Catching Up with DIBELS Next
Use Cases and Deployment Scope
We utilize DIBELS Next with our Reading Sufficiency Plans. Three times per year, we conduct a major assessment to see where a student ranks. Monthly, we perform Progress Monitoring for those students who were deemed “at risk” per the first DIBELS Next assessment. Through progress monitoring, we hope to see overall gains with the student portion of the product.
Pros
- On-going Reading/Phonics/Dyslexia Screening
- Monthly Progress Monitoring
- Easy for the students to use on their end
Cons
- Presentation of the “how to”- I miss the older days of meeting for a week and learning the product inside & out.
- More user-friendly format for those giving assessments-difficult to use the home page & areas within.
- Parents/guardians have a difficult time with some of the written items, their lack of understanding.
Most Important Features
- Assessing at the BOY, MOY, and EOY
- Added dyslexic screening, but could be more in depth
- Progress monitoring to better improve overall scores
Return on Investment
- I’m not with the monetary element, but I would think our school has benefitted from this investment.
Alternatives Considered
Renaissance Star Assessments
Other Software Used
Renaissance Accelerated Reader, Study Island