At what stage do students begin to show near-perfect spelling abilities?

The choice indicating that students begin to show near-perfect spelling abilities at the conventional stage is correct because this stage represents a level of spelling development where learners have mastered the basic conventions of spelling. During the conventional stage, students not only understand the phonetic spelling of words but also apply the rules of spelling related to prefixes, suffixes, and complex word structures accurately. They become proficient in using the correct spelling for most words regularly, showing their ability to internalize orthographic rules and patterns.

In contrast, the phonetic stage is characterized by students spelling words based on their sounds, which may lead to misspellings or phonetically plausible but incorrect forms. The transitional stage marks a period where students begin to combine phonetic spellings with learned spelling patterns, but they are still refining their skills and may not spell words correctly all the time. The pre-phonetic stage represents the earliest phase of spelling development, where students may not yet grasp the relationship between letters and sounds, resulting in random letter usage rather than coherent spelling. Therefore, the conventional stage is the point at which students demonstrate almost complete mastery of spelling.