Work Related to Direct Instruction

In 2008 as I began to retire from teaching I joined the National Institute for Direct Instruction (NIFDI) in a part-time position as their Director of Research. NIFDI is a non-profit organization that provides technical assistance to schools implementing Direct Instruction (DI) instructional programs. DI was first developed in the 1960s by Siegfried Engelmann and colleagues in work with pre-school children from highly impoverished backgrounds. Over the years, it expanded to include a range of programs for students of varying backgrounds and abilities from pre-school to high school. DI is based on the assumption that all students can learn if they are given appropriate instruction.  NIFDI needed someone to help sort through and analyze data that had accumulated over the years. While I knew very little about DI, I enjoy working with large data sets. In addition, I have always been very concerned with social issues related to inequities and believe that social policies and interventions should be based on solid research (read more). The possibility that an educational program could meet the serious problems involving student achievement in our society was intriguing. As I began to look at the research literature and analyze data sets my excitement grew. There was a substantial body of literature that documented the effectiveness of DI in many different settings, with children of all ages, and a wide range of curricular areas. In addition, each data set I examined replicated these positive results. I remained with NIFDI in a part-time basis until 2017 and have continued to study and write on the programs. 

As the culmination to this work I have recently published an extensive meta-analysis of the effectiveness literature with colleagues Tim Wood, Cristy Coughlin, and Caitlin Rasplica Khoury. We analyzed results from over 500 research reports, testing our conclusions with two different methods of analysis and with a wide range of control variables. Chapters in the book examine the historical development of DI, methodological issues in summarizing results of interventions, and factors related to effective change in education. (Link to Publisher).  

In addition to the extensive data analyses I developed an on-line calculator that policy makers, parents, and school officials can use to easily compute statistics to assess the impact of educational innovations, including effect sizes, improvement indexes, and tests of significance. The Educational Impact Calculator can be accessed by clicking here.  

Publications related to my work with DI are given below.

All Students Can Succeed: A Half Century of Research on the Effectiveness of Direct Instruction. Jean Stockard, Timothy W. Wood, Cristy Coughlin, and Caitlin Rasplica Khoury. Lexington Books/Rowman and Littlefield, 2020.Link to Publisher

Strategies for Teaching Students with Severe and Low-Incidence Disabilities, by Siegfried Engelmann, edited by Caitlin Rasplica Khoury and Jean Stockard. 2018. Eugene, OR: NIFDI Press.

The Science and Success of Engelmann’s Direct Instruction. Edited by Jean Stockard, Eugene, OR: NIFDI Press, 2014.

Successful and Confident Students with Direct Instruction, by Siegfried Engelmann, 2014. Edited by Jean Stockard with Christina Cox and Jerry Silbert, Eugene, OR: NIFDI Press.

Articles

“The Impact of Administrative Decisions on Implementation Fidelity of Direct Instruction and Student Achievement,” Jean Stockard, Learning Disabilities Quarterly, 2020, 43(1), available in online first, March, 2019, DOI: 10.1177/0731948719830346. Read It

"The Effectiveness of Direct Instruction Curricula: A Meta-Analysis of a Half Century of Research,” Jean Stockard, Timothy W. Wood, Cristy Coughlin, and Caitlin Rasplica Khoury, Review of Educational Research, DOI: 10.3102/0034654317751919, published in on-line first, January 7, 2018. Read It

“Best Evidence and the What Works Clearinghouse,” Jean Stockard, Social Science Space, September 14, 2016. Read It. 

“The Threshold and Inclusive Approaches to Determining ‘Best Available Evidence’” An Empirical Analysis,” Jean Stockard and Timothy W. Wood, American Journal of Evaluation, 38 (December, 2017), 471-492; in on-line first, August, 2016. Read It

“Blinded to Evidence: How Educational Researchers Respond to Empirical Data,” Siegfried Engelmann and Jean Stockard, Pp. 55-78 in Jean Stockard (Ed.) The Science and Success of Engelmann’s Direct Instruction, Eugene, OR: NIFDI Press, 2014. Read It

“Merging the Accountability and Scientific Research Requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act: Using Cohort Control Groups” Jean Stockard, Quality and Quantity: International Journal of Methodology, 47(2013), pp. 2225-2257.Read It

 “Enhancing Achievement in Rural Schools: A Reply to Epply,” Jean Stockard, Journal of Research in Rural Education, 26 (14, 2011).Read It

