Doctor of Philosophy / Curriculum and Instruction Programs / Marjorie R. Hancock / With the implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (PL 107-110),
Kansas state reading standards, benchmarks and indicators have been aligned to meet the
recommendation of the National Reading Panel (2000). The components that are aligned
with the Kansas reading standards are phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary
and comprehension. High stakes testing and test scores disaggregated by race creates
accountability in meeting instructional reading indicators for all students, specifically
African American students. With increased pressures to meet and exceed the reading
standards and close the achievement gap between Black and White students, schools are
searching for instructional factors supportive of to meeting No Child Left Behind
requirements.
This mixed method study was conducted in three urban school districts in the
state of Kansas. The quantitative study was conducted by analyzing African American
fifth grade state reading assessment scores before and during implementation of No Child
Left Behind to determine whether No Child Left Behind is positively impacting test
scores. Data analysis revealed that African Americans increased in being at or above the
standard, while decreasing the number below the standard. Out of the 180 schools in the
three districts, six high performing schools were identified based on the percentage of
African American students in the school, average mean scores before and during No
Child Left Behind , and percentage of students at or above the standard from 2000-2007.
Data were collected through detailed observational field notes and interviews with fifth
grade teachers and principals in order to determine their perceptions of the instructional
factors impacting reading scores.
Data analysis revealed the following instructional factors impacting reading
scores: analysis of data, quality professional development, teacher collaboration, high
expectations, and parental involvement. Instructional reading indicators were coded
throughout the observation of fifth grade classrooms. Observed indicators taught were
phonics, vocabulary, comprehension of text types and text structures. This study
provided perspectives of instructional strategies essential to increasing the reading
strategies, skills and test scores of African American students while closing the literacy
achievement gap between Black and White students in Kansas schools.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:KSU/oai:krex.k-state.edu:2097/1383 |
| Date | January 1900 |
| Creators | Davis, Trinity M. |
| Publisher | Kansas State University |
| Source Sets | K-State Research Exchange |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
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