DIBELS 8th Edition
Amplify partners with the University of Oregon's Center on Teaching and Learning, the home of DIBELS® 8th Edition, to bring you the best-available tool for assessing the efficacy of literacy instruction and programs.
DIBELS 8th Edition literacy assessment is a battery of short (one minute) fluency measures that can be used for universal screening, benchmark assessment, and progress monitoring in Kindergarten - 8th grade.
DIBELS 8th Edition literacy assessment is more useful for more students in more grades than ever before. For title 1 schools, special education programs, students identified with dyslexia, and anyone focused on improving literacy for all students, DIBELS 8th Edition assessment is the least invasive, and one of the most effective screening tools available. When you choose DIBELS 8th Edition literacy assessment, you are trusting scientific evidence, research-based practices, and decades of experience in teaching and learning.
Advanced Test Design
DIBELS 8th Edition literacy assessment discontinues a few old DIBELS subtests, revises other existing subtests, and introduces a new subtest.
- Letter Naming Fluency (LNF) now accounts for how frequently letters appear in both upper- and lower-case forms.
- Phonemic Segmentation Fluency (PSF) now accounts for both word frequency and the number of phonemes in a word.
- Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF) now accounts for the frequency of spelling patterns.
- Word Reading Fluency (WRF) is now part of the DIBELS assessment system.
- Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) only requires one passage per benchmark period and passages are now written by experienced authors.
- Maze passages are now written by experienced authors and include several other improvements.
Dyslexia Screener
To improve DIBELS 8th Edition validity as a dyslexia screener, the LNF, PSF, and NWF measures are being validated against measures of rapid automatized naming (RAN), phonological awareness and the alphabetic principle that are typically used in dyslexia identification. For more information, check out the Dyslexia Screening and DIBELS 8th Edition White Paper.
Growth Percentiles
Zones of Growth provides educators an easy way to set individualized literacy goals, review growth percentiles, and evaluate students' progress.
Additional information about DIBELS 8th Edition literacy assessment is available on the University of Oregon DIBELS website and in the DIBELS 8th Edition Administration and Scoring Guide.
DIBELS 8th Edition can help you:
- Screen students at risk for reading disabilities including dyslexia.
- Support monitoring growth of all students.
- Provide instructionally relevant data on all students in Grades K – 8.
Download Handout
Download Testing Materials
Testing materials are available as a FREE download.
Printed DIBELS 8 Material Kits for 2021-2022 are available for purchase through Amplify's e-commerce page.
The DIBELS 8th Edition Measures
DIBELS 8th Edition consists of six subtests designed to assess component skills in reading. The subtests are aligned with four of the five "Big Ideas" in reading. For more information about each measure and skill area, see the DIBELS 8th Edition Administration and Scoring Guide.
| Measure | Measurement Areas |
|---|---|
| Letter Naming Fluency (LNF) | Risk Indicator |
| Phonemic Segmentation Fluency (PSF) | Phonological Awareness |
| Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF) | Alphabetic Principle and Phonics |
| Word Reading Fluency (WRF) |
Alphabetic Principle and Phonics Accuracy and Fluency |
| Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) |
Alphabetic Principle and Phonics Accuracy and Fluency Comprehension |
| Maze | Comprehension |
Administration Timeline
This timeline shows the administration periods for each of the DIBELS 8th Edition measures. Download the DIBELS 8th Edition Timeline.
Benchmark Goals
Student scores are used to determine how each student is doing in relation to a benchmark goal that is predictive of later reading success. The benchmark goals are criterion-referenced. Each measure has an empirically established goal (or benchmark) that changes across time to ensure students' skills are developing in a manner predictive of continued progress.
DIBELS 8th Edition benchmark goals were last updated by University of Oregon in July 2020. These updates reflect data from one million students from the 2019-2020 academic year, as well as two previous validation studies.
Facts about the DIBELS 8th Edition benchmark goals
- The technical robustness of DIBELS 8th Edition literacy assessment provides benchmark goals that are consistent with the high standards of the National Center for Intensive Intervention (NCII).
- The benchmark goals balance the percentage of students in each performance level and help schools allocate intervention resources.
- The benchmark goals reflect four years of study, including two years of widespread operational use nationwide.
Handouts
- DIBELS 8th Edition Tips for Families
- DIBELS 8th Edition Composite Score Calculation Guide Supplement
- Understanding DIBELS 8th Edition Composite and Measure Scores
- DIBELS 8 Administration & Scoring Updates
- Strategies for Collecting Schoolwide DIBELS Data
- Parent Guide to DIBELS Assessment
- Parent Guide to DIBELS Assessment (Spanish)
Instructional Grouping Worksheets
DDS customers can use the online Instructional Grouping Report.
DIBELS 8th Edition Research
DIBELS 8th Edition research is led by experts at the University of Oregon's Center on Teaching and Learning, a recognized leader in early literacy assessment. DIBELS 8th Edition technical reports and white papers can be found on our Research page and on the University of Oregon's DIBELS website.
Professional Development
Online DIBELS 8th Edition Courses were created by the University of Oregon's Center on Teaching and Learning and are now offered through Amplify's professional development platforms. We recommend the full Administration and Scoring Training for educators new to the DIBELS literacy assessment. Those who have recent experience administering prior versions may prefer the DIBELS 8th Edition Transition Course. Learn more about online DIBELS courses.
Data Management
Amplify offers two data management services for the DIBELS 8th Edition literacy assessment. We've created a comparison table highlighting the similarities and differences of each system to facilitate the ability to make the best choice for your needs.
The DIBELS Data System provides data entry and reporting service for schools and districts using the paper and pencil version of the measures. Learn more about DDS Features.
mCLASS with DIBELS 8th Edition provides a platform for digital administration and scoring, reporting, and instruction. Learn more about mCLASS.