CLASS _____________OVERVIEW

Name Short Vowels

Consonant Blends

Initial Digraphs

Final same letter

Blends

Final Consonant

Blends

Final Digraphs

Initial 3 Letter Blends

Long Vowels

16

DIAGNOSTIC SPELLING TEST

CLASS _____________OVERVIEW

Name Long Vowels

Short Vowels

Dead Vowel

Ough Words

Tch Words

Soft c and g

Silent letters

Morphology

17

DIAGNOSTIC SPELLING TEST AADAPTED FROM WADDINGTON

Consonants

1. in

2. hat

3. yes

4. web

5. mix

6. jog

7. mud

8. van

2 letter blends

9. from

10. step

11. slice

Digraphs

12. chalk

13. shift

14. think

15. which

16. quiz

Final same

17. small

Fianl blends

18. clock

19. lamp

20. hint

Final digraphs

21. pitch

22. three

Initial 3 letter blends

23. spring

24. scrap

Long Vowels

25. hate

26. pain

27. tray

28. cream

29. sloppy

30. hope

31. float

32. life

33. dry

34. tune

Long Vowels

35. barn

36. term

37. person

38. morning

39. dirt

40. burn

41. claw

42. stew

43. foil

44. soon

45. flower

46. about

“gh”

47. fight

48. caught

“ph”

49. photograph

Soft/hard c

50. receive

51. the

52. and

53. to

54. I

55. have

56. was

57. when

58. they

59. there

60. said

61. some

62. were

63. after

64. our

65. going

66. because

67. would

68. people

69. through

70. didn’t

18

DIAGNOSTIC SPELLING TEST BConsonants

1. on

2. hut

3. yet

4. sad

5. fox

6. jig

7. man

8. vet

2 letter blends

9. frog

10. stop

11. slide

Digraphs

12. cheese

13. shelf

14. thank

15. while

16. queen

Final same

17. tall

Final blends

18. dock

19. jump

20. print

Final digraphs

21. match

Initial 3 letter blends

22. throw

23. sprang

24. scrap

Long vowels

25. date

26. rain

27. stay

28. leaf

29. funy

30. home

31. boat

32. wife

33. fly

34. cube

Long vowels

35. yard

36. er

37. er

38. north

39. shirt

40. hurt

41. draw

42. flew

43. boil

44. pool

45. cow

46. out

“gh”

47. night

48. taught

“ph”

49. autograph

Soft/hard c

50. police

51. the

52. and

53. to

54. I

55. have

56. was

57. when

58. they

59. there

60. said

61. some

62. were

63. after

64. our

65. going

66. because

67. would

68. people

69. through

70. didn’t

19

20

NameConsonants Vowel 2 letter blends digraphs final blends final

diagraphs

3 letter

blends

long vowels -

name

long vowels “gh” Soft/hard c sight words

21