CORONA (CNS) - An eighth-grader from Corona will learn today whether she scored high enough on a spelling and vocabulary test to qualify for the finals of the Scripps National Spelling Bee for the fourth consecutive year.
Aisha Randhawa and her 561 fellow competitors took a multiple-choice test with 12 spelling words and 14 vocabulary questions on Monday, part of the qualifying process to advance to Thursday's finals. The test is considered the bee's first round.
The finalists are determined by the test scores of the spellers who correctly spelled their third-round words. The finals are limited to a maximum of 50 spellers. Spellers' scores are plotted on a chart beginning at 36.
Spellers at each consecutive scoring level are added until no more than 50 spellers have been attained.
The list of qualifiers for Thursday's finals will be announced following completion of the third round Wednesday.
Spellers receive one point for each of the 12 items correctly identified in the spelling portion of the test, one point for each of the 12 items correctly identified in the initial vocabulary section, three points for a correct answer to the lone item in the second vocabulary section, and three points for a correct answer to the lone item in the third vocabulary section.
Aisha correctly spelled both of the words she was given Tuesday --
agua fresca, a beverage consisting of water and sugar with fruits, grains or
seeds added for flavoring, in the second round, and redoubtable, an adjective
meaning causing fear or alarm, in the third round at the Gaylord National
Resort and Convention Center in National Harbor, Maryland, near Washington,
D.C.
Aisha is among seven spellers in the national bee making their fourth
or fifth appearances. She tied for seventh in last year's bee, the fourth-
highest past finish in the field.
Aisha was eliminated in the 11th round of last year's bee when she
misspelled perduellion, a noun meaning treason, omitting the second L. She tied
for 22nd place in the 2016 bee and tied for 35th in the 2017 bee.
This will be Aisha's final bee because it is limited to students in
eighth grade or below. Contestants for the 92nd edition of the national bee
range in age from 7 to 15.
The 13-year-old has qualified for the national bee by winning the
Riverside County Spelling Bee a record four consecutive times.
Aisha said she thoroughly enjoys ``learning of all kinds'' and loves
performing in the Auburndale Intermediate School jazz band, for which she plays
the piano and alto saxophone. She said she has fun with her siblings and
friends playing board games and exploring the outdoors.
The field consists of spellers from all 50 states and the District of
Columbia, along with American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands
and Department of Defense schools in Europe.
Seven foreign nations are also represented -- the Bahamas, Canada,
Germany, Ghana, Jamaica, Japan and South Korea.
The bee is intended ``to inspire children to improve their spelling,
increase their vocabularies and develop correct English usage that will help
them all their lives,'' according to Paige Kimble, the bee's executive director
and 1981 champion.
Corona Student Among Those in Contention For Spot in Finals of Spelling Bee
