The performance measures from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study revealed no measurable growth in the U.S. average reading scores of 4th graders for the period between 2011 and 2016. Therefore, the diverse learning needs of students need to be customized if the education system is to accomplish its goal to graduate well-informed individuals capable of sustaining a lifestyle conducive to a democratic society. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of differentiated instruction on 3rd graders' reading comprehension. The theoretical foundation for this teaching approach was Vygotsky's zone of proximal development. The research question focused on a comparison of differentiated and nondifferentiated instruction and the effects on 3rd graders' Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) reading comprehension scores. In this cross-sectional, quasi-experimental causal comparative study with N = 128 3rd-grade students, archival PARCC reading scores for the years 2015, 2016, and 2017 were analyzed with several 2-tailed independent sample t tests to determine the differences between the groups. The students in the experimental group (n = 64) received differentiated instruction, students in the non-experimental group received nondifferentiated instruction (n = 64). The duration of the intervention lasted for the entire school year. The statistical analysis results revealed that differentiated instruction significantly improved the students' PARCC reading scores in all 3 years. The intimation for positive social change is allowing stakeholders to provide opportunities to teachers to learn and apply differentiated instruction for their students, thus helping them to become proficient readers, which in turn might increase the human capital contributing to and competing in a global society.

An achievement gap persists in many educational settings with females outperforming males in reading. In a Southern California school district, reading scores for boys average 10 percentile points below those of girls. A qualitative case study was conducted to explore which instructional approaches can help close this gender gap. The conceptual framework for this study was based on engagement theory, which proposes that students who are engaged in learning tasks achieve at higher levels. The guiding question asked how reading achievement for boys in Grades 3-6 could be improved in the district under study. Semistructured individual interviews were conducted with 4 teachers from different schools and grade levels who's boys, according to district officials, had demonstrated a strong increase in reading achievement. Content analysis of interview transcripts used a 2-cycle coding method to find emerging themes. Participants indicated 5 instructional approaches that contributed to an increase in reading achievement for boys: differentiated reading instruction, collaborative learning, motivation, goal setting and monitoring, and positive teacher-student relationships. Understanding how teachers can improve reading achievement for boys may contribute knowledge about how to improve achievement for all students in other grades in this district, help close achievement gaps, and improve the chance of getting into college for all students.

Abstract The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the development of urban elementary teacher leaders as captured in narrative data and analyzed through the theoretical lenses of role identity, distributed leadership, teacher leadership and urban teacher leadership. The narratives of five teacher leaders provided rich descriptions that made it possible to: (a) examine possible mechanisms for encouraging leadership assertion choices; (b) identify support practices for encouraging leadership within future teachers in the urban context; and (c) provide insight for building leadership roles in the school environment for those who coordinate professional development activities. Data were collected via semi-structured interviews and post-interview reflections over the course of three months. All of the participants in the study worked in urban settings for the duration of the study and were employed by the same school system in the southeastern United States. Narrative analysis, analysis of narratives and a cross-case analysis strategies were used to reveal participants’ perceptions of individual roles, their journeys of leadership development, and the influences of their experiences in urban contexts on their leadership choices. Recommendations were made to enhance preparation, mentoring, and professional development of potential and current urban teacher leaders.

Third grade teachers participated in a study that examined the ways teachers learn new skills for reading instruction and transfer their learning into the classroom on a daily basis. A review of literature included identification of a purpose for teacher learning, how teacher self-perception influenced use of new knowledge and teacher skills, and improved reading achievement. The teachers discussed challenges and barriers for their learning and implementation of new learning, which included reflection of how each has evolved as a reading teacher. Teachers expressed interests for new learning in reading instruction and self-awareness necessary for improvement in their practice.

School-Wide Positive Behavior Supports (SWPBS) is a heavily promoted area that focuses on promoting pro-social behavior and preventing misbehavior. Many schools are moving towards SWPBS as the universal level of support for behavior. With Response to Intervention (RtI) being at the forefront of educational reform, this type of universal support is strongly recommended for academic needs, as well as behavioral needs. Data were collected from 25 schools in the West Region of Kentucky that collaborate with the Kentucky Center of Instructional Discipline (KYCID). A series of t-tests were completed in order to examine the relationship between Office Discipline Referrals (ODRs), Benchmark of Qualities (BoQ) scores, and the number of years a school had implemented SWPBS. Location of the ODRs as well as behaviors that led to ODRs were also examined. The findings of this study indicate that the longer a school has implemented SWPBS, the fewer ODRs it has during a school year. Also, BoQ’s were positively impacted the longer SWPBS was in place at a school. Regarding problem behavior, it was found that ODRs came primarily from a classroom environment as opposed to common areas (bathroom, hallway, cafeteria, and playground). A descriptive analysis was completed on the types of ODRs most commonly found in classroom settings, and it was discovered that the top three reasons for ODRs were defiance, fighting, and disruptive behavior. These findings can be used to guide schools on school-wide expectations and classroom management practices, as well as to affirm the continued implementation of SWPBS from year to year.

This study reports a reflection upon the experience of a multiyear elementary school learning community designed for improved teaching and learning. The exploration uses interview data to describe the perceptions and reflections of the principal and teachers directly engaged in this project of educational reform. The goal of this process is to gain a deeper understanding of the experience and to determine to what factors the participants attribute the outcomes of this project. Through an auto-ethnographic reflective critical practice inquiry and extended interviews, this study describes the context and environment of this learning community and how the participants reflect on their experiences in that community. It also provided an opportunity for participants to review and explain their perceptions and attributions regarding both the measured and the unintended outcomes associated with this learning community project. Results from teacher and administrator reflections indicate that the strength of a multiyear learning community is the positive relationships that they foster and the institutional consistency for both parents and students. Evidence from the interviews indicates that teachers' expectations for outcomes of multiyear learning communities may differ from those of administrators, and be less concerned with improved achievement measures than other, relationship-focused outcomes. A key implication of this study is that, although the principal players involved in the creation and implementation of this learning community use terms that describe or refer to the overall experience as very successful, test scores did not respond significantly to this innovation. This suggests that comprehensive plans need to be developed in advance to assure appropriate and accurate methods of measuring success in innovations such as this.

