Low reading achievement is an issue that plagues school systems across the United States. It is well established that students, teachers, and school styles have an impact on students' reading ability and performance. This study aims to determine whether student and teacher demographics along with school-related factors significantly predict reading achievement in middle school. Specifically, this study investigates student gender, student ethnicity, teacher gender, teacher ethnicity, school curriculum, and school schedule as it relates to middle school scores on the reading component of the State of Texas Assessments of Academic Readiness (STAAR) test. To test whether or not three hypotheses pertaining to student and teacher demographics along with school-related factors significantly predict middle school STAAR reading scores, data were randomly selected from a school district in north Texas and analyzed using standard multiple regression. Results showed no significant predictability: student and teacher gender and ethnicity along with school schedule and curriculum did not predict STAAR reading scores. Results suggest that other factors are likely to influence the predictability of STAAR reading scores. On this basis, the concept of contextual factors should be taken into account when exploring reading achievement. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]