The Relationship of Scores on Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills, Word Use Fluency to Word Knowledge and Shyness

Limited research has been conducted to determine the link between the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DD3ELS); Word Use Fluency, and reading ability. In addition, a link between the personality trait of shyness and lower performance on language tests has been established. The purpose of the present study was two fold. First this study aimed to determine how well the DIBELS Word Use Fluency indicator measures vocabulary knowledge. Second, the strength of the relationship between scores on the DIBELS measure and shyness was established. This helped to understand if Word Use Fluency underestimated the vocabulary knowledge of students who are shy. Participants included 35 second-grade students from upstate New York schools, rated by their teachers as shy or not shy. Each participant was evaluated with the DIBELS: Word Use Fluency and Oral Reading Fluency, Receptive One Word Picture Vocabulary Test, and the Expressive One Word Picture Vocabulary Test. A significant negative correlation existed between the shyness rating and Word Use Fluency. In addition Word Use Fluency was significantly correlated with expressive vocabulary for not shy students. A Multivariate Analysis of Variance indicated a significant difference between the performance of shy students and not shy students on Word Use Fluency, but no difference on the Expressive One Word Picture Vocabulary Test