Phone NumbersTesting Information
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DIBELS DIBELS, or Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Language Skills is a nationally normed series of tests geared toward assessing reading fluency in early readers. All students from Kindergarten to Grade 6 participate in this reading assessment. Broken into a series of short subtests, DIBELS measures some of the skills young students need in order to become fluent readers. In grades 3 through 6 DIBELS measures reading fluency. Oral reading fluency (ORF) is one important indicator of reading performance when used with other measures of vocabulary knowledge and comprehension skills. As DIBELS is a nationally normed instrument, it allows us to compare the performance of Bedford students to national performance benchmarks. At each grade level, we have chosen the sub-test that best captures the performance expectations for readers of that age. These performance levels are recorded for you in the column marked "Perf Lvl" and are listed as either "Meets Benchmark" or "Below Benchmark." These scores along with others are used to determine which students need additional support in the reading area. The DIBELS assessment is one piece of information that is used in order to gain information about our students' reading skills. It is used in conjunction with other formal and informal assessments and teacher observations. GRADE The GRADE, or Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation, is a nationally normed standardized test used to diagnose students' reading comprehension skills. Results of this assessment are used to monitor student growth year to year and to help classroom teachers inform their instruction. Students' performance is measured in three categories: sentence comprehension, passage comprehension, and vocabulary. Results from theses subtests are combined to produce a total reading comprehension score. The Sentence Comprehension subtest measures an understanding of context, vocabulary knowledge, and parts of speech. The Passage Comprehension subtest focuses on a student's comprehension of extended text when reading from a variety of passage types. The Vocabulary subtest measures vocabulary knowledge without the benefit of context. Scores for the Grade are reported in Stanines. These stanine scores range from 1 to 9. The word is short for "standard nine" and refers to the nine sections of a bell curve into which a child's test results may fall. A stanine of 1, 2, or 3 is below average; 4, 5, or 6 is average; and 7, 8, or 9 is above average. Each stanine number indicates a range of performance, not a specific score. Statistically, most children's scores will fall in the 4,5,6 stanine range. Math End of Year Assessments The Math End-of-Year Assessment was created by Bedford teachers to assess essential math skills and concepts that are expected at the end of each grade level. In Grade Two, the assessment covers all five strands of the Math Frameworks. These strands include: Number Sense, Geometry, Measurement, Data Analysis and Probability and Patterns, Number Relationships and Pre-Algebra. For Grades Three though Five, the assessment covers only the Number Sense strand, since all strands are assessed in the more comprehensive end-of-year MCAS math tests. A score of 80% or higher indicates that we consider the student has achieved Benchmark for what has been tested. Math End of Year Scores for Grades K and 1 will not be added to the portal yet. This decision is based on the fact that this is only the second year of the new Grade 1 End of Year Assessment. In the interest of fairness, it is difficult to evaluate the effectiveness of a test with so little history. Additionally, teachers at our Kindergarten level administer the End of Year Assessment as oral interviews. Teachers need time to standardize their scores before they can be used appropriately in the portal. A timeline for the inclusion of End of the Year Math Scores for Grades K-1 will be added to our implementation calendar for the portal going forward. Again, we recognize that this is only one measure of student performance and should be used in conjunction with regular teacher reports, tests and MCAS performance. MCAS Information on the significance of MCAS scores is provided in a link directly to the DESE website. Glossary of Terms Benchmark- equivalent of "Proficient" for a given assessment at a given grade level DIBELS-Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Language Skills GRADE-Group Reading Assessment and Diagnostic Evaluation MCAS- Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System MCAS Performance Levels
Stanine- a unit of measure frequently used to describe student performance. A stanine of 1, 2, or 3 is below average; 4, 5, or 6 is average; and 7, 8, or 9 is above average.
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