National Spelling Bee adds vocab test: Do the kids like it?
There鈥檚 a $30,000 cash prize at stake and decades of bragging rights for the winner of the 86th Scripps National Spelling Bee, which kicks off Tuesday with the first vocabulary test in the history of the competition.
Instead of just getting the vowels and consonants right,聽281 spellers from all 50 states and eight countries, gathered outside Washington, must also know the meaning of words like flibbertigibbet, weissnichtwo, and gobbledegook.
鈥淲hen I first heard about it, I was thinking, 鈥業t鈥檚 going to be a lot harder now,鈥� 鈥澛燾ompetitor Alicia聽Gonzales from Winchester, Va., . 鈥淚nstead of just spelling the word, we have to know what it means.鈥�
The computer-based vocabulary test counts for half of the speller鈥檚 overall score, with onstage tests, beginning Wednesday, to determine the other half of the score. Students are given 24 spelling words and 24 vocabulary words during Tuesday's preliminary round.聽
The E.W. Scripps Company, which has sponsored the bee for 70 years, introduced the new vocabulary test last month. Bee director Paige Kimble the announcement was made after the regional spelling bees concluded.
鈥淭he timing of our announcement ... is absolutely fair," she said. "April is the first opportunity to engage all of the participants who have qualified for the national finals."
The new vocabulary component aims to help students "learn concepts and develop correct English usage that will help them all their lives," she said, in an of the rule change.
Richard Morga, a Bee participant from Wood Dale, Ill., told that he thinks the vocabulary test evens the playing field: 鈥淭he repeat (competitors) don鈥檛 really matter anymore,鈥� he said.
Linda Tarrant, president of Hexco Academic, a company in Hunt, Texas, that provides personal coaching for elite spellers, told The Washington Times that the vocabulary change 鈥渢hrew us all out of kilter.鈥�
鈥淚 think they did it for all the right reasons, but I think it鈥檚 a terrible mistake to do it six weeks before the spelling bee,鈥澛燤s. Tarrant聽said. 鈥淵ou have kids who have been studying hard, two-to-four hours a day, since last year鈥檚 national bee. They have learned several thousand words, but have they learned the meaning of them all? My guess is no.鈥�
lists the cost of eight sessions of one-on-one coaching at $1,900 and 16 sessions at $3,000.
The Bee also added other measures this year. Spellers will be eliminated after the first time they misspell a word in聽Round 2, instead of getting a chance at a second word.
鈥淓very year, we鈥檙e trying to improve the competition 鈥� improve the fairness and the competitiveness,鈥� said bee spokesman Chris Kemper.
Only 50 contestants will survive the preliminary rounds to advance to the semifinals. Participants who correctly spell their words during the onstage portion aren鈥檛 guaranteed to advance to the next round, if their written spelling and vocabulary scores aren鈥檛 high enough, .
Students will still be able to ask for definitions during the onstage spelling section, but future bees may eventually include onstage vocabulary tests, Kimble told the Associated Press last month.
A portion of Wednesday鈥檚 semifinals and the championship round Thursday night will be broadcast by ESPN.
This year Tara Singh of Louisville,聽Ky., is the youngest speller at age 8. Participants range from 8 to 14 years, with 89 percent between the ages of 12 and 14. The competition is open to students younger than 16 who have not yet passed eighth grade.
Two contestants, Vanya Shivashankar and Ashwin Veeramani, have siblings who previously won the spelling bee. that the past five bee winners were Indian-Americans and that nearly 50 Indian-Americans are competing this year, including Ms. Singh, the youngest competitor.
The Scripps Howard News Service has developed an to track which competitors are eliminated or "still spelling," and to show home states, gender, and age. Among this year鈥檚 group, 52 percent are girls and 48 percent boys.
, Harry Potter was the most popular response to the bee鈥檚 survey of participants' favorite books, and most competitors want to grow up to be a doctor. Math is most frequently cited as a favorite subject.
Ms. Kimble, the bee director, appears confident the new vocabulary section will be a success. She tweeted this morning: 鈥淲as there ever any doubt? With >75 Prelims Test scores in, the spellers are performing a bit better on vocab than spelling.鈥�
