DIBELS
Dynamic Indicators of Early Literacy Skills
DIBELS are a set of standardized, individually administered measures of early literacy development. They are designed to be short (one minute) fluency measures used to regularly monitor the development of pre- reading and early reading skills. The DIBELS measures were specifically designed to assess three of the five components of early literacy: Phonemic Awareness, Alphabetic Principle (Phonics), and fluency with text. They are predictive of later reading proficiency and an aid in the early identification of students who are not progressing as expected. When used as recommended, the results can be used to evaluate individual student development as well as provide grade-level feedback toward instructional objectives.
Louisiana Act 422: House Bill 12 prohibits promotion to the 4th grade of certain students whose reading deficiencies have not been remediated by the end of the 3rd grade. DIBELS will be used to determine Act 422. This Act takes affect the 2024-2025 school year.
Louisiana Act 422: House Bill 12 prohibits promotion to the 4th grade of certain students whose reading deficiencies have not been remediated by the end of the 3rd grade. DIBELS will be used to determine Act 422. This Act takes affect the 2024-2025 school year.
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What are the different DIBELS Measures?
Letter Naming Fluency(LNF) – This subtest measures a student’s ability to name letters. Students are asked to name as many letters as they can, uppercase and lowercase randomly mixed, within one minute.
First Sound Fluency(FSF) – This subtest measures a student’s ability to identify, isolate, and pronounce the first sound of an orally presented word. The examiner says a word and the student must say the first sound that they hear in the word . For example, the examiner says, What is the first sound that you hear in the word hat? The student would respond with/h/.
Phoneme Segmentation Fluency (PSF) – This subtest measures a student’s ability to segment and identify the different sounds in a spoken word. The examiner gives the child a word or syllable with three or four phonemes and asks the child to say the individual sounds that make up that word. For example, the examiner says sat and the child says /s//a//t/.
Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF) – This subtest measures a student’s ability to decode and read three-letter syllables that alone are nonsense words. The examiner gives the student a list of two or three-letter nonsense words and asks them to read the words. Students may read the entire two or three letter word or produce the individual sounds in each word. For example, the student is presented with the nonsense word raj and the student says /r//a//j/ or reads it as one word “raj”.
Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) – This subtest measures a student’s ability to read a grade level passage quickly and accurately. Students are timed for one minute on each of three different passages. As the student reads, the examiner records any errors. The resulting score is how many words the student reads correctly in one minute (CWPM-Correct Words Per Minute).
Letter Naming Fluency(LNF) – This subtest measures a student’s ability to name letters. Students are asked to name as many letters as they can, uppercase and lowercase randomly mixed, within one minute.
First Sound Fluency(FSF) – This subtest measures a student’s ability to identify, isolate, and pronounce the first sound of an orally presented word. The examiner says a word and the student must say the first sound that they hear in the word . For example, the examiner says, What is the first sound that you hear in the word hat? The student would respond with/h/.
Phoneme Segmentation Fluency (PSF) – This subtest measures a student’s ability to segment and identify the different sounds in a spoken word. The examiner gives the child a word or syllable with three or four phonemes and asks the child to say the individual sounds that make up that word. For example, the examiner says sat and the child says /s//a//t/.
Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF) – This subtest measures a student’s ability to decode and read three-letter syllables that alone are nonsense words. The examiner gives the student a list of two or three-letter nonsense words and asks them to read the words. Students may read the entire two or three letter word or produce the individual sounds in each word. For example, the student is presented with the nonsense word raj and the student says /r//a//j/ or reads it as one word “raj”.
Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) – This subtest measures a student’s ability to read a grade level passage quickly and accurately. Students are timed for one minute on each of three different passages. As the student reads, the examiner records any errors. The resulting score is how many words the student reads correctly in one minute (CWPM-Correct Words Per Minute).