For the first time, the bee is releasing the rankings of spellers going into the semifinals. You can see the rankings here: http://cdn.spellingbee.com/bee/Points_Earned_through_the_End_of_the_Semifinals_Test.pdf?1470728
No more than 12 spellers will move on to the finals.
The posting of cumulative scores is intended to provide more clarity about the process by which spellers are eliminated, even when they spell their words correctly on stage. Between the on-stage spelling that has already taken place and the two written tests, spellers were able to earn a maximum 66 points.
Speller 132, Dev Jaiswal, is leading the pack with 63 point. He got a perfect score on the first written test, as did Cole Shafer-Ray, speller 200, (in third place with 60 points) and Gokul Venkatachalam, speller 140, (tied for seventh place with 57 points).
Returning finalsts Tejas Muthusamy, speller 238, and Vanya Shavashankar, speller 90, are tied for fifth place with 58 points. Former finalist Samuel Pereles is tied for 14th place with 54 points.
"At times, there was confusion because people see the kids spell correctly," said Valerie Miller, communications manager for E.W. Scripps. "Now, people are able to know who's leading going in to the semifinal round and where spellers rank."
The change, she said, helps create a better understanding of the entire bee program.
"There's much more than what people see on TV of kids spelling on stage," she said.