District Administration - August 2007 - (Page 43)

Phonics vs. Whole Language Another issue DIBELS has raised is whether phonetic reading instruction is better than teaching “whole language” reading. Kaminski says DIBELS is neutral on the issue. “Whatever reading instruction you are using, DIBELS indicates whether it works or not,” she says. The International Reading Association supports phonics as part of a whole language program. “The teaching of phonics is an important aspect of beginning reading instruction,” IRA declares in a position statement. But Reeves claims reading is multifaceted. “You have to do both, and anybody who has spent any time with kids should not take an either/or position,” he says. “You need letter recognition and sounds skills, but nobody has ever said that prevents you from reading rich, wonderful literature.” Reeves compares it to music. “The fact that you get wonderful vibes from playing a Chopin nocturne doesn’t mean you are prohibited from playing scales and doing hand exercises,” he says. Meanwhile, debate over DIBELS itself continues. “It digs too deeply into the infrastructure of reading skill and process and comes up with a lot of bits and pieces but not the orchestrated whole of reading as a skilled human process,” Pearson says. But Kaminski and Stollar defend it. “It was never intended to be the be-all and end-all of reading assessment but to work pretty darned well as an indicator of a core skill,” Kaminski says. Stollar adds that criticism comes from a lack of knowledge. “There is no other reading assessment that can do what DIBELS does,” he says. DA Alan Dessoﬀ is a freelance writer based in Maryland. RESOURCES DIBELS, dibels.uoregon.edu Dynamic Measurement Group www.dibels.org The Leadership and Learning Center www.makingstandardswork.com Metropolitan School District of Wayne Township www.wayne.k12.in.us Orange County Public Schools www.ocps.k12.ﬂ.us Reading Horizons www.readinghorizons.com Southwest Ohio Special Education Regional Resource Center www.swoserrc.org Volusia County Schools www.volusia.k12.ﬂ.us Wireless Generation, mCLASS:DIBELS www.wirelessgeneration.com • • • • • • • nonsense syllables are not tests of reading. Only the misnamed Reading Fluency test involves reading a meaningful text, and that is scored by the number of words read correctly in one minute. DIBELS does not test what it says it tests. Each test reduces what it claims to test to an aspect tested in one minute. What DIBELS does, it does poorly, even viewed from its own criteria. Items are poorly constructed and inaccuracies are common. DIBELS cannot be scored consistently. The tester must time responses (three seconds on a stopwatch), mark a score sheet, and listen to the student, whose dialect may be diﬀerent from the tester, all at the same time. DIBELS does not test the reading quality. No test evaluates what the reader comprehends. Even the “retelling ﬂuency test” is scored by counting the words used in a retelling. The focus on improving performance on DIBELS is likely to contribute little or nothing to reading development and could actually interfere. It just has children do everything fast. DIBELS misrepresents pupil abilities. Children who already comprehend print are undervalued, and those who race through each test with no comprehension are overrated. DIBELS demeans teachers. It must be used invariantly. It leaves no place for teacher judgment or experience. • DIBELS is a set of silly little tests. It is so bad in so many ways that it could not pass review for adoption in any state or district without political coercion. Little can be learned about something as complicated as reading development in one-minute tests. Pedagogy of the Absurd I believe this period in American education will be characterized as the pedagogy of the absurd. Nothing better illustrates this than DIBELS. It never gets close to measuring what reading is really about—making sense of print. It is absurd that self-serving bureaucrats in Washington have forced it on millions of children. It is absurd that scores on these silly little tests are used to judge schools, teachers and children. It is absurd that use of DIBELS can label a child a failure the ﬁrst week of kindergarten. And it is a tragedy that life decisions are being made for 5- and 6-year-olds on the basis of such absurd criteria. Ken Goodman is professor emeritus in the Language, Reading and Culture Department at the University of Arizona in Tucson. He is former president of the International Reading Association, a bestselling author and a contributing editor to The Pulse: Education’s Place for Debate. August 2007 43 www.DistrictAdministration.com http://dibels.uoregon.edu http://www.dibels.org http://www.makingstandardswork.com http://www.wayne.k12.in.us http://www.ocps.k12.fl.us http://www.readinghorizons.com http://www.swoserrc.org http://www.volusia.k12.fl.us http://www.wirelessgeneration.com http://www.DistrictAdministration.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - August 2007

Contents
Editor’s Letter
Letters
News Update
Technology Update
Curriculum Update
Inside the Law
Research Corner
Computer Literature
District Profile
Administrator Profile
Bus Money
DIBELS Draws Doers & Doubters
Report from EduComm 2007
Ins and Outs of Outsourcing
Curriculum Clearance
How Well Does This Web Site Work?
New Products
Problem Solution
Online Edge
Speaking Out
Professional Opinion
Calendar of Events
Understanding the Times

District Administration - August 2007