DALA is a user-friendly assessment, specifically designed to assess the literacy skills of very beginning readers. The primary purposes of DALA are to inform instruction and measure progress. The ten subtests provide diagnostic information that allows you to identify areas of strength and weakness. You can use this information to create an individual profile of and plan effective lessons for each student. The subtests measure a student's knowledge of print concepts and conventions, text functions, environmental print, high-frequency words, phonics, phonemic awareness, and letter names. In addition, the subtests measure the student's level of phonemic awareness and his/her ability to engage in common literacy activities.
DALA includes a DVD that demonstrates how to administer DALA's subtests and how to teach beginning readers, using effective strategies and activities such as making a picture dictionary, echo reading, word families sound boxes, and the think-aloud process.