• Amplify mClass Dibels-8 Benchmark Assessment

    Overview:

    Halifax County Schools administers the Amplify mClass Dibels-8 benchmark assessment three times per school year: beginning-of-year (BOY, middle-of-year (MOY), and end-of-year (EOY).  The assessment is administered to K-3 classroom students and 4th-grade reading-retained classroom students by their classroom teachers and reading specialist, and/or coaches.  The assessment tool enables teachers to automate scoring and receive instant targeted instructional recommendations. mClass includes ongoing progress monitoring to comprehensively support each student’s literacy development with foundational skills assessments, comprehension assessments, and dyslexia screening assessments. The Amplify mCass Dibels-8 is also known as the Universal Screener which is the benchmark assessment, also measures the academic progress of large groups of students, and identifies students who may need supplemental instruction and/or intervention.   

    Benchmark Dates:

    The Director of Elementary Education establishes the mClass benchmark assessment windows by using a formula provided by the Office of Early Learning. Assessments are to be administered within 15 consecutive instructional days, not including holidays. BOY assessments are to be administered on days 6-21. MOY are to be administered on days 80-100. EOY assessments are to be administered days 155-170. Districts will be asked to submit testing windows to NCDPI and Amplify at a later date. See the reference chart on the next page.

    North Carolina’s Department of Public Instruction (DPI) selected mCLASS DIBELS ® 8th Edition as the state’s K-3 Literacy Assessment. mCLASS is an integrated literacy system based on the Science of Reading. mCLASS has been revised and upgraded from the assessment NC districts have used in the past, based on the latest research and the Science of Reading. NC mCLASS is built on decades of research at the Center on Teaching and Learning at the University of Oregon, a national center for early childhood assessment and instruction. North Carolina mCLASS DIBELS 8 requirements are as follows and fulfill legislative requirements for K-3 students with sub-test measures for:

    • Phonemic awareness
    • Phonics
    • Fluency
    • Vocabulary
    • Comprehension

    Cut Scores: Amplify mClass Dibels-8 

    Outcomes: The state uses DIBELS 8 data for EVAAS purposes effective 2021-22 from:

    • MOY-EOY for Kindergarten,
    • BOY-EOY for all 1-2 teachers, and
    • BOG-EOG for grade 3.

    DIBELS 8 Assessment Invalidations

    The process for invalidations will be as follows:

    • The teacher requests approval for an invalidation from the school administration
    • School administration submits the invalidation to the District.
    • The District approves the invalidation.
    • The District completes the invalidation form.
    • Amplify has the score invalidated.
    • Invalidation reports are reconciled after each benchmark and shared with NCDPI
    • Invalidations are shared in the SBE and JLEOC report annually.

    Progress Monitoring:

     Progress monitoring is required and should occur between each benchmark window to guide instruction. The frequency of progress monitoring should be based on student data to inform and determine instructional adjustments and supports. Please refer to the guidelines.