TESTING THIS MONTH... DIBELS, FLKRS AND ESOL/CELLA
Download the DIBELS brochure for Parents here.
Comprehensive English Language Learning Assessment (CELLA)
Florida uses the Comprehensive English Language Learning Assessment (CELLA) to measure the growth of students classified as English Language Learners (ELLs) in mastering the skills in English they will need to succeed in school.
CELLA is a four-skill language proficiency assessment developed under contract by Educational Testing Service (ETS) that is designed to provide:
Evidence of program accountability in accordance with Title III of No Child Left Behind (NCLB), which calls for schools and districts to meet state accountability objectives for increasing the English-language proficiency of English Language Learners.
Data useful for charting student progress over time and, for the newly arrived students; charting progress over the first year.
Information about the language proficiency levels of individual students that can be used in making decisions regarding placement into, or exit from English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) programs.
Diagnostically useful information about students’ strengths and weaknesses in English (with as much specificity as possible within the limitations of a large-scale standardized test.)
The CELLA tests four areas:
Listening
Speaking
Reading
Writing
These sections are included in each of the four test levels: Level A (Grades K-2), Level B (Grades 3-5), Level C (Grades 6-8) and Level D (Grades 9-12).
Students will take the Listening, Reading, and Writing sections as a group. For the Speaking section, students will have a one-on-one interview with a teacher.
Florida Kindergarten Readiness Screener (FLKRS)
The FLKRS is a state-mandated screening instrument that is used with first-time kindergarten students at the beginning of the school year. This screening assists teachers in understanding the learning needs of children entering school and will help teachers target instruction for these children. The FLKRS includes a subtest of the Early Childhood Observation System (ECHOS) and the first two measures of the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) for kindergarten (Letter Naming Fluency and Initial Sounds Fluency) to gather information on a child’s development in emergent literacy.
