In the current study it is investigated if mastery of two crucial spelling rules in Dutch can be considered to be purely dimension-like or that there are more category-like elements to be distinguished. If merely quantitative differences in mastery appear the mastery can be considered to be dimension-like. However, if qualitative differences appear, mastery will have some category-like features. Moreover, the issue will be addressed that, if qualitative differences appear, these could be linked to manifest features of the pupils or that the use of latent groups can be more informative. Results indicate that mastery of the spelling rules cannot be considered to be strictly dimension-like. Three latent groups of students can be distinguished that show qualitative differences in the mastery of one of these spelling rules and the related rules. The educational importance of these results and the applied methodology will be illustrated.
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