Praxis SLP Exam 2025 – Comprehensive Practice Test

The spelling "I m hap" for "I am happy" effectively demonstrates semi-phonetic spelling because it captures the essential phonetic sounds of the words while omitting certain letters. In this case, the child has chosen to spell "I" and "m" correctly, which shows recognition of these words, but has simplified "happy" to "hap" by dropping the final syllable. This reflects an understanding of sound-letter correspondence, is typical in early spelling development, and indicates that the child is beginning to grasp the relationships between sounds and letters, even if they are not fully capturing every phoneme.

In contrast, the other examples show complete spelling or deviations that do not reveal a semi-phonetic understanding. "I am watching TV" and "I like cats" are spelled correctly, which would not illustrate semi-phonetic spelling, while "I goes to the game" alters the grammatical structure and verb forms, which does not specifically reflect a child's understanding of phonetic spelling rules.