WRITTEN EXPRESSION QUESTION: What impact does spelling have on performance on the OWLS Written Expression test?
If students are scoring low on the Written Expression test, it is because their written expression is not presented in a way that is meaningful. Spelling constitutes only 27% of the score in the item set 1-20, 18% in the item set 12-24, 11% in the item set 21-32, and 16% in the item set 25-39. Using the Descriptive Analysis chart (see pages 226-231 in the manual) enables you to determine whether or not spelling is the major contributing factor to a child’s low score. Our experience in testing thousands of children across the country, however, has been that this is very rarely the case. Poor spelling is not indicative of a “writing disability,” nor does the OWLS Written Expression test, by its scoring system or design, suggest that it is. Scoring for spelling is clearly delineated in the item-by-item scoring information on pages 60-109 of the manual. Also refer to page 28 of the manual, where phonetic spelling is discussed: “Phonetic spellings are penalized in the OWLS Written Expressio
Related Questions
- I passed the written Test of English Proficiency. Am I required to retake that portion if I don pass the performance test or if I attempt to take another performance test at a higher level?
- When is the written test, interview or performance test going to be administered?
- How do I test the impact of Denial of Service (DoS) attacks on VoIP performance?
