Martha Abele Mac Iver

The Impact of Direct Instruction on Elementary Students' Reading Achievement in an Urban School District

This article reports the preliminary achievement outcomes of the first 4 years of direct instruction (DI) reading, implemented in 6 Baltimore elementary schools. On the primary measure of reading comprehension, members of the original kindergarten cohort were, on average, reading at grade level (49th percentile) by the end of 3rd grade. Members of the original 2nd-grade cohort were nearing grade level (40th percentile) by the end of 5th grade. However, students at control schools (where other curricula to improve reading achievement were being implemented) were achieving at the same level, so there were no significant differences between the outcomes for the 2 groups (controlling for demographics and pretest factors). Future research, based on a well-established implementation (rather than the problem-filled early years of implementation experienced by these 6 schools) might uncover significant effects that were not evident at the time this article was written. DI appears to be a viable option for raising student reading achievement, even if this study has not yet yielded evidence that DI performs significantly better than other reading curricula. The call for educators and policymakers to consider the results of research when selecting reform models for high poverty schools (e.g., Slavin & Fashola, 1998) is heeded, at least occasionally. As Muriel Berkeley described elsewhere in this special issue, the search for a curriculum with a research-proven track record led members of the Baltimore Curriculum Project to select DI, even before it was identified as 1 of only 3 school reform models with strong evidence for improved student achievement by the American Institutes for Research report on schoolwide reform models (Herman et al., 1999). This article extends the circle by analyzing the first outcomes of an experiment that was motivated by previous research results.

The Challenge of Improving Urban High School Graduation Outcomes: Findings from a Randomized Study of Dropout Prevention Efforts

This 5-year longitudinal randomized study focused on the effects of a dropout prevention program implemented at two urban high schools. The program incorporated the characteristics of personalization found in previous research to have some positive effects, and typical of the type of programs implemented in many high schools nationwide. The primary program component was the provision of a facilitator for about 60 program students at each school to encourage students regarding attendance, their academic coursework, and personal issues. In particular, the study examined whether at-risk students randomly assigned to the program had better outcomes (particularly attendance, on-time promotion in grade, and high school completion) than those at the same high schools that were assigned to the control group. The article explores reasons for the nonsignificant effects of this program, emphasizing the need for earlier intervention prior to the ninth grade year among at-risk urban students.This 5-year longitudinal randomized study focused on the effects of a dropout prevention program implemented at two urban high schools. The program incorporated the characteristics of personalization found in previous research to have some positive effects, and typical of the type of programs implemented in many high schools nationwide. The primary program component was the provision of a facilitator for about 60 program students at each school to encourage students regarding attendance, their academic coursework, and personal issues. In particular, the study examined whether at-risk students randomly assigned to the program had better outcomes (particularly attendance, on-time promotion in grade, and high school completion) than those at the same high schools that were assigned to the control group. The article explores reasons for the nonsignificant effects of this program, emphasizing the need for earlier intervention prior to the ninth grade year among at-risk urban students.

What Reform Left behind : A Decade of Change at One Urban High School.

This article presents a longitudinal case study of an urban high school as it transitioned from one comprehensive reform model to another over a 10-year period. The study is based on qualitative interview data and quantitative data on student outcomes. Despite evidence of improved student outcomes during this reform period, the school could not meet state-mandated improvement goals because of the large proportion of students who entered with already longstanding patterns of low attendance and low achievement prior to high school. Addressing these deep structural issues will require a more systemic, rather than school-centered, focus.This article presents a longitudinal case study of an urban high school as it transitioned from one comprehensive reform model to another over a 10-year period. The study is based on qualitative interview data and quantitative data on student outcomes. Despite evidence of improved student outcomes during this reform period, the school could not meet state-mandated improvement goals because of the large proportion of students who entered with already longstanding patterns of low attendance and low achievement prior to high school. Addressing these deep structural issues will require a more systemic, rather than school-centered, focus.

Guest Editors' Introduction: Research on Direct Instruction in Reading

This special issue of the Journal of Education for Students Placed At Risk (JESPAR) is devoted to recent studies of the Direct Instruction (DI) reading program and was inspired by several presentations on DI at the Fort Worth Reading Symposium, sponsored by the Fort Worth Independent School District in August 2000. As a result of that conference, a dialog began with many of the authors whose research is presented in this volume. Popularized by recent media reports, including the PBS documentary “The Battle of City Springs,” as well as articles in Education Week (Manzo, 1998; Viadero, 1999), the National Review (Nadler, 1998), and Policy Review (Palmaffy, 1998), DI has enjoyed renewed prominence over the past several years. DI as a whole-school reform initiative grew out of the earlier reading instruction research of Sigfried Engelmann and his associates, who developed the Direct Instruction System for Teaching Arithmetic and Reading (DISTAR) program more than 30 years ago. Numerous experiments focused on how students learn most effectively shaped the many technical details of the program, which requires teachers to follow carefully scripted lessons in a specific sequence. Kameenui, Simmons, Chard, and Dickson (1997) offered a particularly useful and thorough overview of the model and related research, which we can summarize only briefly in the following introduction. DI received particular attention as one of the most effective programs involved in Project Follow Through, a federal compensatory education program beginning in JOURNAL OF EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS PLACED AT RISK, 7(2), 107–116 Copyright

