Print

Ask the Experts

Student Assessment - Universal Screening

 

I have three questions based on our first year of implementing DIBELS as part of our RTI model. Our school has a high percentage of English Language Learners [ELLs], who typically score poorly on DIBELS.


1.    Are universal screeners designed to give valid information on large populations of ELLs?


2.    Because DIBELS is a static measurement we learn through it that most of our students are below grade level. Since there is no dynamic measurement to show how fast a child can learn, isn’t there a danger of results putting large groups of children in remediation gulags ,destined only to broaden the achievement gap and not close it?


3.    In our first year of DIBELS, the 5 coaches at our school will have spent about 60% to 70% of the year doing DIBELS tests for benchmarks and progress monitoring. (We will have spent about 70 of the approximately 170 school days actually doing intervention.) What is the approximate ratio of days spent testing to days doing interventions or coaching?

 


Response from Evelyn Johnson, Ed.D., Associate Professor of Special Education, Boise State University:

Thank you for your questions! The purpose of universal screening within an RTI framework is to collect data that help inform your instruction in two main ways:

1. To indicate the efficacy of the core instructional program in the general education classroom. Reviewing the percentage of students who are able to meet benchmark targets gives the school an indication of how successful the program is. If a significant percentage of students are unable to meet performance targets, then that suggests a school needs to examine the efficacy of their instructional program. This is especially true if the percentages don't change when reviewing fall to winter benchmarks.

2. To identify students who are not meeting performance benchmarks in the general education program. These students will need more support in a well-designed Tier 2 system that includes instructional practices that support the learning needs of the students at-risk.

Screening should be a brief process  with assessments being quick and easy to administer. If you are serving a large number of students who are English learners and your data indicates that they are not meeting targets, then a next step should include a review of the instructional program to determine the extent to which you are using instructional practices that are effective in supporting students' reading achievement.
Have more questions? Read more answers from Ask the Experts. Back To Top