Development and validation of the test of spelling competence (TCORT) in incoming university students

This study aims to present a test to assess spelling competence (TCORT) in incoming Spanish university students and to obtain validity evidence to support its use. The starting point was a bank of 73 items covering the most relevant spelling areas of the Spanish language, and the 37 most representative items were selected from the information provided by six experts. Afterwards, a pilot study of the TCORT was carried out with 602 students. The final version consisted of 31 items, with sufficient internal consistency (α = .90; ω = .89) and an invariant unidimensional structure between sexes. It also correlated significantly with other variables, such as previous performance (r = .37, p