DIBELS Testing

DIBELS testing explained! How reading fluency passages evaluate and drive instruction and indicate a need for academic interventions.

It is now called DIBELS Next, and there have been some major updates to the literacy measurements.

Our literacy lesson plans need to be targeted and systematically delivered.

We know from research that 1 out of 8 children not reading at grade level by the end of first grade will never read on grade level (Juel, 1994).

The US Literacy Rate is at number 27 in the world, out of 205 rated countries.



The NAAL (National Assessment of Adult Literacy) estimates that 14% of US residents have extreme difficulty with reading.

DIBELS Next is a tool to help us identify and strategically intervene before students become part of the low US literacy rate statistic.

Without specific academic interventions, these students will continue to be at risk readers.

Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills

DIBELS testing was developed by Dr. Roland Good from the University of Oregon. It is a standardized, individually administered measure of early literacy development that is given 3 times (Benchmark Periods) throughout the academic year. Progress monitoring is used between DIBELS testing to ensure interventions are working.

DIBELS Next provides educators insights as to WHY this is happening and then points to specific literacy lesson plans and RTI information that should be used.

Five Big Ideas of Literacy Skills

1. Phonemic Awareness (Identification and manipulation of parts of words)
2. Alphabetic Principle
3. Accuracy and Fluency
4. Vocabulary
5. Comprehension

The first two are tests of emergent literacy activities and skills.

1. Phonemic Awareness = DIBELS Next First Sound Fluency, DIBELS Next Phoneme Segmentation Fluency
2. Phonics = DIBELS Next Nonsense Word Fluency test
3. Accuracy and Fluency = DIBELS Next Oral Reading Fluency test
4. Vocabulary = No measure but a key component of teaching reading to children
5. Comprehension = DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency test and DAZE test

DIBELS Testing Explained

These changes do not impact the use of DIBELS for screeners, benchmarking and progress monitoring. What they do, however, is improve the readability levels, incorporate new validity and reliability data, are more user friendly, utilize response patterns, and have an improved font for primary readers.

First Sound Fluency

• Intended for most children from fall of kindergarten to fall of first grade
• Replaced Initial Sound Fluency
• Provides a measure of risk
• Is one of three major predictors of reading success
• Phonemic Awareness

Phoneme Segmentation Fluency

• Intended for children from last year of preschool to middle of kindergarten
• May be appropriate for monitoring progress of older children with low skills in phonological awareness
• Takes about 3 minutes

• No benchmark goals because it is an indicator of risk and should not be an instructional target.
• Intended for children from end of kindergarten through spring of first grade
• Highly recommended for early intervention strategies and planning

Nonsense Word Fluency

• Intended for children from mid to end of kindergarten to beginning of second grade
• Used for testing knowledge of alphabetic principle
• May be appropriate for monitoring progress of older children with low skills in phonics (letter-sound correspondence)
• Common response patterns
• Includes a new score of Whole Words Read
  

• Ties to “big idea” of vocabulary
• Required in order to get a Composite Score (new to DIBELS Next).
• This addition to a Composite Score gives teachers the knowledge of a student's reading behaviors

DAZE

• Recommended for grades 3-6
• Prevents emphasis on speed-reading without attention to meaning
• Identifies children whose comprehension is not consistent with their fluency
• Corresponds directly to “big idea” of comprehension
Increases face validity of DORF (Oral Reading Fluency)

should be used to gain needed RTI information, plan appropriate interventions and progress monitoring.

Students who require Tier 2 or 3 interventions will be progressed monitored either every week or every two weeks, depending on the intensity of the intervention.

Teachers can use the DIBELS Next Benchmark Assessments to analyze student error patterns and to guide differentiated instruction.

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