Artsberg Enterprise Limited

Developmental Indicators for the Assessment of Learning, Fourth Ed (DIAL-4)
Author(s): Carol Mardell, PhD & Dorothea S. Goldenberg, EdD

A global screener for assessing large groups of children quickly and efficiently.

Administration: Paper-and-pencil
Scores: DIAL-4 provides standard deviation and percentile cutoff points by chronological age at two-month intervals for total and area scores—Motor, Concepts, Language, Self-Help, and Social Development. Percentile ranks and standard scores also are provided.

• Scoring Options: Q-global™ Scoring & Reporting or Hand Scoring
• Qualification level: B,Q2-Level
• Publication Date: 2011
• Ages / Grades: 2:6–5:11
• Completion Time: 30-45 Minutes
• Language: English, Spanish

New features enhance screener’s ability to help predict academic success

As much as you’ve enjoyed using DIAL™-3 for quickly screening large groups of young children, the DIAL™-4 delivers even greater benefits! Updates offer early childhood professionals further advantages with time-saving testing, easier administration, and enhanced reliability.

Users & Applications

DIAL-4 is used by:

• Preschool and kindergarten teachers
  
• Early childhood specialists
  
• Child development center personnel
  
• Head Start program
  
• Program administrators

Content & Administration

You administer the tool by presenting stimuli one at a time using a dial, manipulatives, and other materials. To give you comprehensive information, DIAL-4 provides scores for all five early childhood areas:

• Motor area: Gross Motor items include catching, jumping, hopping, and skipping. Fine Motor items include building with blocks, cutting, copying shapes and letters, and writing, and a popular fingertouching task.
  
• Language area: Items include answering simple personal questions (name, age, and sex), articulation, naming (expressive) or identifying (receptive) objects and actions, plus phonemic awareness tasks such as rhyming and “I Spy.”
  
• Concepts area: Items include pointing to named body parts, naming or identifying colors, rote counting, counting blocks, identifying concepts in a triad of pictures, and sorting shapes. Includes an item that assesses automatic naming of objects, a skill that is associated with potential learning disabilities.
  
• Self-help development: Looks at the child’s development of personal care skills related to dressing, eating, and grooming.
  
• Social development: Looks at the child’s development of social skills with other children and parents, including rule compliance, sharing, self-control, and empathy.

Features & Benefits

• New norms to support updated edition
  
• Lowered floor from 3:0 to 2:6
  
• New items to measure skills important for predicting academic success
  
• Reformatted Handbooks and Record Form for easier administration and scoring
  
• Simplified administration instructions and scoring rules to reduce errors
  
• Teacher Questionnaire allowing for information from multiple sources

Materials

• Training materials
  
• Manual
  
• Easy-to-follow Operator’s Handbooks
  
• Lightweight, one-piece dials
  
• Separate zippered bags for the area materials
  
• Easy-to-use carrying bag
  
• Teacher Questionnaire—Offers the opportunity for teacher feedback
  
• Parent Questionnaire—Helps gather information about the child’s health history, background, and development of self-help and social skills
  
• Report to Parents—Helps facilitate discussion with parents and caregivers about their child’s progress
  
• Optional Parent-Child Activity Form—Suggests activities parents can use to help their child improve motor, language, concepts, self-help, and social skills

Scoring & Reporting

In addition to regular hand scoring, online scoring and reporting for the DIAL-4 is now available through Q-global™.

Scoring & Reporting using Q-global

Accessible from any computer connected to the Internet, Q-global helps administrators quickly and efficiently:

• Upload child information into the system via a csv file
  
• Enter raw scores
  
• Generate accurate reports for individual children or groups of children
  
• Securely access assessment information

This scoring and reporting system is designed for entering raw scores from the paper based record form only. You will not be able to administer the DIAL-4 online using this program.

DIAL™-4 Complete Kit -
Includes Manual, Record Forms (English) (50), Record Form (Spanish) (1), Cutting Cards (50), Parent Questionnaires (English) (50), Teacher Questionnaires (English) (25), manipulatives, dials, Operator’s Handbooks in English and Spanish for Motor, Concepts, and Language Areas plus the Speed DIAL, Training Packet, and Training DVD