The purpose of this study was to understand what No Child Left Behind (NCLB) meant to teachers in Mississippi and to determine what impact this reform had on reading and language arts classroom instruction for teachers. Qualitative research methods in the form of interview data and classroom observations were used to examine teachers’ perceptions of accountability and its effects on classroom instruction. Teachers were asked to answer a set of research interview questions related to research questions. The specific research questions used to explore teachers’ perceptions about accountability were (1) What are reading and language arts teachers’ perceptions of accountability? (2) What are teachers’ perceptions of the influence of state testing on reading and language arts classroom instruction? and (3) How do elementary and middle school teachers prepare students for end-of-year reading and language arts state test? The researcher gathered qualitative data from five teachers with teaching experience ranging from 5 years to 30 years of teaching experience. Each teacher who participated in this study was familiar with administering Mississippi Curriculum Test 2 (MCT2) at the elementary and middle school level. The results of this study indicated that teachers believe that the Mississippi accountability system is effective for improving the teaching and learning process but not for holding schools and districts accountable. Each teacher in this study believed that test scores alone were not effective for addressing the familial and societal issues many schools face on a day-to-day basis and as a result using test scores to determine school quality was unrealistic. Of the five teachers interviewed, four reported engaging students in meaningful learning activities that put emphasis on the significance of language arts in daily life. These teachers were also observed placing more emphasis on rubric-based assessments, classroom writing activities, and student-centered activities as a result of the 2006 Mississippi Language Arts Framework-Revised and MCT2. Recommendations for further research include investigating whether the impact of teachers’ professional experience influences student achievement, or whether the impact of the building principal’s perceptions of the framework impact classroom instruction and teachers’ perceptions.

The nation is challenged with improving the mathematics achievement of its students. No Child Left Behind holds schools, districts, and states accountable for improving student achievement. Because high stakes tests are given at the end of the school year, schools are presented with the challenging task of developing or purchasing reliable assessments that provide accurate information describing how well students understand the skills that will be measured on the end-of-the-year high stakes tests. Curriculum based measurements are used periodically to measure student progress toward meeting objectives during the school year. The problem exists that schools are utilizing limited resources of time and money on a tool with little evidence of effectiveness in increasing mathematics scores on state assessments. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationships between the scores of the three assessments of the Mathematics-Curriculum Based Measures (M-CBM) and the scores from the mathematics MCT2 for sixth-grade students. A correlational research design is used to fulfill the purpose and test the three null hypotheses. Hypothesis 1 for this study states that there is no relationship between the August 2009 M-CBM scores and the May 2010 mathematics MCT2 scores. Hypothesis 2 states that there is no relationship between the December 2009 M-CBM scores and the May 2010 mathematics MCT2 scores. Hypothesis 3 states that there is no relationship between the April 2010 M-CBM scores and the May 2010 mathematics MCT2 scores. To test the three null hypotheses, correlation coefficients were computed using the Pearson r. The results from all three hypotheses indicated that there were moderate positive correlations between scores of the M-CBM and scores of the mathematics portion of the MCT2, with the strongest relationship being between the April M-CBM and the mathematics MCT2 scores. Further analysis was done to determine if the relationship between M-CBM and mathematics MCT2 scores continued to exist when examined by mathematics MCT2 proficiency levels. The results of this analysis indicated that relationships between M-CBM and the mathematics portion of the MCT2 scores only existed for students scoring in the proficient range.

