We have been using prepared dictation with Spelling Wisdom for many years. 2 of my 3 kids are great spellers. My oldest graduated last year and continues to spell terribly, he happens to be the only one who ever used a traditional spelling program with rules and lists. The younger two, 11th and 8th grade, only ever did copywork and dictation after they learned phonics. We used a traditional-ish phonics program with rules. My oldest no longer does dictation but I do assign her copywork still. The 8th grader still does dictation. I rarely need to correct their spelling and they only rarely ask for spelling help when they are writing.