DIFFERENTIAL EFFECTS OF COVER, COPY, AND COMPARE IN SPELLING WITH FOUR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS WITH SEVERE BEHAVIOR DISORDERS

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of cover, copy, and compare (CCC) for teaching spelling of commonly used words with four high school students with behavior disorders. CCC is a self-tutoring and managed practice procedure where known and unknown spelling words are taught using CCC worksheets, error correction, small individualized word lists, and frequent testing. Practice typically involves students copying a word from a list, and then copying the same word from memory. If the student makes an error, they are required to correctly spell the word again three times before moving to the next word. The effectiveness of CCC was evaluated with combination multiple baseline and reversal design. The results indicated that CCC was effective in increasing the spelling accuracy of 240 commonly used words. However, the reversal procedure generated differential effects between the participants. Specifically, the return to baseline was not replicated for two of the three participants. The CCC procedure required little teacher time or training and was an overall success in a special education high school classroom setting.