The development of a pseudo-word spelling test informed by Triple Word Form Theory

Spelling ability is a critical literacy skill of sustained concern among educators, parents and employers as it can impact ones capacity to effectively read (Martin-Chang, Ouellette, & Madden, 2014) and write (Daffern, Mackenzie, & Hemmings, 2017a). According to Triple Word Form Theory (TWFT), being able to spell in the English language is also a complex linguistic process involving integration of phonology, orthography and morphology (Daffern, 2015). Phonological processing requires awareness of spoken sounds, at the smallest speech sound (phoneme) level and at the syllable level, and is activated when encoding (spelling) words. Orthographic processing requires sensitivity to letter strings or patterns within words, including knowing plausible alternative grapheme (alphabetic letter) combinations that apply under certain conditions. Morphological processing requires sensitivity to the smallest meaningful units in words, including knowing how suffixes and prefixes attach to base words (Apel, 2014). Breakdowns in any of these linguistic processes can lead to spelling errors (Bahr, 2015).