Each month, District Administration (DA) Magazine recognizes a select number of books as "Noteworthy Reading". Most recently, DA recognized abook by NIFDI Press, The Science and Success of Engelmann's Direct Instruction, as one of four titles for recommended reading for leaders in education.

District Administration's Lauren Williams writes, "For almost a half-century, educator Siegfried Engelmann has shown how all children can learn if they are taught effectively with his Direct Instruction (DI) curricular programs. Edited by Jean Stockard, the chapters in this book are written by educators from multiple generations and disciplines, bringing a variety of perspectives on Engelmann's impact. The book also considers the potential for wider acceptance of Engelmann's programs and how they can drive achievement in America's schools."

NIFDI's most recent Technical Report, An Analysis of Achievement Scores of Arthur Academy Schools, examines data from the Stanford Achievement Test (SAT) and Oregon Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (OAKS) on the reading and mathematics achievement of Arthur Academy students from six consecutive school years: 2007-2008 through 2012-2013. 

The data indicate that at the start of kindergarten, Arthur students had achievement scores that were similar to or slightly lower than students in the nation as a whole. However, by the end of their kindergarten year, the situation had reversed as the average Arthur student scored much higher than peers in the nation. This high level of achievement persisted, and even increased, through later grades. In all cases, the changes over time were statistically significant, and the percentage of students scoring at high levels was substantially higher than would be expected relative to national norms.

Arthur Academies are a set of six charter elementary schools in the greater Portland, Oregon metropolitan area. All of the Academies use the Direct Instruction programs, Reading Mastery Signature Edition and Connecting Math Concepts.

Can all students be successful? Learn? Develop confidence in their abilities? Yes! There is an answer -- an answer that has been proven many times over: Direct Instruction.

Teachers can help their students catch up with their peers. Administrators can promote school environments that nurture achievement, appropriate behavior, and strong commitments to learning. Written by the developer of Direct Instruction, Successful and Confident Students with Direct Instruction will show you how!

"This latest impressive work by Zig Engelmann is, among other things, a gift to thoughtful, no-nonsense educators everywhere. Successful and Confident Students provides us with over 40 years of wisdom, insight, sound practice, and true genius collectively applied to educating all students in a brief, easy to read, and professionally inspiring book. The book provides both a platitude-free rationale for and the means by which to teach all students to mastery, accelerate achievement, and thereby create school-wide success for both teachers and students. The last chapter is a must-read for all who love teaching."

~ Laura Doherty, President & CEO at Baltimore Curriculum Project

Just $24.95! And, don't forget, if you are a NIFDI Member, you save an additional 20%. Order online or by calling 877.485.1973.

The National Institute for Direct Instruction is excited to announce Kelly Shaheen of American Preparatory Academy in Salt Lake City, Utah as the recipient of the 2014 Siegfried Engelmann Excellence in Education Award.

Kelly has taught 6th grade at American Preparatory for two years, where he has shown how effective Direct Instruction is when used correctly. His students have demonstrated outstanding growth -- doubling their reading fluency rates and achieving grade level skills in math in just one year.

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