The purpose of this study was to determine if the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) Measures of Academic Progress (MAP) reading and math assessments are a valid predictor of performance on the language arts and mathematics Mississippi Curriculum Test, 2 nd Edition (MCT2). Additionally, the researcher sought to determine whether student characteristics of gender, ethnicity, and economically disadvantaged status added statistically to the prediction of MCT2 scores. The researcher used a correlational research design to answer the research questions that guide this study. Regression analyses were performed using IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), version 22. Data were collected from a Southern Mississippi school district. Scores from 676 6 th grade students and 659 8 th grade students were used in this study. The results of simple linear regression indicate that NWEA-MAP reading and mathematics assessments are a valid predictor of language arts and mathematics MCT2 scale scores for 6 th and 8 th grade students. Results of multiple regression indicate that the linear combination of fall reading NWEA-MAP RIT scores, spring reading NWEA-MAP RIT scores, student characteristics of gender, ethnicity, and economically disadvantaged status was significantly related to MCT2 language arts scale scores for sixth grade students; likewise, the linear combination of fall reading NWEA-MAP RIT scores, spring reading NWEA-MAP RIT scores, student characteristics of gender, ethnicity, and economically disadvantaged status was significantly related to MCT2 language arts scale scores for eighth grade students. Similarly, multiple regression analyses indicate that the linear combination of fall mathematics NWEA-MAP RIT scores, spring mathematics NWEA-MAP RIT scores, student characteristics of gender, ethnicity, and economically disadvantaged status was significantly related to MCT2 mathematics scale scores for sixth grade students; similarly, the linear combination of fall mathematics NWEA-MAP RIT scores, spring mathematics NWEA-MAP RIT scores, student characteristics of gender, ethnicity, and economically disadvantaged status was significantly related to MCT2 mathematics scale scores for eighth grade students.

Many school districts are using research-based strategies to increase student achievement. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 was created and implemented to assist all students becoming proficient in reading and mathematics by 2014. One strategy many school districts implemented includes an after-school program. One school district in Mississippi operated an after-school program to help increase the academic achievement of 7th and 8th grade students scoring minimal and basic on the MCT2. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of regular participation in an after-school program on indicators of student academic achievement. The dependent variables for this study consisted of (a) math grade point averages, (b) reading grade point averages, (c) language arts grade point averages, (d) MCT2 math scores, (e) MCT2 language arts scores, (f) number of absences, and (g) number of discipline referrals. The independent variable for this study was program participation, which had two levels. One level was program attendance for at least 40 days and the other level was program attendance for less than 40 days. In this study, 7 hypotheses were tested by comparing the measures of the dependent variables for the two levels of the dependent variables. Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA) was used to test the 7 hypotheses. The results of the ANCOVAs failed to detect any statistically significant differences in the dependent variables between the students who attended the after-school program for at least 40 days and students who did not attend the after-school program for 40 days. However, there were differences in the measures between the two groups. Not only did the regular attendees have lower averages in absenteeism and discipline referrals, they also had higher averages in mathematics (both GPA and MCT2), reading GPA, and language arts GPA. The only measure where the non-regular attendees demonstrated better performance was on the language arts MCT2. The recommendations for future research are as follows: implementation of adequate professional development for after-school program teachers, a research based reading program to assess student achievement, and a longitudinal study on after-school programs.

The effect of public school prekindergarten (pre-K) attendance on academic achievement has not been extensively studied for the purpose of funding these programs. The MCT2 scale scores in the areas of language arts and math and the report card number grades for the areas of language arts and math were analyzed for 114 students. Of this number, 49 students attended a public school pre-K program, and 65 students did not attend a public school pre-K program. This study was a causal-comparative study. A repeated measures approach with a between-within design was used. An analysis of covariance, ANCOVA, was used to examine if there was a statistically significant difference in the MCT2 scale scores for language arts for 3rd-grade students who attended a public school pre-K program and students who did not attend a public school pre-K program. In addition, 3 separate t-tests were run for each grade level for language arts and math report card grades. Results revealed that there was a statistically significant difference in the MCT2 language arts mean scale scores. For the area of math, the students who attended a public school pre-K program had comparable MCT2 math mean scale scores with the participants who did not attend a public school pre-K program. For language arts and math report card number grades, students who attended a public school pre-K program had higher report card number grades compared with students who did not attend a public school pre-K program. Based on these findings, it can be implied that public school pre-K attendance was effective for the academic areas language arts and math. It is recommended that public school pre-K programs continue to be funded and implemented for 4-year-old students in the Raleigh School District. The subjects of language arts and math should continue to be instructed for the pre-K students. It is also recommended that public school pre-K programs be funded and implemented in school districts across the state of Mississippi, as well as nationwide.