The orthographic competence in the INVALSI tests

Abstract

This contribution examines the orthographic competence of Italian students, on the basis of their answers to questions related to orthography in the INVALSI tests of Italian. After a presentation of the structural characteristics of Italian orthography, we ask ourselves what kinds of variables affect the difficulty of the orthographic questions at different school levels; what kinds of strategies (phonological, lexical or morphosyntactic) may be activated by the students when answering these questions; if it is possible to identify a progression of difficulty in the questions administered at different school levels and, if yes, in what sense. We attempt to answer these questions by means of a quantitative (percentages of correct answers) and qualitative (peculiar characteristics) analysis of the orthographic questions administered within the tests of Italian, by taking into consideration the following variables: school level, the question intent, the question format, the correction criteria and the statistical elaboration of students’ answers.