The Development of Early Academic Success: The Impact of Direct Instruction’s Reading Mastery

Article Abstract:

Data from two different sites were used to examine how exposure to a highly academic curriculum is related to growth in beginning literacy and early reading skills from kindergarten through the end of third grade. In one site students in one school used the Direct Instruction (DI) program, Reading Mastery (RM), from kindergarten through grade 3, while students in a nearby school with similar demographic characteristics and entry skills had Open Court. In the other site, comparisons were made between one cohort that had a whole language kindergarten experience and began the RM program in first grade with two other cohorts who had RM throughout their K-3 career. In both sites, students exposed to RM had significantly greater growth in Nonsense Word Fluency scores from mid-kindergarten through the end of first grade. In addition, in both sites Oral Reading Fluency scores at the middle of first grade exhibited strong differences in favor of the RM students. For students in the Pacific Northwest site these differences persisted with very little change through the end of third grade. However, for those in the Midwestern site, where all cohorts had RM in grades 1-3, the differences gradually declined, although differences remained in favor of the RM group at the end of third grade.

Research Citation:

Stockard, J., & Engelmann, K. (2010). The development of early academic success: The impact of Direct Instruction's Reading Mastery. Journal of Behavior Assessment and Intervention in Children, 1(1), 2–23.