A TV report on Solon City Schools presented an inaccurate and damaging retrograde view of spelling tests and made claims that Solon had found the silver bullet for effective spelling instruction in a new policy called "word study." I presented a contrarian view. The community responded.
Solon City School District Speaks Back
Based on the responses I received, many parents and some teachers were extremely frustrated with the ten-year, no-test policy and were highly supportive of my post. I received very few negative responses--here's one of them: "this guy sounds like he's trying to sell his version of spelling books." (The fact is I've worked on developing an effective delivery system for spelling instruction for thirty years; of course I would like for Solon to have a look at an alternative program.) Here's a recap of my post regarding the fallacies in the TV report:
Rather than ditch the spelling test and spelling book, I pointed out that many districts are bringing back 21st century spelling books with differentiated word lists and pretest/study/posttest weekly units aimed at teaching the right words and patterns at the right time in a grade-by-grade curriculum enhanced by technology. (As evidence that the test and spelling book aren't dying everywhere in Ohio, I learned that the district next to Solon just adopted a 21st century spelling book!) I also pointed out overwhelming use of second grade words in Solon's fifth grade word study program as depicted in the TV report and raised questions as to its effectiveness.
I learned more about Solon City Schools following my post. I learned it's an excellent school district with a very connected community. On the state's report card it's rated "excellent with distinction." I learned that Solon has parents who provide wonderful supportive environments for their children at home and who are highly engaged in their schools. I learned that Solon has excellent teachers, and high achieving students, which isn't so surprising in an affluent community with ample resources and supportive parents. One responder supported my contention that the district's overall high test scores were the result of the environment and not the word study program. She expressed these sentiments, which I passed on to some of the administrators:
"I suspect Solon has stellar test scores because the district is very close to the Cleveland Clinic and many doctors, research scientists, and nurses, live in the district. They provide a supportive home environment, better schools, and really great teachers that give Solon City School's a huge advantage compared to the problems faced in other districts. In this context, it's inappropriate for Solon to become the poster child for innovative new spelling instruction that replaces spelling tests with this brand of "word study." I doubt Solon's test scores have anything to do with the word study program."
By far, the most compelling response was from a mother who has struggled with the Solon "word study" policy for years. Her depth of introspection, passion, and conviction moved me. Though she left this comment on my previous blog post, hundreds of readers missed it because they read my blog before she posted the comment. I am privileged to have a forum to give this parent a voice. My belief is that although Solon may have many good spellers, the district policy isn't reaching the one in five students who tend to have difficulty with spelling:
A Frustrated Mom Speaks Out: Response to Solon's Word Study Program
I am a parent of two Solon students, one in 5th grade and the other in 8th grade. I was a special education teacher for 13 years in one of the largest and most successful school districts in the country. Given my experience, I recognized early on that my children had serious and impacting spelling issues. Towards that end, I met with every one of their teachers from 2nd to 6th grade about considering other ways beyond the word study program. I have been repeatedly told that word study is the "Solon Way" and that it is the only methodology they will use. Further, since both of my boys are above grade level in reading and on grade level in writing content, that their spelling is not impacting them in any significant way and does not rise to the level for testing or concern.
I believe this thinking underscores the serious inability for Solon Schools and their teachers to connect that poor spelling is a conspicuous problem when working with peers, has serious ramifications for students in foreign language classes, and does not allow students to present themselves well on day to day written assignments and later college bound placement tests. This does not even touch on the tendency for poor spellers to dummy down their writing in order to spell as many words as possible correctly. I am absolutely certain that the system does not know that their teachers are so brainwashed into thinking this word study works that one teacher even stated that there are plenty of students in her class with lower skills than my son, so I should not worry. Another teacher actually said that if your child is going to have a disability, spelling is the best one to have, since they can always spell check on the computer.
I think my student who struggles to spell commonly used words in English would disagree since he is required to spell those same words in Spanish class and loses ½ point for every mistake. I think my other son whose social studies teacher circles in red 11 of 15 words on his content based social studies formative assessment and then tells him she won't grade it until he properly spells the words from the unit doesn't understand the embarrassment and level of inadequacy he feels. He actually said, "I can't spell enough to get even a 1 on my report card, and she wants me to spell ‘democracy.'"
In regard to the standard of measures Solon uses again I am stumped. My children are apparently so low in spelling that on the 1 to 5 rubric used each and every semester since 1st grade, they have received a * instead of a numeric grade (apparently they are too low to even get a 1). In fact, my fifth grader has been given the informal spelling inventory two times a year for the past 5 years and has been on the same starting 2nd grade list each year. Hmmm. I would have to question how using the same system, year after year, with no consideration that it might not work, could continue to be the very program they are so proud about.
So What Is the Solution in Solon and Other Districts?
The solution is to recognize that spelling is important and that we should teach it explicitly--not through some unproven discovery learning technique with no grade level curriculum or weekly assessment. I believe the Solon spelling policy has led to the following confounding statements from teachers in Solon.
"Word study is the ‘Solon way."
"Good spelling isn't important for your child, he's above grade level."
"Don't worry; there are lots of worse spellers in fifth grade than your child."
"Spelling disability is the best disability to have; he can use the computer."
"We don't believe in tests or memorizing."
"Kids that can spell will spell, regardless of the type of instruction. Kids that struggle with spelling will struggle, regardless of the type of instruction."
"There are spelling assessments (not always in a test form); there is a very rigid curriculum. . . "
(Gentry: I did not see evidence in the TV report or in the comments I received of implementation of a rigid curriculum. The words presented on the TV clips aren't really upper elementary "syllable juncture" sorts and there should be no need for second-grade review with every fifth grade group--especially if a camera crew is filming fifth graders for only one hour to demonstrate fifth grade spelling.)
