[Pibe-division] DIBELS TEsting

EricGuillory at aol.com EricGuillory at aol.com
Thu Dec 1 15:16:54 UTC 2011


 
Greetings  All, 
Though I  am far from expert in my understanding of all of the implications 
for Braille  learners in the completion of DIBELS, I offer the following. 
In the state of  Louisiana, Braille students are given the option of not 
being assessed using  DIBELS as are their k-3 peers. This is because, quite 
frankly, most students,  due to a variety of factors about which many sermons 
could be preached, do not  have a solid grasp of the Braille code nearly as 
early as we would like. That,  coupled with the timed nature and, at times 
ponderous formatting of DIBELS,  makes its administration problematic for most 
students in this  cohort. 
With this  in view, Louisiana has decided to allow for the utilization of 
the Jerry Johns  inventory for assessing one’s reading level, as well as for 
the administration  of the ABLS (Assessing Braille Literacy Skills) checklist
—developed by Region 4  in Texas. Though Braille advocates like me are 
somewhat taken aback by this, as  we all know that Braille is not a slower 
medium than is print, the stark reality  is, that in the early grades (the stage 
at which DIBELS is administered), our  Braille kids are often behind the 
curve. This unfortunate, yet undeniable,  reality prompted the Louisiana 
decision, as did the fact that the Johns and ABLS  approach will certainly provide 
the desired data to the  evaluators. 
I hope  this helps and that everyone isn’t going crazy in the flurry of 
activities that  characterizes this time of year. A great day to  all! 
Eric  Guillory 
PIBE  President 
Director  of Youth Services 
Louisiana  Center for the Blind 
“Learning is not attained by chance, it must be sought  for with ardor and 
attended to with diligence.”--Abigail  Adams 
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