Since the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act required classifications of students' performance levels, test scores have been used to measure students' achievement; in particular, test scores are used to determine whether students reach a proficiency level in the state assessment. Accordingly, school districts have started using benchmark assessments…

As result of several federal policies over the last few decades, accountability measures for student learning and success have increased tremendously. Therefore, many school districts, including East Tennessee School District which was the subject of this study, implemented district-wide benchmark testing such as the Collaborative Assessment…

Due to barriers to kindergarten readiness, many kindergarten students do not enter kindergarten with the prerequisite skills needed for reading. A number of students do not leave kindergarten with adequate reading skills needed for future success. As a result, students are ill-prepared for first grade and are at risk for future reading failure.…

This quantitative study explored how well the "Big Ideas Math (BIM)" curriculum helped third-grade students in Title I schools within the Polston School District (pseudonym) improve their math skills and high-stakes testing scores. Thirteen elementary schools were selected based on factors such as diversity, poverty rates, and academic…

Low-income urban schools that have chronic student underachievement have championed instructional coaching as an effective education reform strategy. Studies have shown that instructional coaching can be a promising approach for teacher professional development aimed at building educators' capacity to use student data to inform literacy…

Response to Intervention (RtI) is a data-driven process that supports the academic needs of students through targeted interventions to address specific identified areas of weakness. When implemented effectively, RtI aids students at the onset of learning concerns and can remediate learning problems which have, in the past, led to students being…