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International Journal of Special Education 2002, Vol 17, No.2. THE USE AND EVALUATION OF A SOUND OUT OR ERROR ONLY SOUND OUT PROCEDURE ON THE SPELLING PERFORMANCE OF A THIRD GRADE STUDENT Rowena Dagdag, T. F. McLaughlin and Kimberly P. Weber Gonzaga University A comparison of sound out procedure on all words in a word list with or without error drill was used to examine the effects on the spelling of a third grade student. Two interventions were evaluated using an ABC design. The results indicated that both procedures were successful in increasing corrects and decreasing errors in spelling and showed statistically significant differences. Follow up statistical tests found a significant difference favoring error drill for both corrects and errors. The practical implications of employing error drill and other self-correction methods are discussed. Spelling as a school subject is and continues to be somewhat of a mystery. It is perceived on the one hand by society as an important social value and a symbol of literacy, on the other hand, many educators state spelling as a subject warranting modest priority in the curriculum (Graham, 1983; Hodges, 1982). Throughout the 60s and 70s, spelling continued to be a major weakness in our schools. Spelling was lowest score of any of the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills subtests until the early 1980s (Doggert, 1983). Spelling is usually introduced at the end of the first grade or the beginning of second grade (Hillerich, 1977, 1982; Hodges, 1982; Turner, 1972). The traditional approach to spelling instruction gives students a list of words at the beginning of the week and a test over the words at the end of the week (Turner, 1972). The most consistent findings regarding the spelling of children with mild disabilities comes from studies comparing normally achieving students with those who have reading problems (Carpenter, 1983; Carpenter Miller, 1984; Gerber, 1984). For example, students with learn