Learning to read is critical for quality of life and success in our society. Children who cannot read well face unsuccessful educational careers and limited job choices. Recently, policy makers and educators have made progress toward increasing the reading achievement of America's children. Still up to 60% of boys who live in poverty cannot read or read two years below grade level. In this experimental study, I designed and examined the effects of the Gottshall Early Reading Intervention (GERI) to determine if direct instruction with a small group, phonics based approach would increase the literacy achievement of low performing, rural, first grade boys. Participants were selected according to Texas Primary Reading Inventory (TPRI) scores, matched them across race, ethnicity, and socio-economic status, and randomly assigned them to experimental/control group. Three times per week for 15 weeks, boys in the experimental group attended 30-minute pullout sessions taught by trained professionals in addition to classroom reading instruction. Control group members received classroom reading instruction only. Findings reveal no significant differences in reading gains across all variables. However, descriptive data indicate higher percentages of gains for the experimental group on four out of five reading components with rate of gain higher on fifth. Statistics also show that Hispanics are more likely to benefit.

Educators can no longer simply look at student totals to distribute instructional dollars. Databased decision-making must be instituted to overcome achievement gaps between white and non-white students. In low-socioeconomic (SES) settings, districts must increase expenditure per pupil (EPP) as low-SES rates rise for all students as district administrators must be in a position to show product rather than process. It was attempted to determine if a positive or negative relationship existed between Anglo, Hispanic, and African-American student test scores and wealth factors on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills tests in 2000 and 2002. Wealth factors studied included EPP and SES. Data analysis was carried out on 974 independent and consolidated school districts in Texas. Low-SES was found to be a negative predictor of higher test performance on standardized reading and mathematics tests. To varied degrees, low-SES affected all students from all ethnicities as well as affluent students. EPP was attributed with a positive effect on student test performance. Increases of $1,000 or more at one time produce performance increases from 0.20 to 0.40 points. In making specific recommendations, the researcher advises increasing expenditures low-SES districts, schools, and classrooms through the creation of specific district linear equations exhibited in this study. Funds must be earmarked for those students that are affected by poverty. It is also recommended to decrease the number of low-SES students by merging high-SES and low-SES students to dilute poverty's effects. Additional correlation studies that address instructional strategies and outside factors are needed. Finally, a replicating study using Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills data over a period would be beneficial.

The transition from middle school to high school can be challenging for some students. Many school districts are implementing practices to ease the transition to high school. The current study examined one school district's practices and procedures for the development and implementation of a ninth-grade center. In this study, I examined the perceptions of 12 participants (teachers, counselors, and campus and district administrators) in a suburban Texas school district with a ninth-grade center. Using a qualitative descriptive case study methodology, data were collected and analyzed from face-to-face in-depth interviews and a focus group. The findings revealed an overall positive view of ninth-grade centers and a generally favorable impression of separating ninth graders from the remainder of the high school student body, to focus specifically on ninth graders' unique and individual needs. There were some identified concerns related to communication and logistical issues between the ninth-grade center and the main high school campus. From participant feedback, effective campus leadership, providing engaging and ongoing professional learning, having a separate facility, and creating a sense of team through building strong relationships are the specific top four elements that are most effective in developing a ninth-grade center. While this study provides a practical set of recommendations for school districts to guide the development and implementation of a ninth-grade center, expanded research is necessary to confirm the long-range impact on student achievement.

The problem of this study was to determine the effects of implementing writing-to-learn tasks in mathematics instruction on fourth grade students' achievement and attitude toward mathematics. Also addressed in this study is whether or not achievement and attitude measures of female students and low achieving students are effected by the use of writing in mathematics.

