On Friday of our word study program, students take the final test to assess their knowledge and application of the patterns they studied during the week. Since they have different words, students either write a #1 on the top of their test, if they are receiving the regular words, or a #2 on their test for the challenge words. The test is given in the following order:

• Assigned Pattern Words: The teacher first gives the assigned pattern words, going back and forth between the regular list and the challenge list (e.g., "Group #1, your first word is snow. Group #2, your first word is burrow").
• New Pattern Words: Next, all students are given 10 words that follow the weekly pattern that they were not able to study. These 10 words help us determine how effectively each student is able to apply the spelling pattern to new words.
• High Frequency Words: For the last section of the test, students give their word study notebook to their assigned spelling buddy. Their notebook should have a sticky note marking the page where the student wrote his or her five high frequency words for the week. The buddy reads the words to his or her partner, and the students must use the words in a sentence. This ensures that they are not only able to spell the word, but they also know the meaning of the word and can use it in context. (This is important because there are so many homophones in the high frequency word lists.)