[Pibe-division] DIBELS Testing

[Albert J Rizzi]

All,

 Forgive my ignorance. But what does DIBELS stand for?


Albert J. Rizzi, M.Ed.
Founder
My Blind Spot, Inc.
90 Broad Street - 18th Fl.
New York, New York  10004
www.myblindspot.org
PH: 917-553-0347
Fax: 212-858-5759
"The person who says it cannot be done, shouldn't interrupt the one who is
doing it."


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-----Original Message-----
From: pibe-division-bounces at nfbnet.org
[mailto:pibe-division-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of EricGuillory at aol.com
Sent: Thursday, December 01, 2011 10:17 AM
To: pibe-division at nfbnet.org
Subject: [Pibe-division] DIBELS TEsting

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