Reading Achievement in a Direct Instruction School and a “Three Tier” Curriculum School

Stockard, J.

Abstract:

This study compared the effect of two reading programs on the reading achievement of kindergarten and elementary students from two schools within the same school district. Student achievement between kindergarten and third grade was compared for students in each school. One school administered the Direct Instruction (DI) program Reading Mastery for both general and special education students, while the other administered a basal reading program and occasionally used Reading Mastery with special education students. DIBELS measures were collected at regular intervals. Results indicated no significant differences in scores at the start of kindergarten, but students in the DI school had significantly higher oral reading gains from the middle of first grade through the end of third grade. Differences were greater for special education students than for general education students. Similar results occurred with the measures of onset recognition fluency, phonemic segmentation fluency, and nonsense word fluency, consistently favoring the Direct Instruction students. (Copyright © 2011, National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI). All rights reserved).

Research areas:

• Project Follow Through

Year:

2008

Main publication type:

Program Effectiveness

Subtype:

Article

Keywords:

Reading Mastery; general education; special education; DIBELS; spclzd rdg; sbrbia; gen ed stnt; spcl edu sdnts; Hspnc studnts; nn-Hspc whts; qsi exp dsgns; elmntry

Source:

National Institute for Direct Instruction, Technical Report 2008-5

Design type:

Pretest Posttest Control Group Design

Fidelity monitored:

No

Students included:

Kindergarten students, elementary students, general education students, special education students, Hispanic students, Caucasian students, students with learning disabilities, low-SES students

Other tags:

Reading Mastery, K-3, General Education, Special Education, DIBELS

Location/Setting:

Two schools in suburban Western Oregon