“Increasing Reading Skills in Rural Areas: An Analysis of Three School Districts,” Jean Stockard, Journal of Research in Rural Education, 26 (8, 2011), pp. 1-19. Read It

“Direct Instruction and First Grade Reading Achievement: The Role of Technical Support and Time of Implementation,” Jean Stockard, Journal of Direct Instruction, 11 (1, 2011), 31-50.  Read It

“An Analysis of the Fidelity Implementation Policies of the What Works Clearinghouse,” Jean Stockard, Current Issues in Education, 13, No. 4 (2010). Read It

“Direct Instruction in Africa,” Tamara Bressi, Rob Bressi, Kurt Engelmann, Amy Johnston, Jerry Silbert, Jean Stockard, DI News, Summer, 2010.

“Promoting Reading Achievement and Countering the ‘Fourth-Grade Slump’: The Impact of Direct Instruction on Reading Achievement in Fifth Grade,” Jean Stockard, Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 15 (August, 2010): 218-240.  Read It

“The Development of Early Academic Success: The Impact of Direct Instruction’s Reading Mastery, Jean Stockard and Kurt Engelmann, Journal of Behavioral Assessment and Intervention for Children, 1 (1, 2010): 2-24.  Read It

 “Promoting Early Literacy of Preschool Children: A Study of the Effectiveness of Funnix Beginning Reading, Jean Stockard, Journal of Direct Instruction, 10 (Winter, 2010):29-48.  Read It

“Improving Elementary Level Mathematics Achievement in a Large Urban District: The Effects of Direct Instruction,” Jean Stockard, Journal of Direct Instruction, 10 (Winter, 2010)): 1-16.  Read It

"The Impact of Continual Exposure to Direct Instruction in the Elementary Years: Results from Three Charter School Systems, June 2018, Working Paper, J. Stockard, Department of Planning, Public Policy, and Management, University of Oregon. Read It

Empowering Educational Consumers to Analyze Educational Assessment Data: The Educational Impact Calculator. 2016. J. Stockard, NIFDI Technical Report 2016-2. Eugene, OR: NIFDI. Read It

Educational Impact Calculator, designed 2016 by J. Stockard, can be accessed here. 

Effective Direction Instruction Implementations: The Impact of administrative decisions and time. 2016, J. Stockard, NIFDI Technical Report 2016-1. Eugene, OR: NIFDI. Read It

The Long-Term Impacts of Direct Instruction and the Maple Model: College Preparation and Readiness. 2015, J. Stockard with L. Carnine, C. Rasplica, S. Paine, and E. Chaparro, NIFDI Technical Report 2015-2. Eugene, OR: NIFDI. Read It

Changing Mathematics and Reading Achievement with Direct Instruction: Kment Elementary School in Roseville, Michigan. 2015, J. Stockard, NIFDI Technical Report 2015-1. Eugene, OR: NIFDI. Read It

A Brief Summary of Research on Direct Instruction, NIFDI White Paper, January 2015. Eugene, Oregon: NIFDI. Read It

Direct Instruction, Comprehensive School Reform, and Student Achievement, NIFDI White Paper, July 2015. Eugene, Oregon: NIFDI. Read It

Harmful Effects of Academic Early Education? A Look at the Claims and the Evidence, NIFDI White Paper, June 2015. Eugene, Oregon: NIFDI. Read It

The Potential Long-Term Economic and Health Impacts of Direct Instruction, NIFDI White Paper, May, 2015. Eugene, Oregon: NIFDI. Read It

Reading Mastery for Beginning Readers: An Analysis of Errors in a What Works Clearinghouse Report, 2014, J. Stockard, NIFDI Technical Report 2014-4. Eugene, Oregon: NIFDI. Read It

What is a Valid Scientific Study? An Analysis of Selection Criteria Used by the What Works Clearinghouse, 2014 J. Stockard, NIFDI Technical Report 2014-3. Eugene, Oregon: NIFDI.  Read It

An Analysis of Achievement Scores of Arthur Academy Schools, 2007 to 2013. 2014, C. Arthur and J. Stockard, NIFDI Technical Report 2014-2. Eugene, Oregon: NIFDI. Read It

The Relationship between Lesson Progress in Direct Instruction Programs and Student Test Performance, 2014, J. Stockard, NIFDI Technical Report 2014-1. Eugene, Oregon: NIFDI. Read It

Selected studies of the efficacy of Direct Instruction mathematics programs. T.W. Wood and J. Stockard, NIFDI White Paper, 2014. Eugene, OR: National Institute for Direct Instruction. Read It

