HELP: DIBELS test & accelerated reader?

[eleileen]

HELP! DS1 (age 5) had just started kindergarten, has good reading skills (his teacher estimates around mid 1st-2nd grade level) but apparently managed to flunk his 1st DIBELS testing. His teacher seems unconcerned, as he is among the top readers in his class, but can someone who know more about this help provide more information? I did do some research online and found the more information (including the sample tests the kids are put through). I can definitely see my oldest refusing to read the 'nonsense' words just because it's not something that makes sense to him. I am extremely surprised he could not identify the letters & sounds in the 1 minute test (he can do that fluently by about age 4 & my younger son 3 year old son can probably identify most of the letter sounds). Maybe I need to learn and administer the test to him so he does fine when they repeat it in a few months?

Also, I need to find out the repercussions of him 'failing' this test (although he's obvious not put in any remedial reading classes but in with the AR readers).

[trulycrabby]

I would explain the purpose of the test to him, and why he needs to do his best to read the nonsense words.

 

Here's a free DIBELS practice download:  http://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Nonsense-Word-Fluency-Freebie-NSF-DIBELS-Practice-Pages-196733

 

[sunnyday]

I'd talk to the teacher. IMO, my child is at school to learn and to build a positive association with learning. He's not there to test. If the teacher and/or school chooses to use an assessment to help them track and measure his progress, that's fine. But they'd better be able to explain how they use it and why the test is an accurate measure of what they need to know about my kid. And I don't let the teacher off the hook as far as being able to determine my child's ability level outside of the assessment. If he can't decode nonsense words because, duh, they are nonsense words, but he can demonstrate fluent blending and decoding in other contexts, I darned well expect the teacher to notice the discrepancy.

 

My kid never hit his standard in DIBELS for "initial sound fluency". I think he may have an undiagnosed receptive language problem. Nonetheless, he took off in his reading a few months ago and is spelling on grade level too, so I'm not concerned.

 

I remember the kindergarten teacher telling us that the timed aspect of the letter recognition test, as well as the nonsense aspect of the nonsense words, threw a lot of kids off. They tended to improve with the second testing.

[SKL]

Miss A did below average on the part where they test phonological awareness (or whatever they call it).  That part of the test dropped off after the beginning of 1st grade.  Since my daughter was above average on everything else, as well as a good speller, and had not trouble reading and understanding above-average level material, I ignored that score.  It could be a fluke because this is the first time he has taken such a test.

[Nart]

I wouldn't worry about it. Really, it just helps predict what kids may be at a higher risk of having difficulty learning to read. If your child already reads, the kindergarten test is pointless. My son entered kinder reading at a second grade level. When he did the nonsense word fluency his score was low because he stopped to try and point out to the teacher that words in English don't end in "j" or "v". He said there were made up words ending with those letters like "kiv" or "ruj". He had just finished a AAS lesson that reviews that topic. He said the teacher didn't understand what he was explaining.

[kiwik]

I wouldn't worry about it. Really, it just helps predict what kids may be at a higher risk of having difficulty learning to read. If your child already reads, the kindergarten test is pointless. My son entered kinder reading at a second grade level. When he did the nonsense word fluency his score was low because he stopped to try and point out to the teacher that words in English don't end in "j" or "v". He said there were made up words ending with those letters like "kiv" or "ruj". He had just finished a AAS lesson that reviews that topic. He said the teacher didn't understand what he was explaining.

I can kind of imagine that conversation.

[SMRB]

I personally hate DIBELS. My son's school uses it, and several teachers have told me that, although it can be good at catching kids who have problems, kids who read early and read well often do poorly in some areas. For example, in K, my son was tested in the fall only on letter fluency and first sound fluency. They did not do nonsense words until winter (they do DIBELS 3 times). In the winter, he failed first sound fluency, because he just read the word when they showed it to him. The rules didn't allow him a second chance to identify the first sound, even though he read the word. In the spring, they get extra credit if they read the word first, and his scores went off the chart. 

