Date of Award

5-2017

Degree Type

Creative Project

Degree Name

Master of Education (MEd)

Department

Special Education and Rehabilitation

Committee Chair(s)

Robert L. Morgan

Committee

Robert L. Morgan

Committee

Lisa Boyce

Committee

Barbara J. Fiechtl

Abstract

School districts in the state of Utah are required to use Dynamic Indicators of Basic Literacy Skills (DIBELS) as an assessment of reading ability for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. The Logan City School District (LCSD) kindergarten end of year (EOY) Composite DIBELS data have been strong over the past 5 years with over 90% of students scoring at benchmark. In comparison, in each of those 5 years, first grade beginning of year (BOY) data drops considerably. LCSD is concerned with this trend because it is larger than the state trend of 13-14%, the trend is increasing, and this decrease is the biggest among all grade levels. The purpose of this study was to gather information from experts, a representative from DIBELS, and a representative from the DIBELS reporting company Amplify, in an interview; then the interview was shared along with the LCSD DIBELS data with three focus groups of administrators, kindergarten teachers, and first grade teachers, to analyze the data. The strongest hypothesis of the focus groups for the reason for the large decrease from EOY kindergarten to BOY first grade Composite data on DIBELS for LCSD students was awareness of how proficient the student performance was at benchmark. The focus groups discussed possible hypothesis and made recommendations for the district on steps to take to further study the issue. This study has brought to the attention of administrators and educators the need to analyze LCSD DIBELS data more intently and to begin to effect change moving forward.

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