I have a question for anyone that uses DIBELS to find out instructional levels of your students.........After you test the fall DIBELS, do you put all of the students that are below benchmark in groups, or only the intensive kids and monitor the strategic? We are never sure what to do, so we pull them all.

[readerabbit]

That is what we are doing too. The test is only a tool. And who is to say the tester didn't understand the student or made a mistake in timing. I have even found that some of the benchmark students had to be pulled. So I don't think it is cut and dried.
You have to look at the individual learner and needs. get luck

[gocats]

I agree with the PP - it is only one piece of data. We have the classroom teachers look at the instructional recommendations and "flag" any students for whom the rating doesn't match their thinking. We ask them for other data for support. The ultimate number we serve also comes down to the number of staff/time we have to support them.

[ojitos]

Where in Louisiana are you readerabbit?

[smoige2]

In my school, we have two reading intervention tutors per grade. So when we look at the DIBELS scores, it usually works out that the one tutor gets most of the intensive and then I get the strategic. The classroom teacher works with the benchmark kids and keeps an eye on their progress. We look at DIBELS mainly because that's what is mandated by our district, but as teachers we consider other factors as well including reading levels and general student abilities/performance. After the first couple of weeks, our groups remain fairly flexible throughout the year, but there isn't very much change that occurs.

[read4riel]

We use the DIBELS testing as a tool also but that's only one tool of many that I use to determine reading groups. Our groups are supposed to be flexible and based on need or the skill being taught. For example, you might have a low and middle to high student both struggling with a skill. They might be in the same group THAT day. I had 4 groups last year. One group was really high and reading chapter books easily. One group was really low and still struggling with some basic skills like short and long vowels. The middle two were probably the most flexible. But I did pull a high student one day to work with a lower group because she was having trouble with a skill and I felt she needed a review. In an ideal world, your reading groups would change pretty regularly, sometimes daily or biweekly, if you were really flexible and grouped by skill. But the real world, I have found, just does not work that way. Unfortuately, my lowest group usually stays my lowest group. Yes, they progress. Yes, I change the people around somewhat. But the kids that truly lack the skills are going to stay together. Like I said the middle two groups were more flexible and I would pull a low or high and usually put in a middle group if need be. I hope all that made sense!!