 

The K teacher told us that the principal was all upset over the winter DIBELS scores. They were low across the board in her class, but all of the kids were reading well above grade level fluently. If your child is fluently reading at least at grade level and the teacher is not using the results to hold him back, I would completely ignore DIBELS.

[ElizabethB]

My game is a fun way to practice phonics while using nonsense words:

 

http://www.thephonicspage.org/On%20Phonics/concentrationgam.html

[eleileen]

thanks! this is something for us to work on this weekend.

need to gather our books & find their AR numbers for DS to do his test on Monday. His substitute teacher forgot to send him to the library to get a book.

[Lecka]

It is a 3-minute test. If he can obviously sound out words then it is nothing.

 

It is a screening test for kids who need it.

 

My son was identified with this test and because I was able to do research with it as a starting point, I was able to start a dyslexia reading program with my son when he was 6 and he was able to be in regular reading by Christmas of 1st grade.

 

It is a valuable test for the kids it identifies, and nothing for other kids.

 

The nonsense words are just to verify kids do not have all sight words. Some kids memorize sight words well but don't know how to sound out words. That is all it is.

 

It is not a test, though, like a test to study for, it is really just a screening. It doesn't sound like his teacher is at all concerned.

 

I wouldn't worry about it one bit. I wouldn't waste time working on nonsense words when his teacher doesn't care.

 

It was very, very valuable to me, though.

 

Without this screening I shudder to think when my son would have been identified and when I would have known to start working with him.

 

It was really not obvious to me in any way.

 

Edit: I mean, I think phonics games are great, I would do them too. I wouldn't be like "must do this just because of Dibels." It is like a non-issue if he has the skills but had a 5-year-old moment on the test. My son was not having a 5-year-old moment, he really didn't have the skills, and it was not apparent.

 

Actually I would say -- work on the phonics page to make sure he can sound out words. Kids can memorize words easily and from context some times, and not really have sounding-out skills. Sounding-out skills are really important though. But that is an off chance. But phonics is always good as long as he is getting something out of it, imo.

[The Way of My People]

My first grader (reading on a 4th grade level) just flunked Dibels, too! He literally failed to read a single nonsense word correctly. I just about had a heart attack when I saw the test results, but his teacher just laughed and told me Dibels is useless with kids who are already reading well.

[Jodi-FL]

i give dibels at one of our elementary schools (i just became a learning support assistant this year after 17 years of homeschooling because my husband told me to work full time). my 2 youngest attend a different school district (5th and 2nd grade) that also do dibels. they are basically just tied to funding. as a result of the initial dibels, i work with kids in 3-5th grade who tested low in reading ability or fluency. many of them read just fine and just need more practice, not more testing. i was initially appalled by the NSF (non-sense fluency) test, but it's a test of their decoding ability. very confusing for them, and IMO, totally unnecessary. unless you're looking to assess hundreds of kids in a short amount of time in order to get maximum government money for your school. we have good, caring, experienced teachers at our school (where i work) that have high opinions of homeschoolers because they know giving our kids the best education is the priority. their hands are tied. i have a teaching degree from 25 years ago. i am still in shock how much has changed over those years. teachers basically don't teach anymore. they present information given to them i order to assess the testing ability of kids. they have very little control over their own goals, processes or teaching content. it's sad.

 

at my own kids' school, on the other hand, homeschoolers are seen as a threat. they don't think parents could ever do a good job of educating their kids, and treat us like we don't even know how to parent. i got in an unintended confrontation with my 2nd grader's teacher because he's getting early readers sent home as his guided reading (henry and mudge, etc.) and he's reading chapter books at home. he asked me why he has to keep reading them when he sees other kids get chapter books. i asked his teacher. of course it was tied to how he tested. i asked him how he reads at school for his teacher and he said, "at. the. corner. in. a. room.) when i asked him why he reads like that for her, he said it was because that's how he heard the other kids read. she totally spoke down to me until i told her i'm a reading specialist at a neighboring school district. then all the sudden she said we'll talk and reevaluate at the parent teacher conference in november.

 

i hate having my kids in public school.

 

jodi-graduated 3 from homeschooling, one is a senior still being homeschooled, then a freshmen, 5th grader and 2nd grader at the ps