The What Works Clearinghouse Review Process: An Analysis of Errors in Two Recent Reports. 2013, J. Stockard and T.W. Wood. NIFDI Technical Report 2013-4. Eugene, Oregon: NIFDI. Read It

Technical Support, Fidelity, and Retaining Direct Instruction in the Guam Public School System, 2013, J. Stockard, NIFDI Technical Report 2013-3. Eugene, Oregon: NIFDI. Read It

Direct Instruction in the Guam Public Schools: An Analysis of Changes in Stanford Achievement Test Scores, 2013, J. Stockard, NIFDI Technical Report 2013-2. Eugene, Oregon: NIFDI. Read It

Examining the What Works Clearinghouse and Its Reviews of Direct Instruction Programs, 2013, J. Stockard, NIFDI Technical Report 2013-1. Eugene, Oregon: NIFDI. Read It

Does the What Works Clearinghouse work? 2013. J. Stockard and T.W. Wood, 2013, NIFDI White Paper. Eugene, OR: NIFDI. Read It

Summary of Literature Regarding the Effectiveness of Direct Instruction and Projections of Changes in Achievement, J. Stockard, NIFDI White Paper, October 2013, Eugene, Oregon: NIFDI. Read It

Throwing the Baby out with the Bathwater? The What Works Clearinghouse Criteria for Group Equivalence, J. Stockard, NIFDI White Paper, December 2013, Eugene, Oregon: NIFDI. Read It

Reading Mastery and Learning Disabled Students: A Comment on the What Works Clearinghouse. 2012, J. Stockard and T.W. Wood. NIFDI Technical Report 2012-1. Eugene, Oregon: NIFDI. Read It

Summary of Concerns Regarding the What Works Clearinghouse: A NIFDI White Paper, September 2012, J. Stockard. Eugene, Oregon: NIFDI. Read It

Changes in Reading Achievement at a Florida Elementary: A Randomized Control Study of Reading Mastery, 2011, J. Stockard, NIFDI Technical Report 2011-3. Eugene, Oregon: NIFDI. Read It

Increasing Reading Skills in Rural Districts: A Study of Three Midwestern Districts, 2010, J. Stockard, NIFDI Technical Report 2010-3. Eugene, Oregon: NIFDI. Read It

Fourth Graders' growth in Reading Fluency: A Randomized Control Study, 2010, J. Stockard, NIFDI Technical Report 2010-2. Eugene, Oregon: NIFDI. Read It

Direct Instruction and Reading in Africa, 2010, J. Stockard, NIFDI Technical Report 2010-1. Eugene, Oregon: NIFDI. Read It

Promoting Early Literacy of Preschool Children: A Study of the Effectiveness of Funnix Beginning Reading, 2009, J. Stockard, NIFDI Technical Report 2009-1. Eugene, Oregon: NIFDI. Read It

The Ups and Downs of Whole School Reform: A Case Study of Success and Its Demise, 2009, J. Stockard and D. Dwiggins, NIFDI White Paper. Eugene, Oregon: NIFDI. (Revision of paper presented at 2009 annual meetings of the Pacific Sociological Association).  Read It

Academic Kindergarten and Later Academic Success: The Impact of Direct Instruction, 2008. K. Engelmann and J. Stockard. NIFDI Technical Report 2008-7. Eugene, Oregon: NIFDI.  Read It

Reading Achievement in a Direct Instruction School and a "Three Tier" Curriculum School, 2008, J. Stockard, NIFDI Technical Report 2008-5. Eugene, Oregon: NIFDI. Read It

The What Works Clearinghouse Beginning Reading Reports and Rating of Reading Mastery: An Evaluation and Comment, 2008, J. Stockard, NIFDI Technical Report 2008-4. Eugene, Oregon: NIFDI. Read It

Improving Elementary Level Mathematics Achievement in a Large Urban District: The Effects of NIFDI-Supported Implementation of Direct Instruction, 2008, J. Stockard, NIFDI Technical Report 2008-3. Eugene, Oregon: NIFDI.  Read It

The Long-Term Impact of Direct Instruction on Reading Achievement: Countering the Fourth Grade Slump, 2008, J. Stockard, NIFDI Technical Report 2008-2. Eugene, Oregon: NIFDI. Read It

The Effects of NIFDI-Supported Implementation of Direct Instruction on First Grade Reading, 2008, J. Stockard, NIFDI Technical Report 2008-1. Eugene, Oregon: NIFDI. Read It