Policymakers and researchers continue to search for ways to improve K-12 education, which has led to an increased focus on teacher quality as an impetus for educational improvement. As such, current legislation under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) calls for highly qualified teachers in every classroom. But are the characteristics associated with…

People looking for a public school Cinderella story need look no further than George Hall Elementary in Mobile, Alabama. The once struggling school, which serves mostly low-income children, now boasts state math and reading test scores most wealthy suburban schools would be proud of. George Hall did not have to sacrifice all but the basics to get…

The study, "Effectiveness of Selected Supplemental Reading Comprehension Interventions: Impacts on a First Cohort of Fifth-Grade Students," examined the effects of four supplemental reading comprehension curricula: (1) Project CRISS (CReating Independence through Student-owned Strategies), (2) ReadAbout, (3) Read for Real, and (4)…

Using data from the Digest of Educational Statistics, this article argues that an intergenerational comparison is a more productive, progressive method to interpret data used to gauge the achievement gap. It applies this method by comparing the academic achievement scores and educational outcomes of African Americans over a nearly 70-year period,…

The purpose of this study was to explore whether William Deming's 8 Step Model would increase reading achievement in 3rd grade students. The study investigated how well the process based plan-do-check-act model when used as a treatment with fidelity, coupled with the principal as instructional leader would result in success in the age of federal…

Teaching reading in the mainstream classroom is a challenge. This challenge is compounded when trying to meet the needs of English language learners. Recently, Response to Intervention (RTI) has been suggested as a framework for classroom teachers to use in order to meet the wide range of needs of their students. The purpose of this study was to…

Purpose, Scope, and Method of Study. The purpose of this study was to identify and describe the curricular and instructional approaches of 3 Oklahoma elementary schools that demonstrated success in promoting and/or sustaining improvement in reading achievement. This qualitative study relied on a multiple case design utilizing participants based on…

The ultimate goal of this concurrent embedded mixed-method study was to describe the implementation of Response to Intervention (RTI) and understand the role of Response to Intervention at the fourth-grade elementary school level on the academic performance. This study examined both qualitative and quantitative data. In the qualitative phase, a…

This study examined the relationship between fifth-grade students' out-ofschool reading habits and measures of their reading comprehension and writing abilities. The sample was composed of forty-two students attending an urban school in Northeastern Massachusetts. Each morning, for fifteen consecutive weeks, students recorded an approximation of…

This quantitative, non-experimental, correlational study investigated the effects of the Accelerated Reader (AR) program on reading achievement in elementary school students. The study also examined the perceptions of teachers and administrators about the effectiveness of the AR program. This study took place in three elementary schools located in…

School districts in the United States have undergone large changes over the last decade to accommodate No Child Left Behind (NCLB). Arizona accommodated NCLB through Arizona's Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS). Expectations were established for all students, varying by group of students based on grade, special education status, free/reduced…

Discussions of the barriers to completion in community colleges have largely focused on student success in introductory college-level math and English courses, and rightfully so, since these courses are typically required for degrees. However, there is a much broader range of courses that also serve as "gatekeepers" in the sense that they are…

As shown by MetLife's 2010 "Survey of the American Teacher," America's educators strongly believe that all students should graduate from high school ready for college and a career (85 percent). Additionally, according to MetLife's 2009 survey, 86 percent of teachers believe that setting high expectations for students will improve student…

Evidence suggests that executive function (EF) may be a potent and malleable predictor of academic achievement in children. Schools may be able to use this predictive power if researchers develop EF measures that not only have ecological and construct validity, but also are also efficient and affordable. To this end, Garcia-Barrera and colleagues…

Vocabulary instruction is a critical component of early language and literacy programs. Vocabulary skills in the early elementary school years are strong predictors of later reading achievement and there is a correlation between vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension. Children who have limited vocabulary in kindergarten are at high risk of…