DIBELS (given in the fall, winter and
spring for kindergartners through third-graders)
Our school has chosen to use a test called
DIBELS to help us examine how your child is doing in learning important
reading skills. DIBELS stands for Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy
Skills. DIBELS tests five skills that are necessary for learning to read.
Children who learn these skills become good readers.
The skills are:
• Phonemic Awareness: Hearing and using sounds
in spoken words;
• Alphabetic Principle: Knowing the sounds of
the letters and sounding out written words;
• Accurate and Fluent Reading: Reading stories
and other materials easily and quickly with few mistakes;
• Vocabulary: Understanding and using a variety
of words; and
• Comprehension: Understanding what is spoken or
read DIBELS is made up of seven short individual tests, called subtests.
Each DIBELS subtest focuses on a different skill
and takes about one minute to do. Your child may be given two to five of the
DIBELS subtests depending on his or her grade level. Each DIBELS subtest takes
only about one minute to do because they are used as indicators. Much like
using a thermometer to take a child’s temperature is an indicator of overall
health, each subtest is an indicator of how well a child is doing in learning
a particular early reading skill.
DIBELS is used with millions of children
throughout the United States. A child’s score on a subtest tells us whether
the child is likely to be “on track” for learning to read, or whether that
child may need some help in learning important reading skills. Your child’s
teacher will use the information to better help your child. For example, the
DIBELS test may tell us that we need to spend more time teaching your child
how to “sound out” unknown words. DIBELS is used to identify children who may
need extra help to become good readers and check up on those children while
they receive the extra help to make sure they are making progress. DIBELS also
may be used by your school to make decisions about how well the school’s
overall reading program is working for all children. DIBELS should never be
used to grade your child, or for decisions about retention. We are working
hard at school to make sure that every child is on target for success, and we
thank you for your efforts at home. Together, we will help your child become a
successful reader.
Measurements of Student Progress (MSP)
The Measurements of Student Progress (MSP) is
given to all third- through eighth-graders each spring and replaces the
Washington Assessment of Student Learning.