Professional Development

Smart Start: Arkansas' K-4 Initiative - Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills

Grade Levels

  • K-3
  • Special Education

Approved Area of Professional Development

  • Assessment

Description

Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) are a set of standardized, individualized measures of early literacy development based on the essential elements of reading in the National Reading Panel Report, 2000.  These measures will allow teachers to assess student development of phonological awareness, alphabetic understanding, and automaticity and fluency with the code.  Each measure has been thoroughly researched and demonstrated to be a reliable and valid indicator of early literacy development. 

By looking at students’ success rates on the DIBELS measures, teachers can interpret the effectiveness of their reading instruction.  Where trends of weakness appear, they can identify those children who are at-risk for reading difficulties and intervene with targeted assistance.

Training Schedule

  • 1 day

Research

Contact Information

For additional information, contact the literacy specialists at your local education service cooperative.