Epstein et al.'s Theory of Overlapping Spheres of Influence focuses on the interaction and communication, or partnerships, among families, schools, and the community to bring the three closer together. The theory works in conjunction with Epstein's typology of parental involvement, which focuses on six types of involvement that are instrumental to a child's development and his/her school and educational success. These serve as the framework for the study and support the construct of parent's involvement in children's schooling. The purpose of the current study was to conduct further validation analyses of an inventory designed to measure the construct of parent involvement in their children's schooling through the investigation of measurement invariance to determine if the measurement properties of the inventory varied by race/ethnicity. The study compared the responses of 126 Hispanic parents/guardians with 116 White/non-Hispanic parents/guardians to investigate if these two groups were interpreting the items on the inventory in the same manner. The inventory was administered to a sample of parents/guardians of children in grades 3 through 5 in a local school district. Findings indicated that the measurement model was misspecified for the White/non-Hispanic group and the Hispanic group and further measurement invariance testing was not conducted. Exploratory factor analyses were conducted in order to investigate which models would best fit the data for both groups. Feedback also was obtained from parents/guardians about the clarity of the inventory, which revealed their confusion with the response scale and the wording of particular items. In addition, they supplied issues or aspects of parent involvement that they found important but missing from the inventory. Results from the psychometric analyses and qualitative feedback indicated that the inventory requires modification and further psychometric investigation. In addition, caution should be exercised for anyone who may be considering utilizing the inventory. Results of the study were interpreted in terms of contributions to the parent involvement literature, as well as recommendations for the improvement of the inventory.

Abstract This study examined the effects of response cards (RC) on student disruptive behavior, responding, and accuracy of responding during whole-class guided-reading instruction in a first-grade classroom. The authors combined two baseline conditions with an alternating treatments design and then replicated the effects across four teacher-nominated students. The first baseline condition was the teacher's typical instruction format, where one student who raised his/her hand was called upon to respond to the teacher's question. The second baseline condition (BL') was the same as the first baseline with an additional control for the number of teacher-delivered questions to the class per session. The RC condition was the same as BL' except students were expected to write their answers on the laminated card and then display upon the teacher's cue. Response cards and BL' conditions were alternated each session. The results revealed that RC implemented by a classroom teacher did reduce students' disruptive behaviors and increased their responding and accuracy during class.

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to research strategies of successful afterschool programs and their effectiveness in promoting student achievement and closing achievement gaps. Many afterschool programs have boasted of their ability to improve student achievement. Some students who participated in afterschool programs have shown an increase of improved academic performance. However, studies have indicated that students are still performing below grade level on national and state curriculum standards. Data have shown that fifth graders across the state ofGeorgiaare struggling in math, social studies, and science. Effective academic afterschool programs may have assisted struggling students in raising their Criterion Reference Competency Tests (CRCT) scores. Afterschool programs have the ability to help students socially, emotionally, culturally, behaviorally and academically. The variables addressed in the study are (a) program effectiveness, (b) student motivation, (c) parental involvement, (d) successful program structure, (e) student attendance, (f) student involvement/ socialization, (g) climate of the program, and (h) student expectations. Data were gathered using observations, face-to-face teacher interviews, document analysis, teacher questionnaires, and student questionnaires. The sample was 24 (18 students from school A and 6 students from school B) fifth grade students in two select afterschool programs whose CRCT data were compared to students in the same school but do they did not attend the afterschool program. The comparison group was 18 fifth grade students from school A and 15 fifth grade students from school B. The CRCT test data revealed how well students may perform on standardized tests even if they do not attend the afterschool program. Although CRCT test data were used to help determine the effectiveness of the afterschool program in improving academic achievement in fifth grade students, there may be other factors that contributed to student success. The fifth grade students were selected because they are mandated to takeGeorgia’s standardized CRCT. In mostGeorgiacounties, if students do not pass all parts of the CRCT, they will not be able to move on to the next grade level. The results revealed that students in the study enjoyed attending the afterschool programs. After review of the CRCT data, it was determined that most of the study participants and the non-study participants mostly met or exceeded in reading and math. School A had an adequate study group of 15 students. School B only had four students’ CRCT test scores. Two students in school B scored below grade level in math. The study also revealed that there may be other factors as to why students perform well on the CRCT.

Research on whole-school bullying programs shows some effectiveness in creating awareness and a reduction in overall bullying with vigilant supervision. Roleplaying games repeatedly taught to students help them deal with bullying in specific situations, but all these interventions leave a great deal to be desired when conditions are not in line with the training, most of which most are not (Smith, Schneider, Smith, & Ananiadou, 2004). In addition, student perceptions can differ from the staff and administration. A wide gap exists between how students, parents, teachers, and administrators perceive bullying. Students remain confused and flounder in the moment when they feel bullied, while bystanders are statistically shown to be scared and even help the bully in many cases (Mishna, Pepler, & Wiener, 2006). This study examines research from the past 10 years on the effectiveness of whole-school programs. Two main criteria include: (1) A comprehensive “macro” comparison study of research leading to a “micro” examination of specific school research, and (2) an examination of the importance of recognizing perception and creating interventions that any student can utilize no matter their level of fear. In addition, an introduction and an explanation of the ideas and concepts of the I’m Gonna Write That Down program are included.