The ABCs of Keeping On Track to Graduation: Research Findings from Baltimore

This study of graduation outcomes in Baltimore uses multivariate analysis of longitudinal student cohort data to examine the impact of factors identified in previous research as early warning indicators of a dropout outcome. Student cohort files were constructed from longitudinal administrative data (following all first-time 2004–2005 and 2005–2006 9th graders forward in time until their on-time graduation year and 1 year past). Sequentially estimated logistic regression hierarchical linear modeling models indicated the strongest predictors of graduation were 9th-grade attendance and course failure, although gender was still significant. Multinomial logistic regression models were used to analyze the relationship between the 4 categories of college enrollment outcomes (enrollment in a 4-year college, enrollment in a 2-year college, graduation with no college enrollment, and nongraduation) and student-level predictor variables, including grade point average (GPA) and 8th-grade test scores. Results suggest that equipping schools to implement interventions to address chronic absenteeism and course failure in 9th grade is a crucial strategy for increasing both high school graduation and college enrollment.

Urban Middle-Grade Student Mathematics Achievement Growth Under Comprehensive School Reform

Recognizing the need to implement standards-based instructional materials with school-wide coherence led some Philadelphia schools to adopt whole-school reform (WSR) models during the late 1990s. The authors report on the relation between mathematics achievement growth for middle-grade students on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessments and the number of years schools implemented either a WSR model with National Science Foundation-supported mathematics curriculum or a WSR model without a mathematics curriculum component, from 1997 to 2000. As the authors hypothesized, mathematics achievement gains (Grades 5-8) were positively related to the number of years those schools were implementing a specific mathematics curricular reform. Additional analyses indicated that the relation held for both computation skills and ability to apply mathematics concepts.

How Do We Ensure that Everyone Graduates? An Integrated Prevention and Tiered Intervention Model for Schools and Districts.

Schools with large numbers of students falling off the graduation path need comprehensive reforms that create a solid foundation of high-quality instruction and positive behavioral supports for all students. They also need data-driven response systems that provide targeted and intensive interventions for students who need additional academic and social supports. This article offers a systematic plan for dropout prevention at the district and school levels that integrates research-based recommendations into a coherent, three-tiered model. The model provides a way to coordinate all types of interventions and replace the patchwork of fragmented programs that often allows students to fall through the cracks.

Preparing Urban Students for Health Careers A Longitudinal Study of a University-High School Partnership

This article presents a longitudinal case study of an urban district school-university partnership designed to prepare students for health careers. We not only summarize the accomplishments of this partnership but also identify factors in the partnership dynamics that hindered the expected improvement in student outcomes. By suggesting possible generalizations that can be tested elsewhere, we seek to contribute to theory building about the role of external partnerships in promoting career-focused high school reform. We conclude by making practical recommendations for similar university-high school partnerships in urban districts.

Systemic Supports for Comprehensive School Reform: The Institutionalization of Direct Instruction in an Urban School System.

This case study describes how an urban school system evolved to support an externally developed and externally introduced whole-school reform (WSR) effort. Based on interview data with school district staff and external partners, it analyzes a central office reorganization that placed all schools implementing a combination of Direct Instruction (DI) and Core Knowledge (CK) reforms into one administrative area under a single area executive officer (instead of within their geographic administrative areas). It addresses how the creation of a DI Area grouping all DI/CK schools together facilitated the continued implementation of the reform models, as well as problems perceived with the new central office arrangement. Although limited by reliance on qualitative school-level data from the early years of the reforms implementation, this studys conclusions contribute to the small but growing research literature on the role of school systems-and, in particular, central office administrators-in creating supportive structures for WSR to achieve the best possible student achievement results.

Engaging Families to Support Students' Transition to High School: Evidence from the Field.

This exploratory study addresses the challenge of declining family engagement at the critical transition to high school. We use data from a survey of schools to examine whether and how middle grades and high schools engage families when their students transition to high school. Findings indicate that there is a significant negative relationship between the proportion of students who struggle during the first year of high school and the quality of high school outreach to families in the transition period, even after school poverty level is controlled. The study also shows that, even among a group of schools actively implementing a systematic approach to engage families, considerable work remains to enable educators to engage families during the critical transition to high school in ways that help improve student outcomes in the ninth grade.