The Assessment of Oral Reading Fluency: Concurrent Validity of the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Literacy Skills and Screening To Enhance Equitable Placement Measures

Curriculum-based screening instruments such as DIBELS and STEEP can facilitate early identification of children with reading difficulties. This early detection process is crucial, as remedial efforts must be initiated swiftly in order to produce necessary gains in the performance of students struggling with the mastery of reading skills. The outlook for students who have failed to master basic reading skills by grade three is quite bleak. The current research study examines the concurrent validity of the Oral Reading Fluency measures of DIBELS and STEEP. Research has shown that Oral Reading Fluency is highly correlated with reading comprehension, thus it was selected as the basis for this study. DIBELS and STEEP each possess special characteristics that make them desirable for use in the classroom. This study attempts to provid