Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS)
Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) are a series of assessments designed to evaluate early literacy capabilities in students from kindergarten through sixth grade. Developed by researchers at the University of Oregon, DIBELS aims to identify students who struggle with fundamental literacy skills, allowing for targeted instructional support to prevent future reading difficulties. The assessments have become widely utilized in preschools and elementary schools across the United States.
DIBELS measures five key areas of literacy, including phonemic awareness, alphabetic principle, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension. The tests are typically administered in one-minute intervals throughout the academic year, with additional assessments for students who may need more frequent monitoring due to lower scores. While many educators praise DIBELS for its effectiveness in reducing reading difficulties, critics argue that the focus on speed may compromise comprehension skills.
Overall, DIBELS serves as a valuable tool in the literacy support system, providing insights for teachers and specialists to help students become proficient readers.
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Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS)
Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) are a group of tests used to evaluate early literacy skills for students in kindergarten through sixth grade. Developed by researchers at the University of Oregon, DIBELS are used to identify students who are experiencing problems in acquiring fundamental early literacy skills in order to provide additional instructional support and prevent later reading difficulties. DIBELS became one of the most commonly used reading assessment measures used in preschools and elementary schools in the United States. In addition to their use in identifying students who are experiencing difficulties with basic literacy skills, DIBELS are used to monitor reading progress of individuals, groups, and entire school systems.
Overview
Research on the procedures that became DIBELS began in the late 1980s. By the 1990s studies revealed that as many as 20 percent of students experienced severe reading disabilities, and an additional 20 percent found reading difficult enough to negatively affect their reading enjoyment. Reading problems proved a reliable predictor of students who would experience greater academic difficulties as they progressed through the school system. It was in this context that Ruth Kaminski and Roland Good led a team of researchers in the College of Education at the University of Oregon to determine the early literacy skills that most effectively predicted the mastery of more complex reading skills and to develop standardized procedures to precisely and efficiently measure these basic skills. Kaminski and Good published the forerunner of DIBELS, Curriculum Based Measures of Pre-reading Skills, in 1996. Over the following years, multiple editions of DIBELS were released and the program was implemented by school systems in all fifty states. By 2024, the eighth edition of DIBELS had been released.
The five essential skill areas that DIBELS measures are those that differentiate successful readers from unsuccessful readers. They include hearing and using sounds in spoken words, knowing the sounds of letters and sounding out written words, reading materials accurately and fluently, vocabulary, and comprehension—all skills that can be improved through supplementary instruction. The DIBELS tests are one-minute assessments that are typically administered at three intervals during the school year. Students whose DIBELS scores indicate the need for additional instruction may be tested as frequently as once a week.
Some school systems that have used DIBELS highly praise their effectiveness, in some cases reducing poor readers to less than three percent. Despite this success, the measures are not without critics, many of whom charge that the tests stress speed and fluency at the sacrifice of comprehension and encourage teachers to “teach to the tests.” Kaminski defends the measures by reminding critics that DIBELS, as the name makes clear, were designed as indicators of reading problems and not as a single solution to such problems. She uses the analogy of a physician’s use of temperature, height, and weight as measures of a child’s physical health, insisting that teachers, reading specialists, and other examiners use DIBELS in a similar manner as a reading assessment tool that gives them the information to intervene and instruct when necessary. They provide one element in a system of literacy support that operates to help all students become successful readers.
Bibliography
Daly, Edward J., Sandra Chafouleas, and Christopher H. Skinner. Interventions for Reading Problems: Designing and Evaluating Effective Strategies. New York: Guilford P, 2005. Print.
Dessoff, Alan. “DIBELS Draws Doers & Doubters.” District Administration.Professional Media Group. Aug. 2007. Web. 23 July, 2013.
Goffreda, Catherine T., James Clyde Diperna, and Jason A. Pedersen. “Preventive Screening for Early Readers: Predictive Validity of the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS).” Psychology in the Schools 46.6 (2009): 539–52. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 July 2013.
Good, Roland H., III, and Ruth A. Kaminski. “What Are DIBELS?” DIBELS.org, Dynamic Measurement Group. n.d. Web. 23 July 2013.
Goodman, Kenneth S., et al. The Truth about DIBELS: What It Is, What It Does. Portsmouth: Heinemann, 2006. Print.
Kaminski, Ruth. “Best Practices in Using Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) for Formative Assessment and Evaluation.” Best Practices in School Psychology V. 6 vols. Eds. Alex Thomas and Jeff Grimes. Bethesda: Natl. Assoc. of School Psychologists, 2008. 1181–204. Print.
Koehler-Hak, Kathrine, and Achilles N. Bardos. “Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS): General Outcomes Measurement for Prevention and Remediation of Early Reading Problems.” Practitioner’s Guide to Assessing Intelligence and Achievement. Eds. Jack A. Naglieri and Sam Goldstein. New York: Wiley, 2009, 389–416. Print.
Morris, Robin K., et al. “Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills: An Effective Tool to Assess Adult Literacy Students?” Adult Basic Education & Literacy Journal 5.3 (2011): 150–60. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 July 2013.
Nelson, Jason M. “Beyond Correlational Analysis of the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS): A Classification Validity Study.” School Psychology Quarterly 23.4 (2008): 542–52. Academic Search Premier. Web. 23 July 2013.
"What Is DIBELS?" University of Oregon, dibels.uoregon.edu/about-dibels. Accessed 21 Aug. 2024.