Discrepancy between report card versus DIBELS (Kindergarten)?

[Anonymous]

Dibels is timed. Your child likely is struggling with automaticity. So, while it's good they have their letter names, it's really important that kids know them so well it's like breathing to them. One of the biggest predictor of reading success is having those letter names, (and sounds), down cold.

[Anonymous]

DIBELS is a measure of fluency. Your kid c as n probably name all of the upper and lowercase letters but DIBELS gives them one minute to name as many correctly as they can. By the end of kindergarten, they should be able to hit a benchmark score of 42 letters correct in one minute. You can easily practice this at home e every night. Just google LNF practice sheets and print them out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Dibels is timed. Your child likely is struggling with automaticity. So, while it's good they have their letter names, it's really important that kids know them so well it's like breathing to them. One of the biggest predictor of reading success is having those letter names, (and sounds), down cold.

Thank you this is helpful

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DIBELS is a measure of fluency. Your kid c as n probably name all of the upper and lowercase letters but DIBELS gives them one minute to name as many correctly as they can. By the end of kindergarten, they should be able to hit a benchmark score of 42 letters correct in one minute. You can easily practice this at home e every night. Just google LNF practice sheets and print them out.

Thank you! Will do.

[Anonymous]

My kid was a strong reader, but had some issues with that part of DIEBELS. They were good at reading letters in context, but would mix up a lowercase p and q or b and d on a timed test with no context. That's developmentally appropriate for that age. Not a big deal.

[Anonymous]

Trust DIEBLS, not MCPS report cards.

[Anonymous]

Dibels is timed so my guess is that your child does know their letters, but doesn't know them quickly.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Schedule a meeting to talk to the teacher. This discrepancy between test and report cards is one of parent’s biggest complaints. The problem stems for how each report things. Dibels score is based on where they believe kids should be at certain points in the year with specific phonics/reading skills. Whereas the report card “on level” takes a more holistic approach. So a kid needing some support in K and even this particular quarter is not necessarily below grade level. Especially considering there are kids who are way below that. So that makes things more confusing for parents.

Keep practicing the letters and reading this quarter. They should have mastered them all by then. Note that the b vs d and p vs q is very normal. Leapfrogs Letter Factory video everyday or every other day is really helpful.

Word of the century in the largest school district in MD.

To be fair it’s not just them.

I’d also add it’s not so much a discrepancy as a lack of understanding around multiple measures.

OP - I agree that I lack understanding around multiple measures. How do I gain this understanding? What is the difference between:
- DIBELS: "Naming letters from print, measured by DIBELS Letter Naming Fluency (LNF). Can your child name both uppercase and lowercase letters?"
- MCPS Report Card: "Letter Identification and Naming - Uppercase (out of 26) and Lowercase (out of 26)"?

What information was provided to parents that I missed to help me understand the differences between these two measures?

Just schedule a conversation with the teacher. The board is full of folks who want to jump to the worst possible conclusions. More than likely your kid just needs some more practice and time. If they are making progress with learning the letters and reading CVC words and generally progress in phonics and reading there is likely nothing to worry about.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Schedule a meeting to talk to the teacher. This discrepancy between test and report cards is one of parent’s biggest complaints. The problem stems for how each report things. Dibels score is based on where they believe kids should be at certain points in the year with specific phonics/reading skills. Whereas the report card “on level” takes a more holistic approach. So a kid needing some support in K and even this particular quarter is not necessarily below grade level. Especially considering there are kids who are way below that. So that makes things more confusing for parents.

Keep practicing the letters and reading this quarter. They should have mastered them all by then. Note that the b vs d and p vs q is very normal. Leapfrogs Letter Factory video everyday or every other day is really helpful.

Word of the century in the largest school district in MD.

To be fair it’s not just them.

I’d also add it’s not so much a discrepancy as a lack of understanding around multiple measures.

OP - I agree that I lack understanding around multiple measures. How do I gain this understanding? What is the difference between:
- DIBELS: "Naming letters from print, measured by DIBELS Letter Naming Fluency (LNF). Can your child name both uppercase and lowercase letters?"
- MCPS Report Card: "Letter Identification and Naming - Uppercase (out of 26) and Lowercase (out of 26)"?

What information was provided to parents that I missed to help me understand the differences between these two measures?

Just schedule a conversation with the teacher. The board is full of folks who want to jump to the worst possible conclusions. More than likely your kid just needs some more practice and time. If they are making progress with learning the letters and reading CVC words and generally progress in phonics and reading there is likely nothing to worry about.

Thanks. Some of the responses here have actually been really helpful. I'm not terribly worried, but it's good to know what the different data points actually mean.

[Anonymous]

I’d use the DIBELS to guide my next steps.

[Anonymous]

All about reading
All about spelling
TV Teacher

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Schedule a meeting to talk to the teacher. This discrepancy between test and report cards is one of parent’s biggest complaints. The problem stems for how each report things. Dibels score is based on where they believe kids should be at certain points in the year with specific phonics/reading skills. Whereas the report card “on level” takes a more holistic approach. So a kid needing some support in K and even this particular quarter is not necessarily below grade level. Especially considering there are kids who are way below that. So that makes things more confusing for parents.

Keep practicing the letters and reading this quarter. They should have mastered them all by then. Note that the b vs d and p vs q is very normal. Leapfrogs Letter Factory video everyday or every other day is really helpful.

Doesn't MCPS have terrible literacy rates? Not sure being "on level" is particularly reassuring in this context.

[Anonymous]

I'd actually be pretty concerned about difficulties with automaticity and letter naming even in K. These problems can be early signs of dyslexia or ADHD (both inattentive and hyperactive). I'd monitor carefully and be quick to get OG style tutoring support and a psycho-educational evaluation in support of an IEP or 504 if necessary. Reading problems are easier to remediate when kids are younger. Ask me how I know.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd actually be pretty concerned about difficulties with automaticity and letter naming even in K. These problems can be early signs of dyslexia or ADHD (both inattentive and hyperactive). I'd monitor carefully and be quick to get OG style tutoring support and a psycho-educational evaluation in support of an IEP or 504 if necessary. Reading problems are easier to remediate when kids are younger. Ask me how I know.

How do you know? Information about where you are coming from with this advice would actually be really helpful.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DIEBLS is administered (usually) by a teacher unfamiliar to your child and in an unfamiliar setting. It is timed and the scripted directions can be confusing. No shock young children don’t perform as well.

Your child’s teacher seems them every day and is grading them based on what they consistently see.

I would chalk this up to a bad “test” day and nothing more.

My kid did horribly on DIBELS the first time, but then got a perfect score once he "figured out" the test-taking.