Spelling test

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A spelling test checks how well someone can spell words. In school, it is usually given in language arts class to see how well students learned the latest spelling lesson. Spelling tests often happen about once a week during the school year, while spelling bees are usually held once a year.

There are four common types of spelling tests:
- Oral spelling test: the teacher says a word aloud and the student writes it.
- Spelling bee-style test: students spell a specific word aloud, one at a time.
- Proofreading-style test: the student reads sentences or paragraphs and finds misspelled words, then writes the correct spellings.
- Multiple-choice spelling test: several spellings are given for a word and the student chooses the correct one.

The main difference between regular spelling tests and a spelling bee is that in a spelling bee the words are not announced in advance, while in regular tests they are.

Spelling bees are a well-known competition. They started in the United States and are now common in many English-speaking countries, though not as familiar in many Commonwealth nations where it’s seen as an American tradition. In the United States there is a national spelling bee each year. Winners can win scholarships and even meet the President.

Some people memorize spellings by writing the words many times, for example 50 to 100 times. Another helpful method is a mnemonic, a memory trick to help remember the spelling. For example, breaking a word into parts (like in-de-pen-dent) or making a funny sentence or image to help remember it.