DIBELS Next Questions and Answers
Will DIBELS Next be allowed by the state for the 2nd grade reading assessment?
Yes, please see the quote below from OSPI’s Website. DIBELS has been an approved assessment tool and will continue to be so as DIBELS Next.
“Second Grade Reading Assessment
The Second Grade Reading Assessment Law (RCW.28A.300.310 and RCW.28A.300.320) mandates that every student in the state of Washington be assessed at the beginning of the second grade using a grade-level equivalent oral reading passage. Students whose performance is found to be “substantially below grade level” must be accorded an intervention plan that involves the student, parents, and school. Assessing reading comprehension is optional, but strongly recommended. Scores are not reported to the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) but should be used by the teacher, school, and district to provide support for students who need help. “ – OSPI
Is DIBELS Next available in Spanish?
No, but the IDEL measures can be used with Monolingual and Transitional Bilingual Students. Please see the quote below from the Dynamic Measurement Group (DIBELS) website.
“IDEL is a research-based formative assessment series designed to measure the basic early literacy skills of children learning to read in Spanish. The IDEL measures are not a translation of DIBELS, although they are based on the same research-based evidence of how children learn to read in alphabetic languages. IDEL, however, also carefully takes into account the linguistic structure of the Spanish language including the phonology, orthography, and syntax. The measures are standardized, short, individually administered, and can be used to regularly monitor the development of early Spanish literacy skills. Each measure has been thoroughly researched and demonstrated to be a reliable and valid indicator of early literacy development in Spanish. IDEL is appropriate to use with students learning to read exclusively in Spanish, as well as in conjunction with DIBELS for students in bilingual, transitional, or two-way immersion programs that teach early literacy skills in Spanish and English.” – Dynamic Measurement Group
In regards to Oral Reading Fluency:
· Why is there a title?
Why don’t you tell children to read the title and/or tell them what the passage is about?
DORF is a measure of whether or not the student has the necessary component reading skills to decode and get meaning from previously unread text. For this reason, we intentionally do not read the title or tell children what the passage is about. – DMG
Should the tester or student read the title of the passage?
No. The directions indicate that you direct the students to the first word of the passage. If they do accidentally read the title and hesitate for 3 seconds on a word, then you should supply the correct word. Do not start the timer until they read the first word of the passage.
· What is the advantage of using the median score versus an average?
Taking the median of 3 passages provides the most reliable estimate of a child's performance and minimizes error in measurement due to differences in passage difficulty, child interest and/or background knowledge, etc. The median score minimizes the effect of outlying scores (e.g., if a child finds a particular passage especially difficult or easy). Average scores are more appropriate when you are taking the average from more than 3 data points (e.g., 10 or more).
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Debby Laimon
Dynamic Measurement Group
http://www.dibels.org