Abstract:
The National Reading Panel recently concluded that pre-literacy and early literacy instruction is
appropriate for kindergarten students and an important element of promoting higher achievement in later
grades. This paper examines the relationship of receiving the Direct Instruction (DI) kindergarten
curriculum, Reading Mastery, on students’ oral reading fluency in first and second grade. Data from
several hundred students in two different schools are analyzed. Achievement was measured using the
Dynamic Indicators of Basic Skills (DIBELS). Results indicate that the students who received Direct
Instruction kindergarten had significantly higher achievement in early elementary school. These results
replicate those found in other studies, providing consistent evidence of the effectiveness of Direct
Instruction kindergarten instruction in promoting later academic achievement.