DIBELS stands for Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills. DIBELS was designed as a tool for ongoing progress monitoring of the acquisition of reading skills and for early identification of children with reading problems. The original DIBELS included 10 measures assessing sound–symbol relationships (i.e., the student is able to say the sounds that a letter makes), phonemic awareness (i.e., knowledge of the sounds made by each letter and the ability to blend them into a word), language development, and knowledge of print and letter names. Research shows that DIBELS is a reliable and valid measure of the acquisition of early reading skills. School psychologists use DIBELS to detect children who might need additional help in learning to read and to monitor the progress of ...