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Anxiety is the most reported negative emotion in the academic setting. One of the specific forms of anxiety that children can experience is reading anxiety (RA). Children who experience RA are often at risk for reading failure; likewise, children who experience reading failure are likely to experience RA. Children who excel at reading can also experience anxiety, often in the form of harm avoidance. Bibliotherapy has been shown to help to mitigate the effects of specific types of anxiety in children. The purpose of this study was to understand the anxiety of children who excel at reading and children at risk for reading failure, particularly during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic. Eighty-five first-, second-, and third-grade students in a rural school district in a western state with a range of reading achievement levels participated in the study. The Multidimensional Anxiety Scale for Children Second Edition (MASC 2) and Reading Anxiety Scale (RAS) were used to measure students' levels of specific forms of anxiety and the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) was used to measure their reading achievement. When comparing the specific anxiety levels of different reading achievement groups, there was no significant difference between the levels or types of anxiety experience by the groups. Instead, there was an increase in all forms of anxiety regardless of reading achievement level when compared to what prior research would suggest. This rise in all levels of anxiety is correlated with the COVID-19 pandemic timeline. Future research should investigate the impact of bibliotherapy on anxiety levels across reading achievement levels.

African American and Latino students attending Title I schools in the metropolitan Atlanta area were not reading on grade level. The majority of students are low performing readers and minimally met the reading comprehension requirements. The 2015 average 8th grade reading score for these students was 246 out of 500. This applied dissertation was designed to add to existing literature on the benefits of arts integration. Specifically, this study looked at whether the Alliance Theatre’s Collision Plus Program, an arts integration strategy, improved reading comprehension skills. Moreover, from the perception of the English language arts teacher, this study examined to what extent arts-integrated techniques prepare students for college or a career. Using a quasi-experimental mixed methods design, pre- and posttest results of the Scantron Performance Series computer adaptive assessment (CAAS) assessment were analyzed for an ELA control group and treatment group to determine if arts integrated instruction impacted the reading comprehension of the middle school students who participated in the study. Findings indicated that the mean and median scores for the treatment group of students were not statistically different than that of the control group of students after the Alliance Theatre Collision Plus Program lessons. From the perception of the ELA teacher, arts integration helped learners to comprehend what they are reading because they are able to connect to the text. Students showed greater inquisitiveness and the ability to change and produce new ideas. Recommendations for future research include utilizing a larger sample size and providing ongoing professional development to teachers on arts integration strategies.

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The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to compare the effects of literature instruction using traditional methods to literature instruction using Reading Apprenticeship (RA) to determine if outcomes of attitude and achievement of students enrolled in World Literature courses are changed. Participants included 104 students from 1 junior college in a southeastern state. Of these 104 students, 68 were taught using a traditional method of instruction, and 36 were taught using the RA method of instruction. Students were administered the Rhody Secondary Reading Attitude Survey to determine attitude scores at the beginning of the semester and attitude scores at the end of the semester. In addition, the Accuplacer-Reading Comprehension Test was administered to assess students‘ reading achievement at both the beginning of the semester and at the end of the semester. To analyze the data, a repeated-measures MANOVA was used to determine if statistically significant differences were present in students‘ attitudes and achievement scores based on instruction type. Also, the repeated measures MANOVA was used to determine if there was an interaction between attitude and achievement scores. After analyzing the data that was collected, the results indicated a statistically significant difference between the attitude scores of students taught literature using traditional instruction and students taught literature using RA instruction. The attitudes of students who were taught World Literature through traditional instructional methods experienced little change, and the attitudes of students who were taught World Literature using the RA method significantly increased. The results of the achievement tests and the interaction were not statistically significant.

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The development of highly effective teachers is of interest to school systems because the quality of the teachers is associated with students' success. This study explored the relationship between teachers' participation in a job-embedded model of professional development and students' achievement in reading. Teachers in the third grade and fifth grade at five different elementary schools received more than 100 hours of training. The reading achievement scores of students assigned to these teachers were compared to the scores of students whose teachers did not participate in the training. Findings in this study were mixed. Fifth-grade students whose teachers participated in the model achieved significantly higher reading scores; third graders of the study did not perform at a significantly higher rate than the control group. The study provides an overview of models of professional development and reviews characteristics of high-quality designs. It might be helpful to school systems interested in implementing training based upon a coaching model of professional development.

This longitudinal research project explored the relationship between a 1:1 computing initiative and student achievement on the North Carolina End of Grade Reading Comprehension and Math tests in the study school district. The purpose of this research study was to determine if the implementation of a 1:1 computing initiative impacted student performance on standardized tests. This study used secondary, longitudinal data to follow a sample of the district’s 2012-2013 3rd grade students through the 2015-2016 school year. The study used student grade level proficiency on the North Carolina End of Grade Reading Comprehension and Math tests for both the district and state levels. The data revealed that in the 2012-2013 school year the study school district was not significantly below the state mean in student grade level proficiency reading or math. At the end of the four-year study period, the district was not significantly below the state mean in student grade level proficiency in either reading or math, but the district did have significant growth in both subject areas.