Implementing Direct Instruction (DI) effectively requires teachers and administrators to make student performance the focus of the staff’s efforts to improve the school.

Student performance determines:

1. placement in groups,
2. which instructional materials should be ordered, and
3. which levels of the programs teachers should receive training in.

Student performance also determines whether a problem exists. If students are not progressing through the program at mastery at an acceptable rate, then there is a problem. When effective administrators and coaches enter classrooms, they focus on student performance. If the classroom setup or the teacher’s delivery is unconventional but students are learning successfully, there is no problem. If a teacher’s signal is unusual, for instance, but all children respond in unison, then there is no problem because a signal’s purpose is to prompt students to respond together. Similarly, if an instructional group is larger than recommended but all students can see the presentation book, respond together, and the teacher can monitor all students’ responses, there is no problem, because the purpose of smaller groups is to ensure that teachers can monitor all students’ responses.

When administrators and coaches identify problems in student performance, they require accurate, current data on the progress of each instructional group and each student’s performance on in-program assessments. They may also need to get more specific information on the problem:

• During which exercises and on which items does this problem occur?
• How long has the problem been taking place?
• What has been done already to solve the problem?
• What was the effect of implementing these remedies?
• Have any other problems, including behavioral problems, arisen since the identification of the original problem?
• What specific steps can be taken to solve the original problem and any spin-off problems?
• Who is going to take the steps and talk with the teacher about the problem(s)? 

A proactive, structured approach to problem-solving is essential because challenges rarely resolve on their own. When identified early and addressed consistently, small issues can be prevented from becoming bigger barriers to student success.