Week 9, Assignment 3: Comparing QRI-5 and DIBELS

QRI-5 and DIBELS are two popular assessment tools used to measure literacy skills of students.  While their goals may be aligned to allow educators to assess skills that are important for reading proficiency, there are differences that allow these tools to serve multiple purposes.

QRi-5, Qualitative Reading Inventory, is an individualized, informal reading assessment that teachers can use to determine students' reading abilities and instructional needs in grades P through 12.  This comprehensive, non-standardized instrument is useful to determine each student’s reading level, word identification skills, comprehension skills, strengths and developmental opportunities.  Results will also aid teachers in matching appropriately-leveled materials for each student. 

In one-on-one conferences, students will read narrative and expository passages starting at two levels below their current grade.  Teachers use graded word lists to assess each student’s oral reading, silent reading, or listening comprehension. Additionally, teachers can assess comprehension through inquiry with implicit and explicit questions, retelling, look-backs and think-alouds.

DIBELS, Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills, is a series of research-based, criterion-referenced assessments to measure literacy skills and fluency of students from kindergarten to sixth grade.  DIBELS provides indicators on five specific aspects of literacy: phonemic awareness, alphabetic principle, accuracy and fluency with connected text, reading comprehension, and vocabulary.

These brief, one-minute assessments are performed with individual students in a one-to-one setting and administered by a trained assessor using standardized, grade-specific passages.  Through early and regular use of DIBELS, educators can get data to monitor the early reading skills of their students and identify those who are at-risk for reading difficulties in future grades. This information can also guide instruction and determine intervention for students.

Comparison

The two assessment tools share several similarities beyond measuring skills important for literacy. Both are brief, can be used for students in kindergarten through grade six, and are administered in one-to-one settings with prepared materials.  Either one can be used to measure fluency and comprehension.  However, there are some key differences.  QRI-5 assessments can be used for grades P through twelve and focus more on decoding, comprehension, and background knowledge.  Students are not timed in their reading as assessors use miscue analysis, implicit and explicit questions, and progressively harder narrative and expository text passages to determine their appropriate reading levels.  Unique benefits of DIBELS are the finer level of detail that educators can gain from assessments.  Teachers can hone in on specific skills like letter recognition and blending sounds that early readers may need additional instruction.  While critics of DIBELS question the use of nonsense words and a short time limit, the assessment scores are research-based and serve as predictors of future reading success.

Complementary Use in the Classroom

Teachers in kindergarten through grade six should consider utilizing both QRI-5 and DIBELS to assess their students’ skills to plan instruction and provide intervention.  With their differences, the two can complement each other to give a more comprehensive picture of their students’ developmental needs.  For example, teachers can administer the QRI-5 at the start of the school year to determine reading levels and assign students to appropriate reading groups.  This assessment can be repeated a few more times throughout the school year to measure progress and make adjustments.  The teacher can also administer DIBELS at the start of the school year to measure each student’s skills on phonological awareness and alphabetic principles and plan instruction to target deficiencies and boost their proficiency in those specific areas.  A focus on these early skills is critical to build fluency.  Both sets of assessments can be used to determine intervention needs, evaluate reading comprehension and guide the scaffolding of lessons to provide the optimal level of instruction to support each student’s learning.