I think that, one of the reasons that happens a lot is that people are kind of scared to RP their charrie being really amazing at spellwork. Since it isn't realistic for EVERYONE to get a spell on the first try, a lot of people assume that they SHOULDN'T get it the first time, since then they may seem like they're trying to make their charrie super super smart. I think they're afraid of being judged by other RPers, especially the new ones, who don't want the other RPers to look at them look "Ohh, look at that new member acting like they know all this already *ignore*" or something stupid that would NEVER happen, of course. Plus, if someone gets the spell right away on their first attempt, they don't really have anything else to RP until the Professor gives them another task to do. And being bad at spells often provides for creative RPs when spells go badly wrong That is, unfortunately, one aspect of the RP I don't think can really BE canon, ya know? Kind of like having points for homework--if we didn't have it here no one would do it, but we have to even though it isn't canon or there would be no incentive to do assignments.

One way to combat this, in my opinion, would be to draw a little history about your character's relatives...for example, Cale's mum was HORRIBLE at magic, where as his dad was only average. Therefore Cale would certainly never get a spell right the first time. I think it's a bit genetic, to be honest, just like IQ's are based off of genetics as well. He was pretty much the same as his dad--it took a couple of tries and then he got it. For charries who had really smart parents who were particularly gifted with spellwork, it would make more sense for them to be a bit better at magic than some of their peers. That would be a good way to establish credibility, I think