Abstract:
This report examines the high school accomplishments and preparation for college of
students from a high poverty school in the northwestern United States who had varying
degrees of exposure to Direct Instruction in elementary school. Data were gathered from
cumulative school records several years after the students would have completed high
school. The results indicate that students taught with Direct Instruction early in their school
career were significantly more likely to be prepared to enter higher education – enrolling in a
traditional academic program, finishing a college prep mathematics class, and taking
Advanced Placement courses and/or college entrance examinations (Figure 1). Among
those enrolled in traditional academic programs, those with early exposure to Direct
Instruction also ranked higher in their high school graduating class and were more likely to
have a GPA high enough to qualify for college admission (Figure 2).