Title I federal funds are provided to schools with high percentages of children from low-income families to help ensure that all students meet academic standards. Despite this and other efforts by the federal government to assist low-income families with the problems associated with poverty, the minimum proficiency levels required by the No Child Left Behind Act have not been met by all students. Little research has been conducted to assess performance of South Dakota schools receiving federal funding under Title 1 to alleviate these deficits in academic achievement. The purpose of this study was to determine whether Title 1 had an effect on low socioeconomic schools by determining if Schoolwide Title 1 elementary schools in South Dakota demonstrated significant student gains in math and reading as measured by state standardized assessments. This nonexperimental quantitative study, guided by Bourdieu's theory of social and cultural reproduction, used archived school report card data to examine standardized testing results in math and reading during the school years of 2008-2009 through 2012-2013 for the 48 elementary Schoolwide Title 1 schools in South Dakota having complete data for these years. The results of the one-way repeated measures ANOVA followed by a Bonferroni post hoc test indicated no significant difference over time on standardized test scores in Schoolwide Title 1 elementary schools for reading, but there was a significant increase for math. The positive social change implications include providing data to inform school and state administrators of the effect of Title 1 of the ESEA on student achievement, and the need to reevaluate Title 1 programs to improve student achievement.

With the emphasis on high standards and fiscal accountability, there is a heightened need to inform the research linking student achievement to the allocation of resources. This mixed methods inquiry sought to study how schools utilized Title 1 and Title 1 stimulus funding from 2009-2011 to determine if correlations existed between areas of resource utilization and student achievement by studying both the use of funding and the processes that fifteen elementary and middle Title 1 schools in southern California utilized. The focus was to document resource use of Title 1 and Title 1 stimulus allocations and determine if a correlation existed between expenditures and improved student achievement (quantitative) and to discover themes that existed in student achievement improvement, especially including factors that affect the decision making process at the school (qualitative). Findings suggested that expenditures for professional development and programs for at-risk students played a key role in student achievement growth. The leadership of the school principal was also an indicator of student achievement growth. The use of Title 1 monies, including the increase in Title 1 stimulus monies, were beneficial to schools and positively contributed to the increase in student achievement. Overall, money, when spent well, led to improved student achievement.

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abstract: Through the disciplines of art education, anthropology and psychology the researcher examined research-based traits and characteristics of the creative process among a second year Title 1 urban high school art class. Within the theoretical framework of social justice, this micro-ethnographic study explored exactly what teaching and learning to be creative implies and proposes a potential resolution for art teachers learning how to enhance teaching children how to think creatively. The research proposition is that student creativity occurs as a function of a series of interrelated factors including a nurturing classroom context, strong teacher-student dialogue, strategic questioning, purposeful incorporation of visual culture, and manipulation of content in favor of student interests within the culturally situated context of the art classroom. Navigating teacher-student relationships at moments of creative origination produced results indicating that the art teacher alone is the single most influential factor for enhancing creative outcomes in a classroom. Through incorporation of a variety of collaborative activities and comparative analysis of dissimilar content-driven projects generated evidence that artistic skills and creativity do not necessarily go hand-in-hand. The study finds that the artworks produced evidence based nuances of the creative traits of originality, fluency, flexibility, and elaboration in which profoundly varied in character depending on the content and the context. The study concludes that creativity cannot be strictly taught or learned, but rather that it can be enhanced through teacher nurturing and manipulation of content to encompass a socially intelligent uptake in the culture of art-making. Broader implications are suggested focusing on the significance of creative education and the impact it can have for educational systems, schools and undergraduate programs in art education. The researcher proposes an art education curriculum model that fosters both creative thinking and the unique learning needs of Title 1 urban students. The curriculum suggests the art teacher begin initial instruction by teaching students about the traits, characteristics and obstructions of creativity prior to teaching artistic skills sets to serve as a foundation of creative awareness from the start. / Dissertation/Thesis / Ph.D. Curriculum and Instruction 2014

