DIBELS ORF Scores Available as Lexile Measures

DURHAM, NC and EUGENE, OR--(Marketwire - September 1, 2009) - MetaMetrics®, Inc., developer of The Lexile Framework® for Reading, and Dynamic Measurement Group (DMG), developer of Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS®), today announced that correlation tables to convert DIBELS Oral Reading Fluency (ORF) scores into Lexile® measures are freely available on the Lexile and DMG Web sites. Each year, hundreds of thousands of students in grades 1-3 receive DIBELS ORF scores. By converting these scores into corresponding Lexile measures, educators and parents can match young readers with books and other materials that are targeted to their individual abilities and interests.

Roland Good III, Ph.D., co-author of DIBELS and associate professor at the University of Oregon, said that understanding a child's reading ability at the earliest age and working to develop skill levels are keys to building strong readers. "It is natural to link DIBELS with the Lexile Framework so students have consistent reading measures that follow them throughout their entire educational careers, and are used to successfully connect them with materials that promote reading comprehension both at school and at home," he said.

Recognized as the most widely adopted reading measure, Lexile measures are used at the school level in various capacities in all 50 states. More than 28 million Lexile measures are reported from reading assessments and classroom programs annually, representing about half of U.S. students.

Malbert Smith III, Ph.D., president of MetaMetrics, noted that the link between the Lexile Framework and DIBELS extends the availability of Lexile measures from the typical NCLB grades of 3-8 to the nation's youngest students. "Now that DIBELS ORF scores can be converted into Lexile measures, we are providing teachers and parents with actionable information for matching first through third graders with appropriate reading materials," he said. "When young children read books and other materials that are targeted to their abilities and on topics that are of interest to them, they build stronger literacy skills and increase their chances of becoming lifelong readers."

The field study to link DIBELS with the Lexile Framework included a sample of 2,300 students in grades 1-3. Each participant completed both the DIBELS test and a Lexile linking test, which used response-illustrated items to measure students' abilities to recall details, draw conclusions, and make comparisons and generalizations after reading passages drawn from various content areas. Students' results from the Lexile and DIBELS tests then were analyzed to create the conversion tables. The tables are available at no charge on the Lexile Web site at www.lexile.com/dibels and on the DMG site at dibels.org/pubs.html.

DIBELS ORF is a standardized set of passages and administration procedures designed to identify children who may need additional instructional support, and monitor progress toward instructional goals. The passages are calibrated for the reading goal level of each grade. Student performance is measured by having students read a passage aloud for one minute. Words omitted, substituted and hesitations of more than three seconds are scored as errors. Words self-corrected within three seconds are scored as accurate. The number of correct words per minute from the passage is the student's oral reading fluency score. DIBELS ORF includes both benchmark passages to be used as screening assessments across the school year and 20 alternate forms for monitoring progress. For more information on DIBELS, visit dibels.uoregon.edu or www.dibels.org.

The Lexile Framework is an educational tool that connects readers with reading materials using a common measure called a Lexile. What makes the Lexile Framework unique, and what has led to its widespread adoption, is that it measures both reading ability and text difficulty on the same developmental scale. When used together, Lexile reader measures and Lexile text measures allow educators, parents and students to find books and other materials that meet and challenge a reader's unique ability and interests. Currently, more than 115,000 books, 80 million articles and 60,000 Web sites have Lexile measures, and the number of resources with Lexile measures continues to grow. For more information on the Lexile Framework, visit www.Lexile.com.

About Dynamic Measurement Group

Dynamic Measurement Group (DMG) is an educational company dedicated to supporting success for children and schools. DMG was founded by Roland Good III and Ruth Kaminski, authors of the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS), and is the official home of DIBELS research, development and training. The company focuses on improving outcomes for children and supporting school success by developing practical, innovative and powerful assessment and curricular materials -- with high-quality training and professional development to effectively implement these tools. For more information, visit www.dibels.org.

About MetaMetrics, Inc.

MetaMetrics, Inc., an educational measurement organization, develops scientifically based measures of student achievement that link assessment with instruction, foster better educational practices, and improve learning by matching students with materials that meet and challenge their abilities. The company's team of psychometricians developed the widely adopted Lexile Framework for Reading (www.Lexile.com); El Sistema Lexile para Leer, the Spanish-language version of the Lexile Framework; The Quantile Framework® for Mathematics (www.Quantiles.com); and The Lexile Framework for Writing. In addition to licensing Lexile and Quantile® measures to state departments of education, testing and instructional companies and publishers, MetaMetrics delivers professional development, resource measurement and customized consulting services. For more information, visit www.MetaMetricsInc.com.

MetaMetrics®, the MetaMetrics logo and tagline, Lexile®, Lexile Framework®, Lexile Analyzer®, the Lexile logo, Quantile®, Quantile Framework® and the Quantile logo are trademarks of MetaMetrics, Inc., and are registered in the United States and abroad. The trademarks and names of other companies and products mentioned herein are the property of their respective owners. Copyright © 2009 MetaMetrics, Inc. All rights reserved.

Contact Information: For more information, press only: MetaMetrics: Eric Zurowski 919-547-3453 DMG: Joshua Wallin 541-431-6931 ext. 102