Pretest and retest pairs — Year 1
Year group: 1
Source: DfE, English Appendix 1: Spelling (2013)
Purpose: Pretest/retest pairs for Y1 common exception words and core phonics patterns.
How to use pretest/retest
The evidence: A pretest-teach-retest cycle is one of the most effective learning routines in spelling research. Pupils who attempt a pretest before instruction show significantly better retention than those who only study and test.
(Source: Kornell, N. et al. (2009). Unsuccessful retrieval attempts enhance subsequent learning. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.)
The routine:
- Monday pretest — pupils attempt the words without having studied them. Mark together immediately. Each pupil circles their own errors.
- Tuesday–Thursday teaching — use phonics, dictation, and sorting activities focused on the patterns in the week's words.
- Friday retest — same words in a different order. Pupils compare Monday and Friday scores.
- One sentence — at the end of the Friday retest, ask pupils to use any word they got wrong on Monday in a sentence correctly. This consolidates learning beyond rote spelling.
A pupil who scores 4/10 on Monday and 9/10 on Friday is experiencing exactly the right kind of learning.
Set 1: High-frequency and exception words — Group A
Focus: the, a, I, is, it, of, in, at, to, and, he, she, we, me, be
Monday pretest:
the · a · I · is · it · of · in · at · to · and · he · she · we · me · be
Friday retest (different order):
be · me · we · she · he · and · to · at · in · of · it · is · I · a · the
Set 2: High-frequency and exception words — Group B
Focus: his, has, had, her, was, for, on, are, but, not · no, go, so, my, by
Monday pretest:
his · has · had · her · was · for · on · are · but · not · no · go · so · my · by
Friday retest:
by · my · so · go · no · not · but · are · on · for · was · her · had · has · his
Set 3: Exception words — common tricky words
Focus: said, says, here, there, where, come, some, one, once, do · you, your, they, love, put
Monday pretest:
said · says · here · there · where · come · some · one · once · do · you · your · they · love · put
Friday retest:
put · love · they · your · you · do · once · one · some · come · where · there · here · says · said
Set 4: Exception words — longer and trickier
Focus: ask · friend · school · full · house · our · push · pull · today · because
Monday pretest:
ask · friend · school · full · house · our · push · pull · today · because
Friday retest:
because · today · pull · push · our · house · full · school · friend · ask
End-of-Year 1 check — all common exception words
Use at the end of Year 1 to check retention of the statutory common exception words.
Test words:
the · a · do · to · today · of · said · says · are · were · was · is · his · has · I · you · your · they · be · he · me · we · no · go · so · by · my · here · there · where · love · come · some · one · once · ask · friend · school · put · push · pull · full · house · our
(43 words — administer over two sittings if needed.)
Phonics pattern pretest/retest
Set P1: Double letters — ff, ll, ss, ck, zz
Monday pretest:
off · fill · miss · back · buzz · cliff · bell · hiss · lock · fizz · stuff · ball · class · duck · jazz
Friday retest:
jazz · duck · class · ball · stuff · fizz · lock · hiss · bell · cliff · buzz · back · miss · fill · off
Set P2: Split digraph (magic e) — short vs long vowel
Monday pretest:
cap · cape · hop · hope · bit · bite · cut · cute · hat · hate · pin · pine · not · note · kit · kite
Friday retest:
kite · kit · note · not · pine · pin · hate · hat · cute · cut · bite · bit · hope · hop · cape · cap
Set P3: Plural spellings — -s and -es
Monday pretest (pupils write the plural):
cat → ? · fox → ? · bus → ? · church → ? · dog → ? · box → ? · wish → ? · king → ? · brush → ? · bench → ?
Friday retest (same, different order):
bench → ? · brush → ? · king → ? · wish → ? · box → ? · dog → ? · church → ? · bus → ? · fox → ? · cat → ?
Error analysis record
After each retest, note which words 3 or more pupils misspelled.
| Word | Common error written | Pattern to reteach | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
Long-gap retest (3 weeks after initial teaching)
Pick 5 words from any set taught 3 weeks ago. Test without warning. Words recalled after a gap are retained far longer than words practised immediately.
(Source: Cepeda, N.J. et al. (2006). Distributed Practice in Verbal Recall Tasks. Psychological Bulletin.)
Source: DfE English Appendix 1: Spelling (2013). Pretest-retest methodology: Kornell et al. (2009); Cepeda et al. (2006).