Stockard, Jean2023-05-152023-05-152018-06-02https://hdl.handle.net/1794/2829120 pagesThis brief report examines the impact on student achievement of exposure to Direct Instruction (DI) throughout the elementary years and, specifically, the extent to which the achievement of students taught with DI from grades K-5 differs from those taught with the program in only grades K-2. It compares data from three charter school systems: schools associated with the Baltimore Curriculum Project (BCP) in inner-city Baltimore, the Arthur schools in the Portland, Oregon area, and the IDEA school system based in Texas. All systems serve students with relatively high levels of poverty and who begin kindergarten with skills that are lower than the national average. Both BCP and Arthur schools implement Direct Instruction curricular programs using a school-wide implementation model in which DI programs are used as the core programs for instruction from kindergarten through grade 5 (NIFDI, 2012).The IDEA schools use DI within grades K-2 but other programs for core instruction in the higher grades. Data on nationally normed assessments were available for each system. Analyses focused on the percentage of students who fell at or above an average level of achievement, defined as scoring at the 40th percentile or higher, and at high levels, defined as the 80th percentile or higher. Results indicated no long-term differences between the systems in mathematics achievement, but significant long-term advantages in reading achievement for students in the schools with continuous exposure to DI. These differences were most marked at higher levels. The first section of this report explains the methodology, the second section presents results, and the third summarizes and discusses the findings. Figures, tables, and references cited in the text are at the end of the document.enCreative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0-USStudent AchievementBaltimore Curriculum Project (BCP)Arthur schoolsIDEA school systemWorking Paper