A Remarkable Statement by the AASA and NEA

The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest teacher's union in the world, with approximately 2.4 million dues-paying members. The American Association of School Administrators (AASA) is the nation's largest association of school superintendents and administrators. These two organizations commissioned a comprehensive review of all of the research regarding curricula that are commonly used in school-reform efforts, including Direct Instruction, which is the curriculum we use here at I Can Read!  To ensure the credibility of the study, the two organizations hired an independent research organization (the American Institutes for Research). The results of the study were published in 1999. Here is an excerpt from the NEA's summary of the results [emphasis on Direct Instruction below is ours]:

What's in the guide?
The guide first provides a ratings snapshot of 25 approaches in a single table that's similar to comparisons readers find in Consumer Reports magazine. The ratings, compiled by the American Institutes for Research, are based on a review of studies, articles, books, and other published material about each approach. Additional information appears in profiles that explain the ratings each approach received, provide details on its key features, and include the name and address of its developer.

So which reform approach is "the best"?
That depends, in part, on what characteristics you're looking for. "This guide is about separating real solutions--or at least programs with a track record for improving student achievement--from solutions that might work," says Marcie Dianda of NEA's Teaching and Learning staff. Only three of the approaches examined--Direct Instruction, High Schools That Work, and Success for All--provide strong evidence that they positively impact student achievement. For many of the approaches, surprisingly, there's little evidence one way or another on whether they help students achieve. Some approaches are new and haven't yet conducted studies to establish a track record. Others haven't done so even though they've been used by schools for years.

You can check out the summary for yourself by visiting the NEA Today Online, or you can read the the entire report, which has been published online by the AASA. Finally, you can read an article regarding this study in Education Week magazine.

Simply put. Direct Instruction has these properties:

• it uses a systematic, phonics-based approach in its reading curriculum
  
• it is the teaching method that we use here at I Can Read!
  
• it is one of only three methods that the AASA and NEA describe as showing clear evidence of producing higher student achievement, and it is one of only two that are applicable in primary school (K-8), where reading instruction is generally assumed to take place.