Frequently Asked Questions
Is this test for American or British English spelling?
Both, without penalty either way. Every word in this test spells the same way in American and British English: we deliberately left out words such as colour and color, or organise and organize, where the two differ, so no one is marked wrong for using their own variety of English. We checked every correct word and every misspelling against both an American and a British dictionary before publishing.
How is my score calculated?
Each of the forty words has exactly one correct spelling, identified by its exact letters rather than by where it sits in the list, and a correct pick earns credit toward your total. There is no penalty for guessing and no partial credit inside a single word. Your result shows how many of the forty you got right, a percentage and one of five descriptive bands. It does not compare you with other people, because we have no verified population norm for this test.
Does a low score mean I have dyslexia or a learning difficulty?
No. This test measures whether you can recognise one correctly spelled word among three misspellings, a narrower and easier task than producing correct spelling from memory while you write. A low score can reflect many ordinary things, from unfamiliarity with particular words to simply moving quickly through the questions. If spelling is getting in the way of your work or study, a qualified professional assessment is the right next step, not an online quiz.
Are the wrong answers realistic, or just scrambled letters?
Realistic. Each wrong option reflects a specific, commonly made error for that exact word: a letter doubled that should not be, a vowel that sounds the same as the correct one, a spelling rule applied the wrong way round, or a piece of the word left out. None of the wrong options are random letter swaps. They are the mistakes people actually type, which is what makes picking the right one a fair check.
Can I retake the test to see if I have improved?
The result page does not offer a one-click retake for this test, the same as our other tests with right and wrong answers, because the forty words never change. A second attempt would mostly measure how much of the first one you remember. You can still open the test again from this page whenever you like. If you do, a higher score usually means you reviewed the words you missed, not that your spelling changed in the meantime.
Is the spelling test free, and do I need to sign up?
Yes, it is free. All forty words and your full result, including the overall band and all four pattern scores, are free to take and free to see. You do not need an account or an email address to view them. Signing up only becomes useful later, if you want to keep a record of your result.
What do the four pattern scores mean?
Doubled Letters covers words where a consonant doubles or does not, and where the usual wrong guess is one letter off. Vowel Endings covers words whose middle or final vowel is unstressed and could plausibly be several different letters. Letter Patterns covers words that follow or break a recognisable rule, most famously the order of i and e. Word Structure covers prefixes, suffixes and words borrowed from French or Latin. Together they show which kind of mistake is holding your overall band down.
How is this different from the Grammar Test?
The Grammar Test asks whether a sentence is built correctly: tense, agreement, articles, prepositions and punctuation. This test never asks about usage. Every sentence is only a setting for one word, and the only question is which of four spellings of that word is correct. A person can do well on one and poorly on the other, which is why they are separate tests.