Digging Deeper with
DIBELS Data
RtI TAC Summer Institute
June 2011
Michelle Fitzsimmons
Debbie DePalma
Session 1 Overview
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DIBELS as an informal diagnosticpurpose of DIBELS
Use 4 step process to analyze DIBELS
booklet pages (I’ve DIBEL’d Now
What?)
Review Assessment Audit and Share
Additional Assessments to Dig Deeper
DIBELS as Informal Diagnostic
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DIBELS measures, by design, are indicators of each of the
Basic Early Literacy Skills.
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For example, DIBELS do not measure all possible phonemic
awareness skills such as rhyming, alliteration, blending, and
segmenting. Instead, the DIBELS measure of phonemic
awareness, Phoneme Segmentation Fluency (PSF), is
designed to be an indicator of a student’s progress toward the
long-term phonemic awareness outcome of segmenting
words.
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The notion of DIBELS as indicators is a critical one. It is
this feature of DIBELS that distinguishes it from other
assessments and puts it in a class of assessments known
as General Outcome Measures.
Diagnostic Assessment
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Occurs before instruction
Often focuses on one area or domain of
knowledge.
It can provide educators with information
about each student's prior knowledge before
beginning instruction.
Educators can use a diagnostic assessment
to assist them in developing lesson plans
and providing differentiated instruction to
meet students' needs.
Screening and Diagnostic
Assessments
We first use screening tests to
determine a general pattern of
difficulty. Then we use diagnostic
tests to determine specific needs.
What system do you have in place to ensure
this happens?
Analyzing Student Booklet
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Step 1 analyze the whole picture
Step 2 Note areas of concern or
questions
Step 3 Study error patterns of the
booklet pages
Step 4 Summarize Observations for
intervention lesson plan
Review of Student Data
Emily and Enrique Mid Year First Grade
See Handout
Step 1 Analyze Whole Picture
Emily whole picture:
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PSF emerging
NWF deficit
ORF Some risk
How are Emily and Enrique the same?
Different?
What does this tell us about DIBELS
Step 2 Note areas of Concern
Where does each student fall in terms
of benchmark expectations?
Describe each students strengths and
concerns based on beginning and mid
year data
 Enrique:
 Emily:
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Step 3 Error Patterns (refer to handouts)
Divide into groups:
 Group 1 PSF data
 Group 2 NWF data
 Group 3 ORF data
Step 4 Summarize observations
for Intervention Lesson Plan
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Share whole group the finding for each
of Emily’s probes:
PSF
NWF
ORF
What does this mean for Tier 1, Tier 2
and Tier 3 instruction?
Apply 4 Step Process
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Choose one student booklet, using the
graphic organizer complete the 5 step
process for 1 student
Digging Deeper Assessments
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Donna Goldberg- PA Assessment
Decoding Surveys
95% Group assessment
ERDA
Running Reading Records & DIBELS
Running Reading Records
Oral Reading Fluency
Purpose
-determine text level
-assess performance on
independent text- accuracy,
fluency and comprehension
-understand fluency
rate
- monitor progress
Administration
-during
guided reading
- during independent reading
-timed
Points to
Consider
Running reading records
determine text level based on
Fountas and Pinnell Text
leveling criteria.
ORF assess and
monitors student
progress on
predetermined text,
leveled by text
readability.
assessment
-standardized
Sequence of Assessments
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Benchmark screening assessment
Progress Monitor to validate scores
Analyze Student Responses
Diagnostic Assessments validate/dig
deeper
Use information to develop
differentiated plans for students
Progress Monitor- adjust instruction
as needed
Current State- Data Rubric
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Review the data rubric, highlight green
areas of strength, yellow areas you
developing in, and pink, areas that
need attention
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Describe the 3 most important next
steps for you- chart on paper
Child-Focused Instruction
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Review data at the student level.
•
Understand the learning strengths
and needs of each child.
•
Use flexible grouping to target
instruction. (Guided Reading, Writer’s
Workshop, Small Group Skill Instruction)
Flexible Grouping Strategy
T.A.P.S.
(T) Total group: there may be information and new
skills that need to be shared or demonstrated to the
whole class.
(A) Alone: Sometimes students need to practice by
working alone as they will on standardized tests. In
life, we often think and work independently of
others.
(P) Partners: partnering gives students a narrow
audience with whom to share ideas, discuss new
information, or process learning. (may be random or
teacher-constructed)
(S) Small groups: there are many ways of forming
small groups. Groups of three to five may be
constructed for a variety of purposes.
What Do I Teach During Small
Group Instruction and Intervention?
1.
2.
3.
What do I teach?
How do I teach?
How does the lesson format change based on
student reading proficiency?
1.
2.
3.
4.
4.
Students at an advanced level of instruction
Students at a benchmark level of instruction
Students at a strategic level of instruction
Students at an intensive level of instruction
How do I extend learning for struggling
readers?
Differentiated Small Group
Instruction
Utilize various forms of student assessment
data to assist in instructional planning.
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oral reading fluency
accuracy rate
phonics skills students may have
deficits in, which impact their fluency.
Comprehension/vocabulary data
Question to Consider:
How does the classroom
teacher balance time
devoted to the different
components?
Fitting It All Together
Through the Four Part Lesson Plan,
teachers are provided with a
structure that incorporates grade
level skill development, targeted
skill instruction based on need,
vocabulary development and
reading with connected text into a
guided reading lesson.
Explicit Lesson Planning
Template
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Warm-Up (PA, Phonics, Word Study (5 minutes)
Whole Word Reading/ Vocabulary Development
(5 minutes)
Sentence Reading and Dictation or
Development based on vocabulary words.
Reading of Connected Text/Literature Circles
- Speaking and Listening Skills
- Vocabulary
- Comprehension
- Strategy Use
- Follow-up Activity or Project
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Written Response to Text
Differentiated Lesson Plan
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Review lesson plans for Intensive,
Strategic and Benchmark students.
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What do you notice?
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How could this be utilized at your
grade level?
Final Thoughts
Effective balanced instruction requires a
very comprehensive, integrated
approach, demanding that teachers
know a great deal about literacy research
related to emergent literacy, assessmentbased instruction, phonological and
phonemic awareness, the alphabetic
principle, phonics, word study, selecting
appropriate leveled readers, reader
response, writing process, and
constructivist learning. (IRA, 2003)