Formation of Groups – Third Grade
Here is an example of how to form small groups for instruction using a beginning of the year first grade Class Status Report from the Progress Monitoring and Reporting Network (PMRN). This Class Status Report was sorted by student performance on the NWF measure because phonemic decoding is such a critical reading skill at this point in first grade. You may also sort a Class Status Report by student performance on any of the assessment measures and perform the same type of data analysis using the winter or spring DIBELS® assessment data. Scores from all DIBELS® measures were considered for making decisions about placing the students into small groups.
Please note that the DIBELS® assessment is only one of many tools you can use to determine your class groups. The behavior, attitudes, and work habits of your students should also be considered when placing students into groups for instruction. Additional formal and informal assessment measures may be used to make instructional decisions in all reading skill areas but especially in vocabulary, listening/reading comprehension, and writing.