Effects of curriculum alignment versus Direct Instruction of urban children

Brent, G.; Diobilda, N.

Abstract:

This study examined the effect of Direct Instruction programs on the academic achievement of 2nd grade students in Camden, New Jersey. (The project received Follow Through funding, but was not one of the sites included in the Engelmann-Becker guided work in Project Follow Through and did not include all of the assessments or controls used in the large Follow Through project.) One elementary school in the district implemented Direct Instruction (DI) and the achievement of their 2nd graders was compared to another school in the same district that continued to use the traditional basal programs. Academic achievement was measured by the district’s chosen standardized test, the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS). The Metropolitan Achievement Test Survey Battery (MAT) was given to “stable” students in both programs. Stable students were defined as those who had been continuously enrolled in their program for at least two years. Additionally, the study examined the effect of mobility on student achievement, comparing the achievement of mobile and stable students in both groups. Results indicated that students in the DI group performed significantly higher on mathematics computation than students in the control group. Stable students also scored significantly higher than mobile students on total reading, word attack, vocabulary, comprehension, and total battery. Both mobile and stable DI groups had a similar level of achievement. The stable comparison group achievement was similar to both DI groups, but the mobile control group students’ means were lower than their stable counterparts and both DI groups. Stable students in both groups scored significantly higher than the mobile students on word attack, vocabulary, comprehension, total reading, and total battery on the CTBS. By comparing mean scores of all four groups, results suggest that mobility was more detrimental to students in the control group than those in the DI group. (Copyright © 2011, National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI). All rights reserved).

Research areas:

• Project Follow Through

Year:

1993

Main publication type:

Program Effectiveness

Subtype:

Article

Keywords:

DISTAR; Reading Mastery; Reasoning and Writing; Connecting Math Concepts; Ginn Basal Reader Series; Holt Math Series; Language for Daily use; reading; writing; math; Cnnctng Mth Cncpts; Rsnng Wrtng

Source:

Journal of Educational Research

Volume:

86

Pages:

333-338

Design type:

Posttest Only Control Group Design

Fidelity monitored:

Yes

Students included:

Elementary students, kindergarten students, at-risk students, African American students, Hispanic students, Asian students, Caucasian students

Other tags:

Reading, mathematics, language arts, DISTAR, Reading Mastery, Reasoning & Writing, Connecting Math Concepts, Ginn Basal Reader Series, Holt Math Series, Language for Daily Use, word attack, vocabulary, comprehension

Location/Setting:

Northeast: Middle Atlantic, Elementary School