Comparative Study of ELL and Non-ELL Student Performance in National Standardized Achievement Reading Test: Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) Dr. Matilde Campos Young

Statement of the Problem Nation wide studies show that the achievement gap between ELL students and other students reading scores on nationally standardized assessments is wide, typically by 20% to 40% (Menken, 2006).

Introduction Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills: (DIBELS): Assessment system

Introduction Response To Intervention: RTI –Educational approach includes Ongoing student assessment High quality instruction Tiered intervention

DIBELS Reading Benchmark Achievement Goals DIBELS Measure Beginning of Year Months 1-3 Middle of Year Months 4-6 End of Year Months 7-10 ScoresStatusScoresStatusScoresStatus Initial Sound Fluency (ISF) At risk Some risk Low risk Deficit Emerging Established Not administered during this assessment period Letter Naming Fluency (LNF) 0 – 1 2 – At risk Some risk Low risk At risk Some risk Low risk 0 – – At risk Some risk Low risk Phoneme Segmentation Fluency (PSF) Not administered during this assessment period 0 – At risk Some risk Low risk 0 – 9 10 – Deficit Emerging Established Nonsense Word Fluency (NWF) Not administered during this assessment period – At risk Some risk Low risk – At risk Some risk Low risk

Purpose of the study To compare the reading scores of ELL and non ELL students in a small suburban Delaware school district to the national reading scores during the school year. To determine if there is an achievement gap in reading scores and if so, if early interventions affected the outcome scores. To determine if there is a direct correlation between early reading interventions and student achievement.

Need for the study Various studies indicate that the achievement ratio for ELL student is about the same across the nation in any given standardized reading test; a 20% to 40% deficit. Data shows that this achievement gap is approximately 25% deficit in Delaware for the year 2007 ( sState.aspx). sState.aspx

Research Question 1 Was there a significant difference between kindergarten ELL students and non-ELL kindergarten students in reading achievement scores (of 306 students) in a small Delaware suburban school district?

Research Question 2 Did the implementation of an early intervention program affect ELL student reading achievement scores in the small Delaware suburban school district?

Research Question 3 Did the implementation of an early intervention program affect non-ELL student reading achievement scores in the small Delaware suburban school district?

Small suburban Delaware School District Profile ( 21.6% 0.4% 3.6% 4.3% 70.1%

National Achievement Reading Scores K-12

Delaware Achievement Reading Scores K-12 Difference in Percentage Compared to the Reference Group Group Name Spring 2004Spring 2005Spring 2006Spring 2007Spring 2008 LEP

Findings and Results: Data Analysis Number of subjects in each category

Findings and Results: Data Analysis (I) Race (J) Race Mean Difference (I-J) Std. ErrorSig * Comparison between DIBELS scores and Race

Findings and Results: Data Analysis SourceFSig. Race ELL Intervention Intervention * Race nELLrisk Multiple comparison utilizing DIBELS scores as a dependent variable

Findings and Results: Data Analysis QUESTION 1 restated: Was there a significant difference between ELL kindergarten students and non-ELL kindergarten students in students reading achievement scores of 306 students in a small Delaware suburban district? –The results of the data suggest that there was a statistically significant difference between ELL kindergarten students and non-ELL kindergarten students in students reading achievement scores of 306 students in a small suburban district in Delaware.

Findings and Results: Data Analysis QUESTION 2 restated: Did the implementation of an early intervention program affects ELL student reading achievement scores in the small Delaware suburban school district? –The data suggest that the implementation of an early intervention program affects ELL student reading achievement scores in the small Delaware suburban school district.

Findings and Results: Data Analysis QUESTION THREE: Did the implementation of an early intervention program affect non-ELL student reading achievement scores in the small suburban district in Delaware? –The data showed that there is an statistically significant difference between the DIBELS reading scores of ELL and non ELL students. The data suggests that the implementation of an early intervention program had no impact on African American students reading achievement scores in the small Delaware suburban school district.

Explanation of Findings Contrary to the National achievement reading scores, ELL kindergarten students reading test scores for the school year in a small suburban Delaware school district achieve at similar rates as non-ELL peers. 97% of the ELL Kindergarten students in the small Delaware suburban school district meet the benchmarks after a brief amount of intensive intervention. The findings from this study suggest that early reading intervention focusing on DIBELS reading scores alone is a good indicator of benchmark achievement.

Future Directions The researcher proposes: –Longitudinal studies be conducted with a larger ELL population of students. –Studies implementing RTI protocol and DIBELS reading data scores should follow the students in this study from kindergarten through third grade. –Careful analysis of any teacher related variables such as training, time spent on each skill, whole-group instruction vs. individual or small group instruction, classroom environment etc. –Investigate how to target all student populations so that early intervention programs have successful impact on all kindergarten students.

Conclusion The results of this study indicated that the implementation of reading interventions (RTI) helped ELL students meet the prescribed benchmarks and close the academic achievement gap between ELL students and non ELL students reading scores for the school year in the small suburban Delaware school district.