Effects of Interactive Read-Aloud and Literature Discussion on Reading Comprehension for First-Grade Students With Language Impairments in a Title 1 School. Elizabeth Vultaggio Salah, 2014: Applied Dissertation, Nova Southeastern University, Abraham S. Fischler School of Education. Language Impaired, First-Grade, Title 1 Schools, Reading Comprehension, Interactive Read-Aloud, Literature Discussion, Fountas and Pinnell. This applied dissertation was designed to determine the effects of the interactive read-aloud and literature discussion on reading comprehension for first-grade students with language impairments in a Title 1 School. This study was conducted as an embedded case study design using a quantitative method for data collection and analysis. The de-identified data was collected and analyzed from two consecutive school years (i.e., 2012-2013, 2013-2014). Data on the students' overtime (i.e., from kindergarten to first-grade) was collected and analyzed based upon a multiple case study design. Data points were collected using the A-B design, a two phase, basic signal-subject design. The A in the A-B design was the individual student's baseline data point; whereas B, was the data point after the intervention. The researcher observed and measured individual student data from the kindergarten school year (A). The researcher administered the read-aloud intervention, and observed and measured multiple data points after the intervention (B). The students' scores were determined using ongoing data collection. Since the overall design was to measure improvement in the four students overtime, no comparison groups were used. An analysis of the de-identified data revealed how individual language impaired students responded to the intervention. The researcher concluded that interactive read-aloud coupled with literature discussions improved reading comprehension of first-grade language impaired students based on results of the Oral Language Assessment and the Comprehension Conversation Assessment of the Fountas and Pinnell Benchmark System 1. Recommendations were made for future research.

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) brought high-stakes testing to the forefront of American public education. With its call for teachers and schools to be accountable for academic performance, NCLB has focused the spotlight on yearly progress, as measured by students' test scores. Issues associated with this charge include the questionable reliability of tests, the variation evident in state standards, and the consequences an emphasis on high-stakes testing may have on teaching and learning in the classroom. The purpose of this study was to investigate the consequences of high-stakes testing on teaching and learning in public elementary schools in Utah from the vantage point of school principals. Although policymakers assume a direct correlation between increased test scores and academic achievement, this study went beyond test scores. Analysis of semi-structured interviews with 12 principals, selected through purposive sampling from both Title 1 and non-Title 1 schools, revealed both positive and negative themes. Principals appreciated the focus and collaboration that NCLB testing encourages among teachers, but they disliked the impact of poor test scores on faculty morale. Unlike respondents in previous studies, principals did not feel that NCLB diminished creativity in the classroom; they did worry, however, about the validity of scores as a measure of student learning, particularly in the case of a one-time, year-end test.

Title Î? schools are supported to improve student reading achievement and to bridge the achievement gap between low-income students and other students. The researched-based practices of professional learning communities, coteaching classrooms, and the RtI 3-tiered model were added to a Title Î? school to improve students' reading achievement; however, the effects of these research-based practices on students' reading achievement were unclear. The purpose of this quantitative causal comparative study was to examine the impact of these research-based practices on reading scores of students. Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT 2.0) reading achievement scores were compared between students (n = 98) in a Title Î? school receiving researched-based practices for 3 consecutive years against Title Î? students (n = 127) not receiving researched-based practices for 3 consecutive years. Gardner's theory of multiple intelligences and Webb's depth of knowledge formed the theoretical framework of the study. The independent variable was the type of reading instructional practices. The dependent variables were the FCAT 2.0 reading scores of Title Î? 5th, 4th, and 3rd grade students. The covariates were the FCAT 2.0 scores or the Florida Assessment for Instruction in Reading test scores taken at the end of previous year for each grade level. Analysis of covariance indicated that students receiving the enhanced instructional practices had significantly higher reading scores than did the comparison group following the intervention. The implications for positive social change include providing data to the study school administration that support the use of these researched-based practices in Title Î? schools to improve students' reading achievement and close the reading achievement gap.

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if there is a significant relationship between student achievement and teacher perceptions of school climate. An additional purpose of this study was to determine if there is a significant difference in teacher perceptions between Title 1 and non-Title 1 schools. The final purpose of this study was to determine if there is a significant difference in teacher perceptions of school climate among the schools according to overall student achievement. A series of Spearman’s Correlation analyses were used to analyze data to determine if there was a significant relationship between TVAAS composite scores and teacher perceptions of school climate. A series of independent t-tests were used to determine if there was a significant difference in teacher perceptions of school climate between Title 1 and non-Title 1 schools. Finally, a series of one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were conducted to evaluate the relationships among teacher perceptions of school climate and TVAAS composite scores. The data that were analyzed included TVAAS composite scores of elementary students from the Tennessee Comprehensive Assessment Program (TCAP), Title 1 and non-Title 1 school status, and data concerning school climate that were provided by licensed elementary teachers on the annual statewide educator survey administered by the Tennessee Department of Education in 205 elementary schools across Tennessee. The results of this study revealed, there was a significant difference in teacher perceptions of engagement between Title 1 and non-Title 1 schools. The results also revealed, there was a significant difference in the means of teacher perceptions of environment between schools that scored 2 and 3 on TVAAS. In general, teachers in non-Title 1 schools had a significantly more positive perception of engagement and environment than teachers in Title 1 schools. In addition, schools with TVAAS composite scores of 3 scored significantly lower than schools with TVAAS scores of 2 on the measure of perception of school environment.