All Students Can Succeed: A Half Century of Research on the Effectiveness of Direct Instruction

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Based on more than ten years of research, All Students Can Succeed presents a comprehensive review of research related to Direct Instruction (DI), a highly structured method of teaching based on the assumption that all students can learn if given appropriate instruction. The authors identify over 500 research reports published over the last 50 years and encompassing almost 4,000 effect sizes, no doubt the largest meta-analysis of any single method of instruction ever published. Extensive statistical analyses show that estimates of DIs effectiveness are consistent over time, with different research approaches, across different school environments, students from all types of backgrounds, different comparative programs, and both academic achievement and non-academic outcomes including student self-confidence. Effects are substantially stronger than those reported for other curricula. When students have DI for more time and when teachers implement the programs as designed, the effects are even stronger. Results indicate that DI has the potential to dramatically change patterns of student achievement in the United States. In an even-handed style accessible to policy makers, educators, and parents, the authors describe the theory underlying DI, its development, use, and history; systematically examine criticisms; and discuss policy implications. Extensive appendices provide detailed information for researchers.

Reviews

All Students Can Succeed describes how to break out of the stagnant levels of US student achievement, particularly with underserved students. Siegfreid Engelmanns Direct Instruction programs were the first to fully incorporate systematic and explicit principles. Beginning in the 1960s and continuing over five decades, these programs, when implemented with fidelity, showed outstanding gains in student achievement and self-confidence, according to both practical (with large effect sizes) and statistical criteria. In contrast, not one study showed negative effects that met both the practical and statistical criteria. All Students Can Succeed explains why these programs were and continue to be so successful, why they are not utilized on a large scale in American schools, and most importantly how they might be used in future years to dramatically reduce school failure and accelerate academic and social success.

-- Douglas Carnine, University of Oregon

This compelling and thorough treatment of decades of research on Direct Instruction is jaw-dropping. Anyone who has seen the power of Engelmanns Direct Instruction programs will not be surprised by the magnitude of the findings delineated in this book, but will be in awe of the breadth and depth of the research demonstrating what we practitioners already know: Direct Instruction programs teach all students with unparalleled effectiveness and efficiency. Educators should read this book and proceed accordingly.

-- Laura Doherty, President of the Baltimore Curriculum Project

Author Bio

Jean Stockard is a sociologist.

Timothy W. Wood is a historian.

Cristy Coughlin is an educational psychologist.

Caitlin Rasplica Khoury is a licensed child psychologist.