This case study analyzed the roles development and implementation have had in the Eighth-grade Algebra I policy and the California High School Exit Exam policy. From a political, economical, and historical perspective, the intended purposes of many education policies have been distorted due to implementation. By investigating national and California education policies, this case study describes the roles development and implementation have had education policies. In addition, this case study found that the state of education in California is reliant on many mitigating factors affecting education policy development and implementation: Budget cuts, achievement gaps particularly with children of color, and teacher qualification issues. However, systemic education reform requires policy makers to juggle their political affiliations and the needs of students to create policies that improve curriculum, improve student achievement, and supports teachers and administrators. When policy makers do not utilize informed constituencies to assist in policy development, mandates such as the Eighth-grade Algebra I policy are created. Well developed and researched education policies like the California High School Exit Exam, which took about six years to develop before it was implemented in California, was successful because it involved collaboration of various interest groups, educators, local education agencies, and school administrators. Policy makers must learn to work in collaboration with its constituency to develop policies that empower schools to sustain and extend greater individualization on one hand, and broaden community interest on the other. The future of California schools in regard to the Race to the Top policies remain to be seen, but if policy makers rely on the informed voices of education researchers, constituents who are willing to put students' needs before their own political conquests, school administrators, teachers, parents, and students, then California's school will have a future of systemic reform that will be bright.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress is a nationwide assessment administered every other year to eighth grade students in the United States in reading and mathematics. The purpose of this study was to compare the results of 2009 eighth grade state reading assessment proficiency percentages to NAEP proficiency percentages. Primarily, this study examined whether a predictive relationship existed between state and NAEP proficiency percentages. Subsequent research questions analyzed the extent to which a relationship existed for subgroups (race/ethnicity, English Language Learners, low socioeconomic status, and students with disabilities) and while controlling for census regions. It was found that a predictive relationship does exist between state and NAEP proficiency percentages for eighth grade students who took these reading assessments in 2009. The correlations between the variables were consistently high; however, the relationships were not significant for all subgroups nor for all census regions. It was determined that NAEP and state assessment proficiency percentages are not well suited to direct comparisons. Recommendations for practice included the development of nationwide common assessments, standards, and proficiency scales

The purpose of this study was to examine my own practice of teaching place value and the influence virtual manipulatives had, in addition to physical manipulatives, on place value understanding of my second grade students. I wanted to see how adding a base-ten computer applet might better meet the needs of all learners while also meeting the needs of today’s technological classroom. Through this study, I found that both physical and virtual manipulatives helped students acquire place value concepts. I found that virtual manipulatives had features that engaged students in a way that increased their mathematical language, increased students’ ability to represent more conceptual understanding of composing and decomposing numbers, and express enthusiasm towards mathematics. A pretest and posttest revealed that students’ academic performance increased. While research on virtual manipulatives and mathematical achievement is fairly recent, this study offers insight to other classroom teachers and the research community.

The Alternative Primary Program (APP), a classroom strategy for accommodating the academic readiness levels of entering first grade students, was implemented in two schools with high concentrations of economically disadvantaged students. For identification purposes, students were designated as Regular and Transitional First Grade students by utilizing existing school district guidelines, but were grouped heterogenously in reduced class size groups rather than being placed in self-contained classes. After two years in this setting, academic progress in the area of reading by students in the two pilot school sites was examined to determine the relative progress of Regular and Transitional (identified) students in comparison to one another. A second comparison was made to determine the relative progress of students in the APP with students moving through the same two schools in a previous student cohort. Heterogenously grouped students were evaluated periodically with an instrument used to assess pre-literacy stages of development including: Sense of Story, Sense of Word, Spelling Awareness, Letter and Word Recognition. The experimental instrument used in the study monitors student progress through three continuous stages of pre-literacy development. Assessment of students is carried out by classroom teachers for the purpose of directing instruction and determining appropriate instructional strategies for classroom use. The analysis of data produced by this measure and relating this data to other more traditional forms of reading achievement was one of the purposes of this study. Information produced by the Stages Assessment instrument was found to be reliable as an early indicator of readiness for reading instruction and predictive of later reading achievement. Multivariate analysis of variance techniques were used to analyze reading dependent variables. Multiple regression and discriminant analysis were used to analyze the relationship among reading achievement measures and indicators of reading readiness, including stages assessment data. Methodological limitations regarding the use of intact groups and problems relating to program implementation in a period of change are discussed. / Ph. D.

This investigation sought to determine how seventh-grade social studies teachers perceive TAAS objectives for social studies, language arts, and mathematics and how they apply them in the classroom. A detailed questionnaire was submitted to fifty teachers in the Dallas metropolitan area; a 72 percent. return was received. Though teachers expressed a favorable attitude toward emphasizing the higher-level thinking objectives, many indicated that their lesson plans and teaching methods have remained unchanged in the past year. The data suggests that teachers want and need additional training and teaching resources to satisfy the call for incorporating performance-based assessment into the classroom curriculum. TAAS standards cannot drive the intended curriculum improvements without a model for reorienting instructional practices.

The study proposes an alternative way for elementary school educators to instruct students in spelling. It suggests that spelling instruction should allow ample time for students to manipulate letters and patterns in their spelling words and provide time for writing. It also offers a two-week lesson plan of spelling instruction backed by research. The study was conducted using a mixed design with a predominantly Hispanic 6th grade class at a Title I school, with 60% of the students classified as English Language Learners. The study design consisted of observations of the students manipulating the spelling words, anecdotal notes taken while observing the students, and the collection of writing samples across time. Data was collected by four formal language arts tests and bimonthly spelling assessments.