At the time of initial assessment, Phoebe’s chronological age was 11 years and 7 months. Her equivalent spelling age** was 9 years and 4 months, approximately 2 years and 3 months below the expected level for her chronological age.
After only five months of tutoring when Phoebe’s chronological age was 12 years, her equivalent spelling age was 10 years and 2 months. This showed an overall increase of 10 months, which was now 1 year and 10 months below the expected standard for her chronological age, showing that she had begun to close the gap.
After another 11 months of tutoring (1 year and 4 months in total) when Phoebe’s chronological age was 12 years and 11 months, her equivalent spelling age was 11 years and 10 months. This showed an overall increase of 2 years and 6 months from her initial assessment, which now showed that she was now spelling only 13 months below the expected standard for her chronological age.