Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills Test

The Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) testing system is used in schools as a tool that indicates a child's reading ability in a variety of skills. DIBELS allows the teacher to see and address learning problems and disabilities within a specific area of reading. Students can then be targeted for academic intervention to improve performance on individual skills, to make them successful readers.

Grade Levels

The DIBELS tests are designed to be used for students in grades kindergarten through sixth. The tests can be given three or four times, but schools usually assess at the beginning, middle and end of the school year.

Skills Assessed

Literacy skills assessed are letter naming, initial sounds, phoneme segmentation, nonsense word and oral reading. Proficiency in these areas are indicators of reading success.

Administration

DIBELS tests are administered by a certified teacher or a trained paraprofessional. All tests are timed, ranging from one to five minutes.

Reporting System

Scores are entered into a database from the test booklet. Reports are generated that give a numerical score and a student ranking of at-risk, some-risk, and low-risk in each skill assessed.

Benefits

DIBLES is an important component of literacy instruction because of the quick feedback teachers get on a student's progress throughout the year. Because the tests are skill-specific, the teacher is able to target the area in which a child may need remediation.

References

• Official DIBELS Website
• Assessment Type by Grade Level